HANAPEPE — A controversial ethnographic study of Ni’ihau has been completed by the Robinson family, and the results will be released by the end of this summer, said Don Cataluna, Kaua’i and Ni’ihau member of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs
HANAPEPE — A controversial ethnographic study of Ni’ihau has been completed by
the Robinson family, and the results will be released by the end of this
summer, said Don Cataluna, Kaua’i and Ni’ihau member of the Office of Hawaiian
Affairs (OHA) board of trustees.
At an OHA Committee on Land meeting last
week at Hanapepe Recreation Center to gather community concerns on issues on
Kaua’i and Ni’ihau, Cataluna said he doesn’t think the OHA board is against
U.S. Navy use of Ni’ihau to support national defense programs going on at the
Mana U.S. Navy Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF).
“The Robinsons own
the land, but they don’t own the culture,” Cataluna said. “All we want is a
record of what’s in the area” in terms of potential items and areas of
historical, archaeological and cultural significance.
The Robinson family,
which owns Ni’ihau and several thousand acres of land on Kaua’i, will take
precautions to guard the safety and privacy of Ni’ihau residents, Cataluna
said. They have also proven themselves good stewards of the land and
environment, he added.
But in order to get an accurate view of what all
Ni’ihau residents think about Navy presence on their island, Trustee Frenchy
DeSoto said a survey of each resident is needed.
At one time, construction
of a runway was among the military needs.
David Nekomoto, former executive
officer at PMRF and now a Ni’ihau Ranch employee and pilot for Ni’ihau
Helicopters, said the people of Ni’ihau at a Waimea public hearing, and in
public meetings on Ni’ihau, expressed support for the military presence, and
said they are capable of and wishing to make their own decisions regarding a
military presence on Ni’ihau.
Residents are longing for the day when
electricity comes to the island, as homes are lit now by generators and solar
power, with the Robinson family exploring wind power as well, said
Nekomoto.
Bringing electricity to the island costs money, so if the
military presence means jobs and income for Ni’ihau residents, that will help,
he continued.
Both the residents and Robinson family will take great care
not to harm the island, and both have a strong commitment to guard residents’
privacy and quality of life, he said.
But DeSoto called Nekomoto’s
testimony “speculation,” adding that she has seen what Navy and other military
activities have meant to Kaho’olawe, parts of the Big Island and Makua on
O’ahu, and worries what it will mean to the “colonized” residents of
Ni’ihau.
“If the Robinsons want to protect the ‘aina, who will protect the
Hawaiians?” DeSoto asked Nekomoto.
“The Robinsons,” Nekomoto
answered.
“Of course,” DeSoto replied.
Native Hawaiian Judy Naumu
Stewart said the people on Ni’ihau choose to live there, and are capable of
making their own decisions. The Robinsons respect them, and take care of them
on and off the island. OHA should concentrate on issues on Kaua’i and not worry
about Ni’ihau, she added.
Joseph Manini, Sr. favors preservation of areas
from Kalaheo to Mana, because visitors come to the island to experience “old
Hawai’i.” The Navy building on Ni’ihau shouldn’t be a part of that
preservation, he said.
“This is our place,” and people come here to see
Native Hawaiians, planting taro, being cowboys, and carrying on other
traditions, Manini said.
Robinson family lands on this side of the
Kaulakahi Channel got a lot of attention from the nine speakers at the meeting,
which was attended by around 40 people.
The Robinson Family Partners’
resort proposal at Kapalawai was opposed by every speaker who mentioned
it.
“This is not an area for a resort,” said Kekaha resident Bruce Pleas,
pleading with trustees to read the Kaua’i General Plan Final Draft
carefully.
“OHA needs to get involved in this,” said Pleas, adding that the
plan’s section on a vision for the island is good, with protections of coastal
lands and gathering rights.
But, the vision gets blurred, especially with
regard to preservation of coastal areas and culturally sensitive areas,
particularly in its support for resort development at Kapalawai.
The
proposal calls for 250 units on 156 acres which include a 1,000-year-old
fishpond and other “very important Hawaiian cultural sites.”
When the
Kaua’i Historic Preservation Commission toured the site, one commission member,
Randy Wichman, found an artifact on the ground, which to Pleas indicates that
the area hasn’t been subject to bulldozer or farm equipment intrusion.
