Ke Kauhale o Kingʻs Landing

The ‘āina of Kingʻs Landing is the nutrient rich subsistence lands that feeds nā kupa o ka ʻāina, the stewards of the land. This relationship is imbued in the fishing and subsistence practices that sustains the lifestyle of the King’s Landing village.  Our kūpuna established these practices, and what we see at Kingʻs Landing Village today, is a continuous living practice. 

The Kupa of Kingʻs Landing have lived with ʻāina for centuries. The coastline has fed, provided for and sustained fishing villages of kanaka Hawaiʻi for hundreds of years.  In 1783 Kamehameha I searched for his sacrifice in the fishing village of Papaʻi, Kingʻs Landing to secure his leadership and to establish the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi.  Previous to the 1930ʻs and the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, the Malo, Puana, Makua and Pakele ʻohanas resided in Kingʻs Landing. During the 1930ʻs the Malo and Pakele ʻohana moved out of King’s Landing and into Hilo. Aunty Lily Puana of the Kaʻaʻawe ʻohana, the Makua ʻohana of Keaukaha and Mary Kua, are recorded to have resided in Kingʻs Landing during the land transition from the Territory of Hawaiʻi to the Hawaiian Home Landʻs inventory.  The villagers of Malama Ka Aina Hana Ka Aina, the community association representing the Hawaiian Homes beneficiaries of Kingʻs Landing, began their residency and rehabilitation in the early 1970ʻs.  Today, in 2022 MAHA, and the Hawaiian Home beneficiaries it represents are working to establish permanent residency within Kingʻs Landing through the Kuleana Subsistence Homesteading model.

Aloha ʻāina governs the human behaviors in Kingʻs Landing.  Subsistence from ʻāina, from the kai of ʻAi Kanaka, feeds the village.  Kupa who practice a living relationship with the ʻāina of Kingʻs Landing know of its beauty.  They are in sync with and understand the rhythms of the land. The coastline of Kingʻs Landing has fed these kupa and their community for generations. Their fishing traditions and practices have been continuous since before the establishment of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi.  The ʻāina has provided for and rehabilitated many Hawaiian kūpuna and beneficiaries.  The coastline is rich with nutrients, reef fish, seaweed, and tide pool creatures.  On the ʻāina grows ulu, breadfruit for eating; hala, pandanus for crafting; hau, hibiscus for cordage harvesting; milo and naupaka for natural dying material. There is also an introduction of tropical fruits: banana, tangerine, avocado, and mountain apple.  

The Lehia to Papaʻi project, supported by the County of Hawaiʻi Innovations grant, gathered oral history interviews, and historical written accounts from kupa of Kingʻs Landing.  This included fishing practitioners who frequent the coastline for resources and sustainability, generations of Kanaka Hawaiʻi that remember stories from their kūpuna, and story sharing from the Hawaiian beneficiaries of MAHA, Malama Ka Aina Hana Ka Aina, who currently reside in Kingʻs Landing.

Aloha, my name is Ainaaloha Waikaaluu Ioane. My twin sister Haawina Wise and I was born in May of 1984 at our home, on the ʻāina pulapula of Kingʻs Landing at Waikaalulu.  Our relationship with the ʻāina of Kingʻs Landing began while we were in our mohterʻs ʻōpū, womb, and became tangible upon our birth.  We are honored to be the narrators of these shared stories. This introduction will begin with the somewhat current, move into the present and weave in the past.  The moʻolelo of Kingʻs Landing will start with the patriarch of our ʻohana, a founder of MAHA and Ke Kauhale o Kingʻs Landing, the Kingʻs Landing village.

After returning home to Hawaii from the Vietnam war, my father, Kelii “Skippy”  William Ioane Jr. began his native Hawaiian self-rehabilitation journey.  At this time, he was tasked with being the caretaker of his grandfather, William Kanakaole Ioane, known as “Kanak”.  He was sent to live in the ʻohana home on Todd Avenue, in the Keaukaha Homestead.  He was to be his grandfatherʻs support. The Kanakaole-Ioane ʻohana, William Kanakaole Ioane and Edith Keonaona Akui were residents of the first Hawaiian Homestead establishment in Keaukaha.  My father attributes his relationship to ʻāina, and his spiritual recognition to the years he spent with his grandfather being his caretaker.  Grandpa Ioane taught my father that mama ʻāina is the god, and that we are keiki o ka ʻāina, products of the land. 

My father, Kelii “Skippy” Ioane was eventually given the opportunity from his grandfather, Ioane to inherit a portion of his ʻohana home on Todd Avenue, in Keaukaha, however; dad did not have the financial and economic requirements of the Department of Hawaiian Homelands satisfied at that time.  Knowing that he could not build a home to Hawaii County Code within one yearʻs time, he asked the Department if he could live in a tent, on Todd Avenue, to provide him the time to secure funding and establish credit.  This request from my father, a Hawaiian Homes beneficiary, was denied by the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.

Disappointed, and disorientated, dad remembered his childhood days and was guided by his kūpuna, back into the lands of Kingʻs Landing.  My father shares stories of going to Keonepupu, known as Puu maile, with his grandparents. When he was just a young child, he had to stay back with the mothers, aunties and grandmas at the safe tidepools at the entrance of Kingʻs Landing, while the fathers, uncles and grandfathers went along the coastline from Lehia to Papaʻi to holoholo and collect resources from the coastline to feed their families.  When dad was around the age of ten, his grandfather Ioane finally let him travel with the mens, into Kingʻs Landing.  At each bay, grandpa would assign a tidepool for dad to stay safe in. The older male adults threw net to collect the reef fish, pounded ʻōpihi along the rocks, and collected limu kohu in the white wash.  Dad would eagerly peer over and watch his ʻohana practice, collect and sustain their ʻohanas with the ʻono o ka ʻāina, the riches of the land.  It was during this trip into Kingʻs Landing that dad shares with me that he was visited by a kūpuna of the land.  This kūpuna told dad at this young age that she would see him again.  It was then that my father knew that he would return to Kingʻs Landing one day.

These childhood memories stayed with my father, and they returned to him when he needed it. The visit from the kūpuna when he was ten, the teachings of grandpa Ioane, and his experiences with the men along the coastline of Kingʻs Landing, encouraged dad to establish his own native Hawaiian beneficiary rehabilitation.  Frustrated with the mental state of the Kanaka Hawaiʻi and the inability of the Department of Hawaiian Home lands to get the Hawaiian beneficiary onto the ʻāina, dad returned home to Kingʻs Landing to fulfill his kupa, stewardship, kuleana to the land, and to fulfill that which his kūpuna foreseen him being a part of all those years ago. 

Dad first asked for support for his new journey from grandpa Ioane.  The story shares that grandpa Ioane supported dadʻs decision.  “When I cut the trail, grandpa was there.  I cut a small section, then I move his chair and go back for him.  We walk slow to the next place.  We make like this all day. When we found the place, then grandpa gave the pule.  He talk to the place.” (Kelii “Skippy” Ioane, 2022).  

Dad moved into Kingʻs Landing in 1980.  He had with him, my older sister Lihau Ioane and mom, Carol Ioane.  He was driven, and he was determined. He would eventually lead a Hawaiian renaissance, re-establishing within Kingʻs Landing, the kauhale, the community- village life, as the rehabilitation method for native Hawaiian beneficiaries.

Dad shares with us that he built our hale from upcycled material around Hilo. The village would travel together and collect materials from construction demolition sites. The villagers built their own homes with the resources surrounding them.  The process of home building is an involved spiritual experience for the native Hawaiian.  The house construction embodies the rehabilitation process. Each village family hand-cut their trails, built their homes, and raised their keiki with ʻāina in Kingʻs Landing.

