ASSOCIATION OF HAWAIIAN CIVIC CLUBS
A RESOLUTION
No. 2018 – 36
REQUESTING THE STATE OF HAWAI‘I DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES (DLNR) DIVISION OF STATE PARKS TO IMPLEMENT A COMMUNITY-BASED CULTURAL PLAN FOR KEALAKEKUA BAY STATE HISTORICAL PARK THAT WOULD COMPLETE THE DEIS/CIS AND FINALIZE THE MASTER PLAN, AND CHANGE THE STATUS OF THE KEALAKEKUA STATE HISTORIC PARK ADVISORY ‘OHANA FROM A TEMPORARY GROUP TO A PERMANENT STATUS SO THAT THEY CAN CONTINUE TO SHARE UNIQUE GENERATIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICES NOW AND INTO THE FUTURE
WHEREAS, in 1985, a report was prepared by an Advisory Committee comprised of community members for recommendations for the development, management, and operation of Kealakekua Bay State Historical Park (KBSHP) on the Island of Hawaiʻi; and
WHEREAS, in 2016, a public meeting was held in Kealakekua, Hawaiʻi by the State of Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) to discuss the various options of a Master Plan for Kealakekua Bay State Historical Park; and
WHEREAS, in 2018, a public meeting was held to address and provide comment on a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for Kealakekua Bay State Historical Park; and
WHEREAS, members of the community had concerns that the plans for Kealakekua Bay State Historical Park from 1985 to 2018 do not include updated information to address new laws that protect Native Hawaiian’s traditional and customary practices and which State agencies are responsible for protecting these rights based on Hawai‘i Supreme Court ruling (Ka Paʻakai, 2000); and
WHEREAS, members of the community, including descendants of the original families of Kealakekua who resided in the ahupua‘a bordering Kealakekua, recognized imperfections and flaws within the mandated Cultural Impact Assessment (CIA) and recommended revisions prior to approving the DEIS; and
WHEREAS, the DLNR Division of State Parks (State Parks) was genuinely interested in the mana‘o of the descendants of the original kanaka families who centered their lives around Kealakekua Bay; and
WHEREAS, members of the community acknowledged the recommendations within the DEIS/CIA and requested the State Parks to immediately implement a Cultural Advisory Committee comprised of residents and native Hawaiian generational practitioners of the ahupuaʻa of Kealakekua and its neighboring ahupuaʻa Ka‘awaloa, Keōpuka, Keʻei, and Hōnaunau where all lineal descendants and traditional ‘ohana of these ahupua’a have been and continue to be directly impacted by commercial enterprises and other activities that inadvertently adversely impact Kealakekua Bay; and
WHEREAS, State Parks acknowledged the value of the generational knowledge of the community who still practiced in Kealakekua Bay, and supported the restoration of the Kealakekua State Historic Cultural Advisory Committee, now known as the Kealakekua Bay Cultural Advisory ‘Ohana to implement accurate cultural and generational knowledge into the CIS; and
WHEREAS, the State Parks along with the ‘Aha Moku Advisory Committee through the execution of the ‘Aha Moku process, a traditional land and ocean management sustainability process restored from the 9th century through the translation of ancient ‘ōlelo and chants, organized its first meeting of residents and practitioners under the ‘Aha Moku Process and the residents affirmed that their group will be called the Kealakekua Bay ‘Ohana representing the ahupuaʻa of Kaʻawaloa, Kealakekua, Kahauloa, and Keʻei and their neighboring ahupuaʻa; and
WHEREAS, although the Kealakekua Historical State Park ‘Ohana was only meant to exist during the duration of working on the Master Plan and DEIS/CIS; and
WHEREAS, it has become obvious to this community and beneficiaries of the public land trust, which includes the lineal descendants and cultural practitioners of all the ahupua‘a that touch Kealakekua Bay that the protection of this wahi pana must become permanent, and it is imperative to honor this most sacred of wahi pana of Hawai‘i nei, the place where Captain Cook first landed in Hawai‘i; and
WHEREAS, this unique cultural advisory ‘ohana become perpetual so their generational knowledge now, and throughout future generations, can continue to be used in the education of others, in the sustainability of this special natural resource to which they are spiritually and physically attached; and
WHEREAS, through this action, the Kealakekua Historic State Park Advisory ‘Ohana will be pa‘a (attached) to State Parks enduring in a bond that ensures that Native Hawaiians and their communities can work with each other and with government, to sustain and protect the natural and cultural resources and values of Kealakekua Bay; and,
WHEREAS, the Kealakekua Bay ʻOhana encourages State Parks to: 1) implement the community-based cultural plan that currently strengthens the DEIS, corrects the CIS which then completes the Master Plan, and 2) change the status of the Kealakekua State Historic Park Advisory ‘Ohana from a temporary group to a permanent group so that they can continue to share unique generational knowledge and practices now and into the future.
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, requesting the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) Division of State Parks to implement a community-based cultural plan for Kealakekua Bay State Historical Park that would complete the DEIS/CIS and finalize the Master Plan, and change the status of the Kealakekua State Historic Park Advisory ‘Ohana from a temporary group to a permanent status so that they can continue to share unique generational knowledge and practices now and into the future; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs, along with the Kuakini Hawaiian Civic Club of Kona and the Princess Ka‘iulani Hawaiian Civic Club, will encourage the State Parks to ensure they update all their plans to include and address impacts to Native Hawaiian traditional and customary practices; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Kuakini Hawaiian Civic Club of Kona will provide periodic reports back to the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs on the progress of a community-based cultural plan for Kealakekua Bay State Historical Park; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a certified copy of this resolution be transmitted to Kuakini Hawaiian Civic Club of Kona, State of Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of State Parks, ‘Aha Moku Advisory Committee – Moku O Keawe, 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