The
area should be a day cultural center, not a resort, and the Westside should be
preserved because much of it has, like Kapalawai, not been bulldozed or
trampled with farm equipment.
Cheryl Lovell-Obatake agreed, saying the
Kapalawai area has at least five historical features, including the fishpond,
rock walls, a platform other speakers are sure is a heiau, the Robinson house
known as Kapalawai, and a Portuguese oven.
The fishpond, at least, should
be a registered archaeological site, she added. DeSoto asked Lovell-Obatake
what kind of impact Kapalawai would sustain in the event of a tsunami. “Damage;
big damage,” Lovell-Obatake replied.
Manini, who worked for the Robinson
family for around 40 years, also said the area shouldn’t have resort
development. “That place is all sacred area,” and had taro patches near the
fishpond, as well as heiau, he said.
Kapalawai should be preserved, and not
used for a visitor resort.
He recalled a discussion with the Robinson
family where he asked them if they would give up their lands if he could show
them that they don’t own them.
The reply, Manini said, was “no, we have to
protect what our ancestors left us,” to which Manini replied, “Well, you won’t
mind, then, if we claim what our ancestors left for us.”
The subject of the
rebuilding of the Coco Palms Hotel was brought up by Lovell-Obatake. She said
it was mostly ali’i who were born there and buried there, and she expressed
concerns about the unearthing of bones when the rebuilding work
begins.
Cataluna shared her concerns. When work begins on the rebuilding of
Coco Palms, it will be worse than someone proposing to dig up graves at
Punchbowl Cemetery on Oahu, where war veterans are buried, he said.
“We
ain’t gonna let that happen,” Cataluna said.
Lovell-Obatake and Stewart
both said long-term cemetery planning needs to be done across the island, with
Stewart most concerned about the Kekaha Hawaiian Cemetery on state Department
of Hawaiian Home Lands property.
Don’t wait until it’s full and there is no
place to bury Native Hawaiians, Stewart said.
The Hanama’ulu cemetery near
the Kalepa Village apartments needs attention, said Lovell-Obatake. She brought
the item to the attention of Ron Kouchi, chair of the County Council and,
according to Lovell-Obatake, he told her it was something that Mayor Maryanne
Kusaka should look in to.
OHA Committee on Land Chairman Louis Hao said the
Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation can probably help Lovell-Obatake with some of
her issues.
Stewart is concerned about a proposed expansion of Kikiaola
Small Boat Harbor in Kekaha. She approved of phase one, dredging of the harbor,
because local fishermen need to have safe access.
But, she questions
further expansion to accommodate up to 52 boats, especially since 14 acres
there is ceded land. She had heard that OHA had approved of the expansion, and
if it did, she would sue OHA for breach of trust.
The trustees didn’t know
of any position they had taken on the expansion.
The expansion will take
ceded acreage away, Stewart said.
“That’s unacceptable. I’m opposed to
that,” she said. “We don’t need it there. The place is too small,” said
Stewart, who is worried about overcrowding and erosion which may be associated
with the expansion.
Lovell-Obatake turned her attention to the Nawiliwili
area where she lives. In the Kaua’i General Plan Final Draft, several
significant historical and archaeological features, as well as significant
trees, are not included on heritage resource maps, and should be, she
said.
Major taro-growing areas in Niumalu aren’t included, and she
expressed concerns about potential pollution problems associated with the
Kaua’i Marriott Resort & Beach Club.
“He did his mess and he went back
home,” Lovell-Obatake said of developer Chris Hemmeter, who rebuilt the former
Kaua’i Surf into the Westin after Hurricane ‘Iwa. “I not too happy with
him.”
Lovell-Obatake, chair of the Nawiliwili Bay Watershed Council, said
the flowing freshwater in her neighborhood is regarded by the state Department
of Health as “impaired,” or polluted.
With three kayak companies permitted
to take up to 180 kayaks up and down the Hule’ia River daily, and private
yachts and sailboats parked in the river and dumping their human excrement
overboard, she is worried about further pollution.
One kayak guide asked
one yachtsman parked in the river why he dumps his human waste overboard. The
man replied, “don’t worry, the crabs will eat it.” “But who eats the crabs?”
Lovell-Obatake asked.