Growing up, I remember always having a bowl of poi, and a bowl of limu kohu on the table, while iʻa was frying in the pan.  We ate fish almost every night of the week.  It was a rare occasion to have chicken and even more rare to have beef.  I have countless memories of dad, coming home from holoholo with his fish bag filled with all kinds of ocean goodies: limu kohu, ʻōpihi, aʻama and top shell.  I remember sitting on the flat papa rocks at Waikaalulu and seeing dad from afar crossing over from Waiakaua bay into Waikaalulu bay.  I loved watching him walk over, net in hand.  He would then lay the net full of fish onto the papa flat rocks.  We loved helping dad pull the iʻa out from the net, cleaning the iʻa and feeding the puhis in the nearbide tidepools.  Dad put a kapu on the harvesting of puhi, he shared with us that the puhi is our ʻaumakua and we are responsible to malama them.  It was in these experiences that my father showed us how to clean the manini, and save its fat to eat.  Its taste is similar to wana. These practices were passed down onto us and we continue them today.

Dad likes to attribute his fishing skills and expertise to the abundance of iʻa available, and not to an elevated skill; however, it is an elevated skill to be able to survive the coastline of Kingʻs Landing.  The cliffs, currents and swells of Kingʻs Landing are treacherous, and famous for its “freak” swells that can come out of nowhere and reach 5- 10 feet higher inland, cleaning out and taking any unaware kanaka from the cliff.  Some of these papa, reef flats are known to be “pilau” as my father calls them.  They can at times look harmless, but when the wave pushes in, the energy wraps around the papa, pushing itself down into a suction like whirlpool.  The waves, and suction surrounding the papas have claimed many fisherman’s lives.

Dad and mom continued to raise their six kids in Kingʻs Landing.  Dad followed his kūpuna home and successfully raised the next generation of keiki o ka ʻāina and instilled in us our great-gradfatherʻs teaching that mama ʻāina is god.

In the 1970ʻs William Kulakauka Pakani was invited by aunty Lily Puana to live at Waiokawa, Kingʻs Landing.  He established a home for his keiki to live with the land. 

It took me over 8 years to develop this land in road improvements,

digging wells, dredging, clearing the land, planting bananas and 

taro and food for everyday subsistence for my family… My only 

interest in being on this ʻāina is to be an example of one Hawaiian 

who can make something out of nothing.  Everything that you see 

here was cleared, built, and planted by the blood, sweat, and tears 

of myself, my wife, and my children (Pakani, 1977)

Uncle Bill’s son, Rusty Pakani, a current Panaewa Homesteader, recalls his childhood years in Kingʻs Landing.  They would enter from Keonepupu, known as Puumaile, because back then, there was no road through Kingʻs Landing.  Uncle Bill, and the then young Rusty would meet at the Puana home near Laieikawai, they called it First Bay then.  Rusty remembers his mother would pick lauhala along the coastline to make her crafts, because she said the best lauhala grows along the coastline.  On these coastal walks with his father Bill, Rusty remembers the bay of Waiokawa.  He remembers a small house-like structure being along the beach side.  That structure is no longer there.  The Department of Hawaiian Homelands burned it down years later.  It was on one of these journeys that uncle Bill told his son Rusty that one day he would return to Waiokawa to live.  Uncle Bill Pakani lived at Panaewa at this time and visited the Puanaʻs often to collect resources for his ʻohana.

My father shared with me that uncle Bill was the best fisherman. He saw him once with a pakini for a bucket, which he used as a floating container to collect limu kohu.  Uncle Bill knew the coastline of Kingʻs Landing very well.  My father and uncle Bill shared an inner competitiveness.  They would try and get to the ʻāholehole spot before the other one did.  One morning my father woke up real early before the light appeared.  He thought that he would beat uncle Bill that day, however when he reached Waiokawa he saw from a distance the silhouette of a man.  Uncle Bill was already on the coastline.

In 1981, my mother was at home at Waikaalulu, when our uncle Edward Kanahele, as representative of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands served both my mother and uncle Bill Pakani an eviction notice.  Mom shares that uncle Edward was very sad to be a part of this process, and he gifted mom an ulu tree. This ulu tree was planted at our home in Waikaalulu and is the piko tree of my sister, the second born.

It was the presence of the eviction and threat of removal from the ʻāina that caused my father Kelii “Skippy” Ioane, my mother Carol Ioane, my uncle “Bill” William Kulakauka Pakani and his wife, aunty Audrie Pakani to establish MAHA, Malama Ka Aina Hana Ka Aina, as the bonafide, democratically elected, representative of the Hawaiian beneficiaries residing in Kingʻs Landing.

After MAHAʻs establishment, more Hawaiian beneficiaries and their ʻohanaʻs moved into Kingʻs Landing.  With the help of the Protect Kahoolawe Ohana and a grant from the Department of Hawaiian Homelands, a Community Management Plan for Keaukaha Tract II, known as Kingʻs Landing, was created.

The ʻohanaʻs residing in Kingʻs Landing that participated in the creation of the management plan in 1984 are: the Benedicto ʻohana, Borges ʻohana, Ioane ʻohana, Iwalani Kalei, Lawrence Akimsu, Kane ʻohana, Kuamoʻo ʻohana, Laimana ʻohana,  Nahakuʻelua ʻohana, Ben Oili, Pacheco ʻohana, Pakani ʻohana, Uncle Kimo Pelekane, Loui and Lisa Pelekane ʻohana.

Over the yearʻs more aggressive means of eviction from the Department, economic hardship, convenience and health have caused Hawaiian beneficiaries to move out of Kingʻs Landing.  

As of 2022, nineteen MAHA members have passed while awaiting Hawaiian Homestead Lease awards, including two of MAHAʻs founding members uncle “Bill” William Kulakauka and Audrey Pakani.  The remaining 12 deceased are: Joe Pachecco, James Kimo Pelekane, Ronny Costa, Gordon Costa, James K. Iopa Sr., John Kane, Joseph Angay, Jacob Angay, Joseph Lewi, Stephanie Lewi, Lawton Kipapa, William Meyers, Ipo Benedicto, John and Rose Kane, Morris Kuamoo, and James Iopa.

Currently, in 2022, twenty one Hawaiian Beneficiaires and their ʻohanaʻs reside in Kingʻs Landig, totalling fortytwo MAHA members and associate members.

Mahalo to the ʻohanaʻs that have participated in this current research collection of shared stories.  Included in this report are the written transcriptions, and summaries of the shared stories provided by practitioners of Kingʻs Landing.

Date: January 2, 2022

Location: Lehia Grassy Field

Keaukaha, HI

Interviewer: ʻĀina Ioane and Haʻawina Wise

Interviewee: Wayson Ioane

Summary:

In an interview with Wayson Ioane he recalls using the coastline from Lehia to Papa’i to go holoholo. He pounded ‘opihi, picked limu kohu, wana and ‘a’ama and threw net for ‘aholehole and nenue. He commented on the abundance of life in the ocean back then, and that self-sustainability was simple because of the abundance. Wayson described the ocean as pilau, having rogue waves eating two men a year. He explained that there are rogue waves even on calm days. Wayson describes that the best thing about this place is its exclusion from the outside world, “two people on the coastline is crowded”. Wayson ends his interview by explaining that the coastline has the best tasting fresh water, which comes from the mountain filtered through all the rocks down to the coastline attracting the nenue, aholehole and hydrating the kanaka, “ova heah, get da best tasting wattah in da world”.  

