ASSOCIATION OF HAWAIIAN CIVIC CLUBS
A RESOLUTION
No. 2018 – 23
URGING THE ASSOCIATION OF HAWAIIAN CIVIC CLUBS TO INSTITUTE AN ‘AHA ‘ŌPIO BY JUNE 2020
WHEREAS, it was reported in the Kamehameha Schools section of the Hawaiian Language News Paper, Ka Hōkū O Hawai‘i (Number 16, Aug. 11, 1943) that in July of 1943, a group of students in Honolulu established a Hawaiian Civic Club for young Hawaiians below the age of 27 and called it the “Junior Hawaiian Civic Club” in the spirit of civic engagement for Hawaiian youth; and
WHEREAS, the Junior Hawaiian Civic Club was affiliated with the Hawaiian Civic Club of Honolulu that established a board of advisors to help maintain consistency and “cooperation” between the two clubs; and
WHEREAS, among the 56 charter members in 1943 were the following officers: Calvin Ontai (President), Heather Andrews (Vice President), Ruth Burgess (Recording Secretary), Emily Cobb-Adams (Correspondent Secretary), Walter Watson (Treasurer), Marie Chung-Hoon, LeoLonida Kekū‘ewa, Daniel Akaka, Kepo‘ikai ‘Āluli, Carl Farden, Jr., and David Trask, Jr. (all members of the board of directors); and
WHEREAS, among the objectives of the Junior Hawaiian Civic Clubs were the promotion and cementing of the friendly relations among its members, the preservation and perpetuation of the culture of Hawai‘i nei, learning of the Hawaiian Language, promotion of the theory and practice of the principles of good government and good citizenship, and interest in the civic, social and moral welfare of the community, particularly that of the Hawaiian people; and
WHEREAS, many of the Hawaiian youth, among the 56 charter members, have become noted members of the community and leaders of civic commitment to the community, including, but not limited to, Dr. Kekuni Blaisdell, Milton Beamer, Daniel Akaka, Kepo‘ikai ‘Āluli, Carl Farden, Jr. and David Trask, Jr., who would become the President of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs; and
WHEREAS, in the very early days of the Hawaiian Civic Club of Honolulu, in the spirit of the importance of supporting the education of Hawaiian youth, the club established an educational scholarship, the first of which was presented to Hawai‘i’s operatic singer, and 1913 Kamehameha Schools graduate, Tandy Mackenzie; and
WHEREAS, according to the Hawaiian Language newspaper, Kū‘oko‘a (March 26, 1926), appreciating the way the Hawaiian Civic Clubs financially supported the educational growth of Hawaiian children, the legislature of the Territory of Hawai‘i modeled its educational funding bill in March 1926 after the Hawaiian Civic Clubs’ (referred to as “Kalapu Hō‘eu‘eu Hawai‘i” in the article) scholarship program; and
WHEREAS, many current members of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Club can attribute their current participation to their upbringing and having experiences attending Hawaiian Civic Club activities early in life; and
WHEREAS, if as adult leaders we truly believe that the future rests in today’s youth, we must engage them now in the work we do for the betterment of our lāhui; and
WHEREAS, in the year 2020 (June 10 to June 20, 2020), Hawai‘i will host the 13th Festival of Pacific Arts, at which, an assembly of youth delegates and ambassadors will be a component of each of the approximately 28 county delegations, and therefore, an ‘Aha ‘Ōpio of this sort held in the same year prior to the Festival will strongly lend to developing Hawai‘i’s capacity as the host; and
WHEREAS, even the Kamehameha Schools’ charge in its sixth educational performance measure (EPM 6) calls for the capacity building of civic engagement and identity for Native Hawaiians, and there is no better way to begin to build this than with our youth; and
WHEREAS, although the composition of this ‘Aha ‘Ōpio need not be limited to the keiki and mo‘opuna of the membership of our Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs, it would wise that the corpus of the ‘Aha ‘Ōpio be generated from among members of the Hawaiian Civic Clubs; and
WHEREAS, imagine the sense of purpose the Association of Hawaiian Clubs would grant our ‘ōpio by being first to call forward this ‘Aha ‘Ōpio, whose purpose would mirror that of the Junior Hawaiian Civic Club in 1943; and
WHEREAS, this call is for the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs to assist in the organization and mentorship for the ‘Aha ‘Ōpio; and
WHEREAS, in the spirit of Proverbs 22:6 (“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”), the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs would be securing the future leadership and civic leadership capacities of our Hawaiian youth; and
WHEREAS, at its first annual convention on September 3, 2018, the Maui Council of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs adopted this same resolution.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs at its 59th Annual Convention in Kalapaki, Kauaʻi, in the malama of Welehu and the rising of ʻOlepau, this 17th day of November 2018, urging the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs to institute an ‘Aha ‘Ōpio by June 2020; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT, the President of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs establish an ad hoc planning group made of members and youth members of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Club member clubs, and that this group be charged with working with Native Hawaiian organizations such as the Kamehameha Schools, the Native Hawaiian Charter Schools, Hawaiian Language Immersion Schools, Lili‘uokalani Trust, the Hawaiian Royal Societies, and the Native Hawaiian Chamber of Commerce, among others; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that each Council will develop its own benchmarks targeting the Aha Opio 2020; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a certified copy of this resolution be transmitted to Kamehameha Schools, Native Hawaiian Charter Schools, Hawaiian Language Immersion Schools, Lili‘uokalani Trust, Hawaiian Royal Societies, the Native Hawaiian Chamber of Commerce, as well as the Governor of the State of Hawai‘i, President of the State Senate, Speaker of the State House of Representatives, Chair of the State Senate Committee on Hawaiian Affairs, Chair of the State House Committee on Ocean, Marine Resources & Hawaiian Affairs, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and all County Mayors.
The undersigned hereby certifies that the foregoing Resolution was duly adopted in the malama of Welehu and the rising of ‘Olepau on the 17th day of November 2018, at the 59th Annual Convention of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs in Kalapaki, Kaua‘i.
Annelle C. Amaral, President