Wayson Ioane:

I holoholo from here all the way to Papaʻi, and den in between, ova here get da… when yo faddah first when move hera, ha, in his bay, used to have da nenue and da uhu come to dey used to play with each addah before, so you come on the reef you seeʻem right on da edge, and da uouo had choke, choke, choke uouo and when dey… when da uouo and da uhu disappear kinda funny, cause one year when dive unda water fo new years eve and we neva see nahten, scary, but da, da, da ocean ova heyah, me and him one time I dink what we used to pound ʻōpihi a lot for family to ova here because ova heah get da best ʻōpihi ah. The arch is high, you know cause da one in Kona flat cause no mo rough wattah and our is high and when you pound our ʻōpiho ova heyah you can smell ʻem. You cannot smell em, one time ah.. Aunty Wanda drop me and your faddah Kaloli, we pound all da way to his house, made a killing, we had to stay ova night. But den we, I saw one uwowo school that just was, ohh my god but we only deah for ʻōpihi ah. And den my kids dey holehole freaks and den when I finally caught kole dey neva like ʻem cause I not one dive-ahh, trow net holehole, dive kole. In fact when I first came ova here live, your faddah he used to crack up we go dive so I neva know dat kole and holehole you dive dey go like dis you stop dey curious like hell dey all come back dah whole school right in front of your speah. So your faddah was nailling ʻem, all I heard was tank, tank dat was mine I had one brand new graft fight speaah, tank, tank, tank, so I can heaah him on the top put his goggles on ha, ha, ha, ha and as we going along he goes Ways, what, come heaah you see dat giant puhi, I goes yah, what happening I missing all da fish I wigging ʻem, I feeding dis faka, voom, eh da real follow me all da way, he no battah me you know, he fow, follow me cause plenty time I jerk out da speahh, den, den he come, dah abundance of fish ova hear be forah, ahh my house, da, da nenue school was so huge, you know had tree yellow nenue swimming in dat pile……. You lucky you get to see one ehh. I no catch dat one I dunno no I feel funny, maybe dasthe queen or someding but ah dah, nenu, dah nenue, holehole, no mo kala now, I no see kala around 

(2:31)

Dat is, now dey get da what dah whawho fish stay killing everyding da one da kine ahh Eʻs talking about, da whawho and dat buggah pilau and but the self sustaining ova here we had before was so simple man, get iʻa, get ʻaʻama, get limu kohu, get allkine limu ahh Skippyʻs house before one time dis old Hawaiian couple, dey went dis much wet, dey wana bottle, das from your faddah bay. 

ʻĀina Ioane: wana?

Wayson Ioane:

Yah cause your faddah bay, where da bolders stay inside, all inside deah so dey neva had to dive in da watah, and ahh, ohh so right a way dis in da bay man, dat one and…….. Uncle Pakaniʻs Bay, you know dey had da holehole ova deahh, in fact was soo competitive your fahdah and him, I go early, I go earliahh, I go early, I go early, so one time we go brah, fucken daak still yet, we go, we go, we going we going one time we see he go, shit, he goes what  Bill black you no can see ʻem but he had da white b-b-dʻs, all you could see waswhite b-b-dʻs, he beat us again dat buggah, and das da kine friendly competition had, cause had plenty. Him and Audry used to know choke, choke, choke stuff fo cook with da limu and da fish all da iʻaʻs dey was great survivas off deah own land eh. 

(3:57)

And ova heahh we have da most rogue waves in da world people no understand we get da most and even on a nice day like dis dat rogue wave my friend Russel, we was, I trow net with him your faddahs bay we reach da end and den one time you see da rogue wave I tell, look brah, fuck, he stay about eight, dah wattah would have been above us where we was standing, where dat came from I tell him brahh ova heahh get dah rogue waves and dah wattah soo pilau, but he change cause before when I first came heaahh he eat man two treetimes a year but I dont know maybe das climate change lanina, elnino, no more da bait so dah attah fish move, no mo as much people like beforah, you know beforah my dogs bark all day long piss me off (Wayson makes dog barking noises) but now dey, dey rarely baak, cause I donno know if much guys come like beforaah, beforaah da drugies used to come get deaah drug habits and leave but now dey stop

(5:00)

 I dunno know but, you cannot beat da ocean ova heaah… is da bestest, I like going down when I see two people down my beach I go crowded I know can trow net, so I go home, das what I love about heaah, I come out ova heaah I see four guys trowing net one aftaah da attah, ohh get one guy, ohh get one attah guy, da fish not stupid. Dey not stupid, da manini smat. Dey trow net against dem pau you miss, you gottah wait until da next day. Deh no come back dey not like da attah fish and come back like da kole and dahh ahh, what yo fattahʻs favorite one, da papakukui. And dat I miss cause everytime I catch dat I call him cause I know das his favorite ahh….. And das why I love, I still go make kohu, you know I wait fo nice wattah, I make my beforah I used to make choke but a half amount, you know, da guys say ohh you go make plenty what you going do sell ʻem, no I not going sell ʻem I go give ʻem to aunty Pua, Nalani all da guys dat cannot go, das who I give my reef fish to, because dey tired eat ulua and ahi, dey was raised on reef fish.

(6:03)

I went camping one time you know Nalani dem dey eat, dey still eat reef fish so when I catch from ova heaahh I always have abundant, I always usually stop, my friend you going take pictaah, I tell fo what? Show how much you get, I tell ʻem I going show how much I going give my aunty ova heaahh god dam it, or dey happy because dey kids no fish no more like dat. Dey all polling eh…. And its all from in heaahh nenues, giants, one night yo faddah he caught da biggest nenue in da world, da coolahh, about dis wide, sweahh to god, fucken thick like dat, cause we had to go me and him was contest every night da next person go so was his night, hooo, biggest, so we took ʻem to Pilipo, da kine ahh, Kenoi, Kenoi, da kines faddahh, da mayah, what da mayah? 

ʻĀina Ioane:

Billy Kenoi     

Wayson Ioane: 

Billy, Billy, his faddahh and my faddahh best friends, so we took ʻem to his fiftieth party…. Cause his place Skippyʻs place where dafresh wattahh come out meet da salt usually das where dey at, das where dey hang ahh. 

(7:04)

So you could guarantee one spot, cause I know one whole down ahh first park, I trow ova deah fifty times, maybe forty five times scora one nenue at least, you know and dea was when no mora I get kinda nervous ehh, and den dat whole where I when catch da nenue when I trow I look on my ground da feet da paʻa flat like dis, nenues is flying pass me, shit (mumbling) but das da place, now I dunno I neva go long time, still get da kohu doh. I like when get rough wattah, get chance ahh fo grow, and I still go fat a round little bit but I dink I gotta go polling now.

ʻĀina Ioane: 

The  same thing dad said, same thing dad said he like learn pole.

Wayson Ioane:

(makes a pole wheeling sound)

But you know him, him is like me two, three rips no mo nothing, gone, ehh I cannot stay deah four hours, you know like Anthony dem dey fish ulua, I no can, like his place good and plus ova heah, get da best testing wattah in da world, next to Woodland, Woodland get good fucken wattah you know up da kine Kaʻū side, ʻono, even like yo faddah bay when low tide you see ʻem, you go ova deah (makes a drinking noise), sweet da wattah, I guess from draining from all da way up dea true da lava tubes filtering, by da time reach ova heaahh, das why dis whole coast line like dat, da cold wattah always come out, das why we always get nenues, holeholes, and fresh wattah so I know, shit hit da fan I going always have wattah (laughing).

(8:34) 

ʻĀina Ioane:

Yup water and nenue.

Wayson Ioane:

Wattah and nenue. If da world come to an end, naah, I got wattah so living here with in the ocean, humble you cause you cannot get stupid eh, you know he each your ass anytime mama nature…. And dat is da best part because you gottah learn how to pay attention with your surroundings you know get stupid wack, get stupid wack, das what I guess kept us alive, I getting scared get the ninetynine bump by I get lazy den I die of lazyness (laughing) but I, das about it das all I can say about Kingslanding, I love dis place trow net, dive fish, cannot beat. Before da young bucks used to come up my house loaded with uhu, uncle! Use my trail, dey like use my road go inside, who dat, itell ʻem when I see young Hawaiians diving like dat make me happy. Young eighteen, nineteen, twenty, full geah, uhu up da ass, yah you go boys, you go. Das what I like about ova deah I miss dat, I miss seeing Hawaiians being Hawaiian in da ocean, you know not just selling. I catch plenty but I neva, I sold one time kohu, das da only time I eva sold because, shit I had about fifteen gallons (laughing), I sold some so. Das why ova heaah you cannot beat da ocean, cannot beat da life style and da air is wonderful. Thank you.

ʻĀina Ioane:

Thank you uncle. Perfect!             

____________________________________________________________________________

Date: April 13th, 2022

Location: Zoom Recording

Interviewer: Ainaaloha Ioane

Interviewee: Keone Chin

Summary:

ʻAnakala Keone Chin is a native Hawaiian resident of Hawaiʻi.  He has worked in various responsibilities helping Hawaiʻiʻs youth prepare for their adult lives.  He spent time researching the coastline of Keaukaha and Kingʻs Landing during his college years and has worked as a researcher for the Edith Kanakaole Foundation.  As a teacher at Ke Ana Laʻahana Public Charter School ʻAnakala Keone told stories of the manō, the sharks that guarded the Keaukaha and Kingʻs Landing coastline.  He would take his sons when they were younger to go holoholo, fish in Kingʻs Landing and the back end of Puumaile into Laieikawai.

Keone Chin:

2:08

Pass Lehia I dunno too much, ummm….but…. I dunno if its mo’olelo’s but I can tell you like landmarks cause I used to go fishing ova dea a lot.

Ainaaloha Ioane:

Yah thats maika’i, mo’olelo’s, experiences, ummmm… you know holoholoing, or anything that you’ve heard from people or kupuna, or experienced yourself. 

Keone Chin:

(cough)

I know Papa’i Bay we used to call there we used to go camp turd park, but da last park its all da way in. ummm…. But das was when I was like young. Da only ding I can remember about dat is dat I remember one guy when drown ova dea. He when go… had da big ‘opihi on da rock, he went down fo get da big ‘opihi, da wave when take ‘em out. And he neva no how fo swim so his brother when jump in for help him but he ended up drowning da brother, so da brother when jump in fo help him when die but da guy who went fo da ‘opihi when die, cause he was like you know when dey panic dey push da person underneath to stay up so he survived and den my brother, my oldest brother, da when dat just passed Russell, he jumped in and he saved dat one guy. Ummm…. And I dunno know see I dunno know da name of da points we just know, we just know land marks, but we used to go ova deahh and be like go by dat island ova deah. Had plenty like, umm… places you gottah cross drew da water to get up onto da papa fo fish. Ummm …. Lehiaakane. 

(1:56)

Kanealehia, Kanealehia is da name of da mano (cough) and you know das kind of like da kupua for Keoha area ummm.. And dey’ve matches mo’olelo I’ve heard before where you know there was a shark that was born in, what was dat Kaumaui, Is it Kaumaui or Kamaui, but it was born in dat area where da family went, da mother went down to da ocean to hanau and she gave birth to a shark and she told dat shark, never harm anybody ummmm from Keaukaha so he was always known as the pers the one who protects people of Keaukaha, ummmmm…. Mikololou was the other shark he’s the one who killed somebody outside of Papa’i.

(3:00)

And das why Kanelehia went after Mikololou cause he killed one of those fisherman on that coastline where he was ummmm sworn to protect. Ummm… den i’ve heard Kua ummm… dat one came from ahhh…mo’olelo by….I believe it was kahaoolopua ummmm… and da name of da shark was Kua and dey lived in a cave at Lehia and you know when I put all dis together, Kanealehia was probably Kua.

(3:48)

But, yah you know one day I would love to come out to Lehia and just sit down talk story cause, you know if I’m in the space then brings back a lot more memories.

Ainaaloha Ioane:

Yup

Keone Chin:

But you know like diving we used to go holoholo ummmm right before your guys place in there or at the yellow bus. We used to drive in to the yellow bus then walk out to da point and then dive back to ummm was it Pakanis place or 

Ainaaloha Ioane:

Yup

Keone Chin:

Or was it your dads no I think was Pakanis, we used to dive to Pakani’s turn around and come back.  

Ainaaloha Ioane:

Waika’alulu and Waiokawa is ummm Uncle Bill Pakanis place. 

Keone Chin:

Yah, we knew Uncle Bill too cause he worked Helco with my dad 

Ainaaloha Ioane:

Cool.

Keone Chin:

Yah, so we used to go back there, ummm but we were small again, and we used to go catch lobster with the hand pole, so we used too and again I was small and I neva really know what was going on but I just remember the experiences, and also outside well little bit pass his house get clump of pine trees ummm we call it pine trees I never been there from land but from the ocean and outside from the pine trees about maybe two hundred yards there’s a ahi koa so we used to go over there go outside there and then go catch the ahi ummm we palu ahi ummm on the koa ummm you know what those, those  koa’s I don’t, I don’t know if the younger generation fisherman know about these koa’s cause before back in the eighties ummm nineties not soo much but definitely eighties maybe the early nineties boats used to be always parked on the koa’s fishing and now when I go out or when I, you know the past what maybe twenty, what is this, yah maybe  twenty, twentyfive years I’ve been going on the boat, I dont see boats parked on the koa’s anymore. So I dont know if the younger fisherman know about koa fishing or they know where the koa’s are. But that was one of the koa’s, ummm we used to call it Pine Trees, The Pine Tree Ko’a or six mile, cause we used to call Kingslanding point, that Lehia are we used to call it Six Miles or Six Mile and cause it’s six miles from Hilo Bay. So that was a land mark that um… and the Ko’a was there.

(6:50)

I dove out there for how many years,  I’ve never seen mano so don’t, I seen one mano but that was in front of umm Pu’umaile, so but yah I’ve never seen it and it has always been a good feeling.

Ainaaloha Ioane:

My faddah say the same thing.

Keone Chin:

Yah, the only, the only kind of hairy part was umm.. In front Uncle Waysons place. Cause the thing get like, its all cliff like.. It gets deep real fast and when you dive in that area the water very dark.

(7:38) 

Very good feeling. Being in da water over there. And then again get plenty ‘aholehole wholes. But I don’t throw net but I used to take my boys when they were small, we used to go with da hand poles and catch ‘aholeholes. Again we parked by the bus and then we walk on the costline and like those little inlets and they catch ‘aholeholes. And then of course limu kohu. Dhas all my experiences ova dere. That you know we used to go holoholo a lot. And of course you pass the governor Kipapa on your way in (laugh) he is good he used to always come out and greet us. He hear one car come in he go walk outside, this was before the gate so he would walk outside and then he go ( nods his head) see what you was doing, then we talk story, then come out we give ‘em whatever, give ‘em fish and stuff. Eventually when da gate came up and hed be like, ohh if my van home just call me I let you guys in. And dat was before umm you know da county when clean up Puumaile. You know we’ve neva had problems ova deah. Just had da people and da tents on the side of the road but they was just mining there own business. This is after dey cleaned it up no more da fish like had before. I guess because it becomes more accessible.  So even like at Palekai before when had all da tents and stuff like dat you people go inside scre park there car ehh so no body would go holoholo but now de open num up. I was kind of ahhh and I you know da families dat understand why de did umm Pu’umaile you know at dat point the drug problem was kind of…. Rambin and I know your dad was, used to say when you guys go school you used walk in and out and would like have the druggies right along side the entrance of Puumaile, as young females walking in and out wasn’t a safe place so, I understand that umm you know prior to dat ice epidemic and all dat back in the eighties da families das used to live back dere… dey do deah think, dey drink do deah pakalolo… but dere were a very… well from what I know… they were good people… dey maintained deah little ‘aina… you go holoholo you come in deay greet you… 

(10:03)

you know it wasn’t a bad ding, and das why I was kind of bummed when dey cleaned out Puumaile umm because I know already was gonna happen to dat coastline….. And I’m glad you guys did that you put up the gate I know had plenty hassle with you guys and cutting the locks and stuff but again you know you gotta luck, you gotta lock your ice box at times. You know it was kind of mix feelings but I understood when your dad made that point about you guys walking in and out….. And you know… I knew a lot of the families that was camping at umm…the breakwall at the time back in the eighties so that was like the Kai’eha’s, you dey had one house but dey chose to live down deah…. So I dink dat was da difference… when dey cleaned out Onekahakaha everyone went from Onekahakaha back behind Pu’umaile side, cause da Onekahakaha crowd was kind of different from da ones da original ones dat was in Pu’umaile and breakwall. So da Onekahakaha crowd was a little bit different dey were like a later fraction of um blue tent dat came up… and den when dey when clean dem out dey when all move Pu’umaile and I guess dey when take deah pilikia with dem. Like I said I know what was going happen to da coastline once dey when open num up and make em one park…. Dat was like one of our swimming spots you go to and no one was deah (referring to La’ieikawai). You know you park your car walk drew da bush walk drew da tall california grass and it just opens up and deaths La’ieikawai, Keonepupu umm Lehia and you know dat was kind of like our own little retreat and like our own little oasis and you know I remember dat swimming, swimming deah when we were young cause my brother my oldest brother he used to take us deah and if you dunno where to park on da high tide you come back your car going be undah wattah (laughing) cause was all ova grown… now its clear get da one get dat first ummm I dunno know if its river but get dat first inlet before was all california grass so if you dunno da inlet is deah you park you come back you undah wattah.

(12:23)

I remember one thing umm… dis uncle Wes Ka’ilimai, I used to be me, me and his friends was best friends in high school and he used to tell us go behind ummm… go behind da ponds and go dig in da sands  get clams, so high school time we used to go, go dig for clams, right by da ponds da first pond you go in get da sandy area, yah we dig in da sand and we find clams and we eat da clams right there. So I don’t know if still get clams cause that was back in what eighties….. Mid eighties… early eighties. So I took my boys there when they were younger and it wasn’t the same you know what I mean, you go in the early or late two thousands and you go back there and there’s people with their dogs or people sunbathing its not private anymore. Yah so you kind of loose that seclusion and for me along with loosing that seclusion you lose the sacredness of that place, cause for us growing up you go over there it was a treat and walking thru the tall grass and walking thru the water you getting wet before you get to the pond was like the experience in itself, but that’s part of the fun trucking thru the jungle.     

(13:46)

Yah so for my kids they remember going back behind then fishing ‘aholehole and watching the whales outside. They remember the yellow bus, that was a landmark. So you turn in my the yellow bus get that one loop in there then we park. They know the area but its very different and what it’s gonna look like you know twenty years from now. Back in the day guys would take their bikes and ride the trial in the back for go to the ummm papa’i, you know had that gate over there, that gate been there the longest time. And guys would ride their bike from the beginning or they would park their bikes, park their car at the gate. I knew that landscape like the back of my hand.       

(14:42)

The series of alkaline ponds in Keaukaha runs all the way to what is that Shipman area.

Ainaaloha Ioane:

Ehh, uncle in your research you know the alkaline ponds did kupuna use it to raise fish or farm fish?

Keone Chin:

Ummm…. Outside of the major ponds not that I know of.

Ainaaloha Ioane:

But in major ponds like larger ponds, do you know when like you drive in the back before the yellow bus Uncle James Iopa house had a large pond and its Waio…. Waiakeakua, it’s large like, well it’s not as large as ummm…. Maybe the same size of….little bit larger then Hale o Lono. But it’s all enclosed unless, unless I cannot see the beach access because it’s all overgrown. But it’s large.

Keone Chin:

See I don’t know about that pond. But I’m pretty sure ummm it was some sort of source used for a food source, weather it be for gathering limu ‘ele’ele grows good in those ponds…ummm… as well as a lot of ‘opae. Sooo thats what I know about the ponds behind Kingslanding had plenty ‘opae. 

Ainaaloha Ioane:

And the i’a are naturally there, every, you know our small pond at Waika’alulu, you know five or six hole’s all the time and den the larger pond at Uncle James, yah theres hole’s and big ones, and you know there in there by themselves and they growing fine. 

Keone Chin:

Yah and get plenty food and no more predators. Even though they separated by the ocean there’s cracks or during maybe high tide or high surf then that’s how a lot of those little fishes get in there. Wa kahiko they stock the ponds, den they would probably raise the fish. But I would say if they stock the pond it would probably be ‘aholehole because the food source cause you already have the ‘opae that stuck in the ponds, where as the ‘anae there more of a herbivore so you might not have the food source where you need the salt the fresh the brackish water unless theres cracks in the lava that allows the umm salt water to seep in.

Ainaaloha Ioane:

I neva know that hole can live in that amount of fresh water.

Keone Chin:

Mmhhm. So theres, theres probably some salt that seeps through. When I dive in behind, umm you know da ‘aina back there its not like Keaukaha where the water is cold so the water is warm out there which tells me theres not much interaction between the ponds and the ocean. Once you get pass a certain point behind Kings Landing, the drop off, the blue water comes fast. So its not like a gradual extension out into the ocean where you can have springs into the ocean but its a drop off a cliff. I dont think theres much interaction between the fresh and the salt water.

Ainaaloha Ioane:

The water is umm what you said warm cause the salt but the salt is clean.

Keone Chin:

The salinity of the water is not as salty which means there’s still a lot of fresh water in the ocean thats why you feel that way. If you see ‘ele’ele in the ponds you know the ponds is healthy. The limu ‘ele’ele will tell you the health of the pond.    

______________________________________________________________________________

Date: February 20th, 2022

Location: Russell Pakani’s Residence, Pana’ewa Homestead. 

Interviewer: Ainaaloha Ioane

Interviewee: Russell Pakani

Summary:

In an interview with Russell Pakani he remembers as a child the abundance of fish from Third Bay, Waiokawa, to Papa’i, “Sometimes we used to walk all da way down to Papa’i Bay, couple hours for walk but the fishing was really good. Da big moi’s, ‘aholehole’s was all down dat side. Da moi’s big kine…. My faddah guys….. ‘aholehole’s, giant kind ‘aholehole’s I neva see ‘aholehole’s like dat, giant kine”. He recalls the long walk and stopping at freshwater ponds along the way to rest, jump in and even drink, “me and my braddah had to carry da fish, carry ‘em all da way back, had to rest. And den along da way, along da way get all dis brackish wattah ponds, we used to stop go jump inside. Right by your faddahs place get dat, right on da addah side of Second Bay get dat nice spot, everytime we get deah we used to jump inside deah to. Had one addah pond pass your faddahs bay, had about three or four ponds along da way we used to stop and sometimes we could even drink da wattah to ahh, which was all fresh wattah ponds ova deah along Kings Landing”. He reflects back on his fathers desire to build a school at Waiokawa Bay, ”Kula Kauka, he wanted to teach Hawaiian values ok, Kula Kauka, da native, da native Hawaiian cultural experience, so his intentions was, he wanted to pass his knowledge on, as far as Hawaiian values, about, about, about learning, traditional Hawaiian way of living, da ocean, da ‘aina.” Russell intense to take his children and grandchildren back to Waiokawa to fulfill his fathers dreams, “my kids, my grandchildren dey all growing up now and yah dey need to go down deah dey need to learn dis dey need to learn da ocean, deay need to learn da ‘aina dey need to learn all dis all down deah.” 

Russel Pakani:

My name is Russell, actually, Russell Wayne Inoka Pakani. I am the youngest son of William Kulakauka Pakani. I have two older brothers and one older sister. My first journey to Waiokawa Bay. It was like the late fifties early sixties, fiftynine around there, ummm we used to walk along the coastline all the way to Waiokawa Bay, because the lauhala we used to go down and pick the lauhala, my mom used to make ummm the Kona hats and she said that the best lauhala grows next to the ocean and we used to go down walk along the coastline, I was like I don’t know, nine, eight, nine years old, we used to go down and get the lauhala at Waiokawa Bay, and I remember when we went down there that somebody was actually care taking this place, they had the stone wall, somebody made the stone wall, the sand, everybody kept da, da thing was kinda over grown, but looked like somebody used to care take that place. 

(1:11)

After dat we used to go down ummm fishing ….. Da fishing was really good down deah da bay… the ‘opihi, the limu kohu was really good so I used to we used to go and I used to like carry da bag, carry da bag of fish after my dad guys used to go drow da net all my uncles used to go down deah and drow net……We used to go to Uncle Sam’s place all da time and Uncle Sam had da fishing grounds. From Uncle Sam’s place we used to walk down to all da fishing grounds all ova deah. First Bay, where your faddah was, where you guys was that was Second Bay. Waiokawa was Third Bay, so Tree bays. So all da fishermen when you mention da bays, dey know, First Bay, Second Bay, Third Bay. So, that’s how I remember, I neva know was Waiokawa, I neva know da Hawaiian name, I neva know. All I know dat where Waiokawa is dat was called Third Bay and your faddahs place was called Second Bay, and where ummm, Jim Iopa used to live had one bay right on da coastline straight out from his house had one addah bay dat was da First Bay. In fact right by Uncle Sam’s house was da First Bay, had one addah bay ova deah. So when we used to go Uncle Sam’a house before dey made da road we used to have to walk down to da coastline and walk all da way down to Waiokawa Bay. 

(2:49)

Sometimes we used to walk all da way down to Papa’i Bay, couple hours for walk but the fishing was really good. Da big moi’s, ‘aholehole’s was all down dat side. Da moi’s big kine…. My faddah guys….. ‘aholehole’s, giant kind ‘aholehole’s I neva see ‘aholehole’s like dat, giant kine. All silva da net, and den, and den my faddah my uncles, me and my braddah, me and my braddah had to carry da fish, carry ‘em all da way back, had to rest. And den along da way, along da way get all dis brackish wattah ponds, we used to stop go jump inside. Right by your faddahs place get dat, right on da addah side of Second Bay get dat nice spot, everytime we get deah we used to jump inside deah to. Had one addah pond pass your faddahs bay, had about three or four ponds along da way we used to stop and sometimes we could even drink da wattah to ahh, which was all fresh wattah ponds ova deah along Kings Landing. 

(4:03)

We was still going down deah and it wasn’t until high school sixtyseven I remember my dad actually decided to put up one pavilion right deah on da sand. This was a first structure we put up ova deah, this was after da house when burn ehh. Ummm I remember dat house, I remember dat house it used to sit on a hill. I remember dat house. I didn’t know who lived in dat house but I know dat dey burned da house down and I guess no body could go down deah. And den my dad decided, he actually wanted to go down deah and put up a structure so we can go deah on the weekends. We actually did, me, me and one of my braddahs and my dad we actually put a pavilion down deah right on the sand and we used to go down because had that road because they made that road it made it easy we could drive all da way down to dat place had dat road dat goes all da way down to Waiokawa Bay.

(5:07)

 And we used to go deah on the weekends and we put up a big pavilion down deah and we used to go on the weekends and stay deah on the weekends and you know it was good times, but it was hard work too. Seventyone I joined the navy I left for four years, my dad was still going down deah and my mom and everything. Sooo in nineteen seventy four I got married in seventy four so in nineteen seventy three my mom and dad got divorced after dat my dad moved out of da house he was leaving in Pana’ewa on Railroad and he was… das when he started leaving down deah permanently nineteen seventy four. He married Audry Travis, he married Audry and dey lived down deah. By den, by den, by nineteen seventy four, dat, dat pavilion we had made he enclosed da whole ding he poured a concrete floor, put up windows and everyding, he was actually living down deah right deah on da sand dat first house, he was living down deah. I come out of da navy and I was wondering…. And I go down deah and visit him and I was like wow look at dis place, I mean he cleared out all da dings…. All da….all da….was different from what I remember he when just open up dis whole place.. Da pond…wow. I was surprised, look at dis place man was nice he opened it up, cleaned it up, but das da way my faddah was. I go down deah I talk to him he tell me you know Russ, he tell me, dis for you guys, you know we gotta do dis den slowly I used to go down deah, slowly I was going down deah….. And you know my kids was growing up…. Den eventually I started taking my kids down deah like what she was sharing… I was going down and I was kind of helping him too da place too cause I wanted to be down deah and he made da place looked really nice.

(6:55)

I just put it on da same place I using da same tiers and everything. The same, the same place dat house was is da same place that…… and I just redo the cement piers. I started dat project in like two thousand and nine it took a couple of years my family all came took a couple of years. 

Yah well he told me growing up, he grew up by da ocean too.

Ainaloha Ioane:

In Kaua’i?

Russell Pakani:

In Kaua’i. He grew up by da ocean just like dat too and he remembered how da ocean was how, how his dad, you know his dad taught him how to fish too and his mom too. My granmaddah she was one pretty good fisherman. She could go down and pick ‘opihi and pick limu like dat too, yah my grandmaddah when she used to come ova heah, she was living O’ahu, but when she used to come down heah, she, she can go down to da ocean and she like fo pick up ummm da sea cucumber. She could prepare the sea cucumber, da black one, da black one. 

(8:01)

Ok, because, because all da years, even before, even before I even went down deah he was going down deah, fishing, fishing, my faddah was one fisherman, him and Uncle Sam, mu attah kine my uncle ummm Kanani dey all used to walk and every, and every time he go down deah he talk about dat place, and one day I going like live down deah, one day I going live down deah. Eventually when I went down deah, wow dis is a nice place, it was kind off over grown but das was da only place had sand, and dat stone wall is not deah all ready, because da, da high sea used to just knock em down and all dat… and my faddah fell in love with dat place. And he told me one day dis is where he like come down, you know I was one small kid you know what I mean, das hard work… but, but because of dat because all da years dat passed because I see how dat place I see how my dad did with dat place, because my kids, my grandchildren dey all growing up now and yah dey need to go down deah dey need to learn dis dey need to learn da ocean, deay need to learn da ‘aina dey need to learn all dis all down deah so das, das, das why because my dad had memories of him growing up on Kaua’i and dat place kind look similah he said, similah, the area look similah to what was like Kaua’i. He fell in love with da place. Brought him back child, brought back childhood memories when he was growing up in Kaua’i. So.. and das why he wanted to go down deah to and he was determined my dad he was determined and you know some times we neva like I neva like go down but we had to go down. Get in dis truck get in da truck put all da tools in da truck… put all da tools…. Put all da… get ova deah…. Das how my faddah… k we going, going drew… see da road was deah already. Kingslanding road going down. Going and den, going drive all da way down to da sand, drive all da way down, by den we had cleared da road and we could actually drive one cah now, had one trail go down ova deah. Get one big fresh wattah pond ova deah. Stay all ova grown with ahhh california grass. I wanted to clean dat up gottah get something for just dig all dat up, can plant taro along da edge but get fish inside dat pond, da mullet everyding stay inside dat pond, but get plenty work, plenty, plenty work and…

(10:46)

What he wanted to do, he wanted fo do dat school Kula Kauka ehh, Kula Kauka, He wanted to teach Hawaiian values ok, Kula Kauka, da native, da native Hawaiian cultural experience, so his intentions was, he wanted to pass his knowledge on, as far as Hawaiian values, about, about, about learning, traditional Hawaiian way of living, da ocean, da ‘aina. And he wanted to teach da kids, so he actually wanted to have an established school, right deah.            

______________________________________________________________________________

Date: January 30th, 2022

Location: Kelii William Ioane Jr. Kingslanding  Residence

At the piko in Ainalani

Hilo, HI 96720

Interviewer: Ainaaloha Ioane

Interviewee: Kelii William Ioane Jr. 

Summary:

In an interview with Kelii William Ioane Jr. he recalls the Kings Landing village as being Kapu to the akua Kāne, the tax man, and that some village men went crazy because of Pō Kāne. He explained that he built his first house by selling the fish, ʻōpihi, limu kohu, manini and ʻāholehole, he caught in Kings Landing. Keliʻi described life in the village as beautiful, perfect and abundant with marine life. He was so in love with ʻāina and was overwhelmed with happiness. Keliʻi remembers the villagers of those days upholded the Hawaiian culture and respect which made village life safe to raise his kids. He believes that the village life provided sustenance physically, emotionally and spiritually and that the community worked together. Kelii concludes his interview by stating that when he dies, his heaven will be that of raising his kids in the village of Kings Landing, just him, his family and the earth.  

Kelii  William Ioane Jr.

Ahhumm.. aloha kākou, ahh mahalo ʻoukou ko lokomaikaʻi i kou ahh hoʻi ana mai i kēia kau hale o Kingslanding. Dwas da first family in here. Ahh dey came in here ahhhh Aunty Mary, not Aunty Mary da sistah Aunty Lili Puana, dey was living ahh Waiokawa and ahhh but was too fah. Dey used to walk ehh… so dey wen go ahh wey dey wey dey at wey dey driveway stay now. Bill Pakani they gave Bill Pakani dat land… then we came in after so but now that all all da old timers gone getting lonely ova here. My grandfaddah I was raised Keaukaha my grandfaddah my faddah dem from Keaukaha Todd avenue, 405 Todd avenue. And my madda from Palolo so I was raised Palolo housing and ahh… ahh Keaukaha homestead. But ahh.. Ahh.. when I was young we used to come in here eh. I mean not here we used to go umm Pumaile and den all the mens used to come in here fish. And so like in heah this village ehh (mumbling not understandable) this was just sort of semi kapu. 

(1:09)

because ahh dey always used to talk about pō kāne. Pō kāne was the mea ʻauhau for ahh akua kāne and dey always tell you you know you come in heahh you feel funny you gotta leave the fish cause the tax man he coming, pō kāne.

(1:25)   

And ahh da attah ding is in this village ahh this is what dey say cause pō kāne man ehh da man get pupule in heah not all but ehh going get we had quieta few pupule braddahoods in hea and den das what dey say is da pō kāne ahh make ʻem pūpule. 

(1:45)

But das why cause my gradfaddah he used to come in hea fish with ahh John Malo. John Malo da chief of  ahh ahh this ahupuaʻa Waiakea ahupuaʻa Jhon Malo da chief. So everytime couple times had some kingdom kings came in here talk to me I no listen. Cause my gradfaddah told me who chief, you know, ahh but den ahh all dis, what you call add watah and stir aliʻi dey come in heah dey the kingdom I da king, king dis king dat king dis anyhow but ahh das how when I used to listen to da stories in heahh I knew I wanted to come you know. 

(2:31)

SKIPPY SHARES HOW HE BUILT HIS HOUSE IN KINGʻS LANDING  

Irregardless of ahh your finances as long as you had ahh aloha ʻāina in your naʻau and you had drive you go, you know my outhouse our first house from ʻōpihi, limu kohu, and manini and ʻāholehole, you know das how I when built dat house and rubbish dump before rubbish dump you can go get, I got a lot of lumber and iron roof from rubbish dump, matta of fact some is I using right now up ʻŌloaʻa. Forty years later still going. 

(2:58)

SUBSISTENCE LIVING WITH ʻĀINA

All was beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, cause had plenty fish one, had plenty fish, plenty ʻaʻama, da limu da limu kohu like this kine (? from elbow to fingertips) you see my hand dis kine da limu. Before Bill Pakani he tie he tie rope he take he drag out two pakini. (mumble not understandable) da water malia ehh kai momona. He put, he tie two pakini together he drag ʻem out den he fill up two pakini, two pakini now, and ahh… cause fast so much ova here meaʻai das why dey used to call dis da icebox. In da old days dey call da ocean da ice box. So dey always tell you no no hanaʻino your ice box and the uwowo, you gotta trow rock for get da buggah out of da way you know and da nenue I gotta shake ʻem out of da net you know had soo much fish heah, so da fish you like you gotta get trow rock for da attah fish go. 

(4:05)

SKIPPY SHARES ABOUT THE VILLAGE PEOPLE

And den da people here in the village before was all ahh in our old days ka manaʻo o ka waʻa, das how we used to think, you on the canoe everybody gotta pull deah own wait and if you no can pull your own wait get out of heah. Ova hear you no ask for help you ask for advice, den you go ahead and do ʻem yourself. When I first came in heah no more cah,  you know, I when use Adrean Kalimaʻs truck den he saw da road he when take his truck back I had to carry our house girl on my shoulder but I was soo in love with ʻāina I was just overwheloming with happiness. If I get tired I put the log down, rest, call, carry bring in the ʻōhiʻa, and I bring in waiwi. I neva had iron roof when I first started, ahh dat when cost me two gallon ʻōpihi. But ahh after dat dose days only had two family den ahhhh I dink who came in next dah Pelekanes I dink I cannot remembah, but had ahh da ahh da Kānes, John and Rose Kāne, dey was all oldah den me but da people who came in hea befoah dey was all ʻeleu all good with deah hands, fix deah carh all go fishing, you know when you get partay everybody get fish was very ahh plentiful soooo… dis village ehh had providen ahhh sustenance physical, emotional and spiritual, so dat the people in heah no mo argument, when time fo work, hooo everybody show up. Everybody show up da kids all in da way, soo much food, you know ummm life was just perfect in hea da people no was exactly perfect but in dose days deah was dey still had a lot of da ahhhh…. Ahhhhh….ahhhh Upbringings of da Hawaiian culture you know you do your shaeah, no steal, no lie, you know what I mean ahhhh and you kāhea before you go somebody’s house you no just walk in if no body home turn around, you know you no go walk in, you kāhea, hui, hui no body stay go home you turn around. In da old days you borrow something you ask first, you no ask after da guy told you if you when take ʻem, yeah I when borrow. You ask before you grab and when you pau you put ʻem back bettah shape den when you when you use, you know no, no borrow da car being ʻem back da tank empty, full. Soooo da village life in heah was just abundant, abundant, abundant, you know we was bursting at the seams and ahhh dem days gone and cause dose days are gone cause dose types of Hawaiians is gone. Da Hawaiian now cry babe ahhh what about me and and dey have a degree in chicken shittery so but you know das life is see like now im in da tophalfofda fourth quatah so I gotta adjust to da chicken shittery for me survive I gottah ahhh ahhh awayah of da chicken shit i’m surrounded by. You know and so but ahh das what I have to adapt to now you know in dis ahhh two dousand what dis twenty two ahh twodousand twentytwo kanaka but ahhh we gottah just keep ahhh steppen you know no no stop

SKIPPY SHARE ABOUT RAISING THEʻOHANA IN THE VILLAGE

(7:50)

Ahhhhh well I gotta be honest I gottah be honest it, it, to me ahh no was hard we had ahhh hot wattah, we had stove, da ovan, gas stove, gas ovan ahh washing machine but neva had computah dose days and den ahh dah what you call dat dey just started not cell phone ahhh shit I forget what kine phone dat was… neva had cell phone, but was small but ahh we had ahhh… radio cb radio and a ham radio for everybody in da village but raising my kids in hear to me was, to me was good you know because ahhh what ahhh a dont know about my wife cause she did all da hard work but my kids ahhh dey grew up dey grew up kinda of tuff, rough kid in heahh and ahhh what ahh but dey good ocean you know like before when I set da net I bring da net in dey all take out da fish take out da lobstah, put da one with da egg back, clean time dey eat all da fat from da manini but ahhh was ahhh raising my kids in heah.

(9:07) 

Theres two, you know when if I die, da heaven I like das going be one, cause you know one had plenty fish and my kids all listen, you  know, you know we had a great time, we had a great time in heah, good neighbors and ahhh, it was safe, you know in heah da kids go all ova no mattah dey all kihele all ova cause neva had, I don’t know, you know da kine druggies like dat, neva had and was mostly dat time was all Keuakaha people in hea. But ahhh, you know for for have dis kine life ahhh…. Ahhhhh… what you call and not void of human touch, contact, but ahhhh, just you, your family and da earth was ahhhh… very ahhhh…. I don’t know was good. You know I when like but ahhhh… and dis present ahhh because I stay soo fah in da bushes no body buttah me and my dogs big, but ahhh raising my kids in hea I tell you das da second heaven I like go back to. Da first heaven I like go back to before I met your mattah was a aku boat, aku boat ahhh man, I had money cah my own apartment, my maddah still wash my clothes, shiees das da attah heaven and den dis Kingslanding das da two heavens I like, ahhh madah of fact I should do it intermittent, go one heaven half a day go da attah heaven da attah half a day I would be ahhhh, I came back up heah I dink, where I was twenty eight, I dink so, but at by twenty eight, from twentyfour you know in dat my twenties I was aku boat ahhh da life but ahhhh ova here two is just as ʻono, just as ʻono and den I had my kids, my kids and my wife ahh das da next, what you call dat da lewa as you move on your journey, actually you going down, you moving down your journey you going back to da earth (mumbling) 

(11:25)

Without dat building block you cannot accomplish ahhhh da steps dat take you back to da earth.                                               

 _____________________________________________________________________________

Date: February 10th, 2022

Location: Lehia Grassy Field

Keaukaha, HI

Interviewer: Haʻawina Wise

Interviewee: ‘Aina Ioane

Summary:

In an interview with ‘Ainaaloha Ioane, she explains that her father’s non-profit, the Kelii William Ioane Legacy Foundation, holds the M.O.U. agreements with County and Parks for Lehia Park, which gives the non-profit the kuleana of caretaking the space of Lehia for community events, specifically for Makahiki and for educational purposes. The makahiki ceremony has been held at Lehia Park for two years and will be the future site for the Makahiki festivities. In preparation for the Makahiki ceremony, the foundation will hold monthly workshops at Lehia to prepare community members to participate in Lonoikamakahiki ceremonies. Ainaaloha continues to explain that another program that the foundation is working on is how to orient the community to proper usage of the ahu at Lehia and how to train the community to approach the ahu and properly communicate with their spaces. She also explains that another project the foundation is working on with the community is using the massive Hau grove at Lehia. The foundation will be holding workshops on how to harvest and prepare hau cordage and the different ways to use hau, either at home or in arts and crafts or to reconnect to traditional practices. 

Ainaaloha Ioane:

Three years ago…um…. The community brought Makahiki year to the grassy fields of Lehia to utilize the open space. It used to be at Puhi Bay, Kula Pae…ahhh…. But at that time the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands added ahh… regulations and stipulations to usage of their community spaces so…. We reached out to County and County offered ahh… the space at Lehia ahhh for…. Our community event Makahiki and then two years ago ahh… our family started a non-profit for our father ahh… tittle Kelii William Ioane Legacy Foundation and the foundation signed its MOU agreement with County and Parks this year, and so that gives us the responsibility of caretaking the space of Lehia ahh…. To use for community events specifically for Makahiki and for educational purposes, and so last year was our second year of holding Makahiki here at Lehia. Ahh we rededicated the ahu, Uncle Hana Vititua rebuilt it and so we had our first ceremony with the ahu in November of twentytwentyone ummm… and so we are going to be working ahhh….with the community from here on out with ahh utilizing this space.

(1:24)

One of dee, the programs that the foundation is working on is how to orient the community ahh   To proper usage of the ahu, so how do we train our community in approaching the ahu and how do we train our community in properly communicating with their spaces. Ahh another project that we are working on with our community is the use of this massive Hau grove you see behind me and so its a large hau grove. Ahh and so the community will be holding workshops of how to harvest and prepare hau cordage and then how to work or show the community different ways to use hau, either at home or in arts and craft or to just reconnect to traditional practices.

(2:16)

Ahh… in addition the foundation will be hosting educational umm…. Outreaches here its gonna be here at Lehia this grassy field will now be the homesite for the Kelii William Ioane Legacy Foundation and ahhh… we will be doing our community outreaches here from the site. Makahiki is a seasonal cultural festivity for ahh the po’e Hawai’i. In 1981 my father, Keli’i Skippy Ioane participated in the researgents of the Makahiki ceremony on the island of Kaho’olawe, ahhh… when Uncle Emmett Aluli won the court case the military provided access, had to provide religious access to the native Hawaiian ahhh… po’e to be able to return to the island of Kaho’olawe for their religious ceremonies.

(3:14)

In preparation for the Makahiki ceremonies, ahhh… the foundation will be holding monthly workshops to prepare community members to participate in Lonoikamakahiki ceremonies which includes ahhh… a chant composed by Aunty Nalani Kanaka’ole and a Lono dance composed by myself….ummm… and so we reach out to community to encourage them you know to come out of their comfort zone and participate in learning ceremony. Last year we worked with County Council Member Sue Leeloy from Hilo and two members from her team or her cabinet, ahhh we worked with community member Richard Ha. We also worked with KTA and Keaukaha Market and this year we hope to expand that to a larger community base.

(4:08)

When we were younger ahhh.. This area of Lehia was full of houseless community, ahhh… because my father says if you’re Hawaiian then you not homeless in Hawai’i your just houseless because Hawai’i is your home. And so there was a large houseless community here and they were actually ahhh… adept fisherman because I remember having you know rows and rows of ahhh… throw net at everybodies hale and umm… it was a large community and we would come here and we would gather and we gather here on the grassy field and so my dad at that time was trying to organize the houseless community so that they could be a cohesive entity and unit to communicate out you know city, county officials and to the state in hopes that some kind of recognition and resolution could be found. Ahhhh…. However it was not found and the County came in and evicted the entire houseless community. And so when we were younger nobody came in here, ahhh… only the houseless community and the M.A.H.A community who were living in Kingslanding because we drive through here to go home and so we knew every family that was here and we would meet there we would have meetings and the sand was much thicker and it was much blacker, ahhh it was more black, ahhh…its gray now because I believe of the car pollution because there is constant traffic now in and out of Lehia, when we were younger there was rarely any traffic and nobody went to the bonds in the back, ahhhh… there are two ponds back there ahhhh… La’ieikawai and no one ever went back there we only went in a small group, if our parents were here, they called it Pu’umaile ahhh… after the hospital when we were younger and when our parents were at Pu’umaile only you know the Pu’umaile kids and the M.A.H.A kids or Kingslanding kids were at the pond. Now there’s no… there’s no space at the pond there is always a person there, multiple people there and they bring their dogs and so somehow it has turned into an unofficial dog park with people bringing their dogs in and out swimming in the water and so that’s something that the foundation, The Kelii William Ioane Legacy Foundation wants to reorientate, we want to reorientate the responsibilities, and the kuleana or the functions of these spaces from Lehia, I mean Keonepupu and La’ieikawai and this space here of Lehia. Ahhh… when we first moved here, when the foundation first came here da ummm…da area had to be ahhh… be malamad and cleared again, there were rows and rows of coconut, there were ahhh… burn rubber marks, there was rocks all over the field and there were haphazard planting of plants and so to reinvigorate the field area for the utilization of Makahiki and other community events all those things had to be cleared and so now we have an active you know yard space and so in re-collaborating and understanding community need ahhh… the filed was open up. Mahalo       

______________________________________________________________________________

Date: February 5th 2022

Location: Luana Aina Residence

Panaʻewa Homestead

15 Paipai St.

Hilo, HI 96720

Interviewer: Haʻawina Wise

Interviewee: Luana Aina

Summary:

In an interview with Luana Aina she recalls Kingslanding as being “the fruit of the land” where she and her siblings would gather limu, ʻōpihi, wana, and lauhala to sell to the local community members, “we had to go make money to live, and we live off, off the land and Kingslanding was the land that we lived off”. She cautioned the dangers of the ocean, naming those that lost their lives going on to the papa at Leleiwi point. “Spooky go over deah but a lot of people know spooky go vea deah….. Yeah gotta watch out when you go ova deah…but dah addah places you like you go malia da water you go we used to watch the tide you know and when good tide early morning we out deah already”. She also recalls her brother almost drowning out on the papa.  

Haʻawina Wise:

Aunty I just want to know if you can tell me any stories about Lehia all the way to Papaʻi.

Luana Aina:

You know Lehia, my mom used to call ʻem ahh, ahh ………. Leleiwi, flying bones. Right at that point there’s a papa, plenty limu and she told us never to go on that papa. But it looks so easy to go on that papa because the wave no crash on but you know about three people died eh over there. Mrs. Furtado, Wallace Ishibashi and I don’t know the Japanese man, the other Japanese man who died from, those are the three people I know, but my mom said that other people that died because they went on the papa and she said the older ones used to call it Leleiwi ʻeh flying bones. Leleiwiʻs down by the road and we used to call, but we go further in theres first bay, we call it first bay and ahh over there they get one atta papa with limu so  my mom said thatʻs a safe papa but you watch the calmness of the ocean, know must be malia before we go on top the papa

(1:33)

 but they neva used to have one road before we used to walk in. My dad was a stevadoor and he used to have a….. They used to have hard time the stevadoors not like today the rich people ʻeh but it was my dad dem that made them rich I think but anyway we used to go pick limu, ʻōpihi and ahh we used to go down Kingslanding…. Well we pass Pumaile first, you know Pumaile they used to have those people with TB and they were in quanrineteen. My brother was one of them my oldest brother. The night before the sixth wave ahh tidal wave, that building…. Took the whole building you know and it was a nice, nice building, it was right next to the ocean and they used to call em Pumaile. There was no road to go inside Kingslanding, only a few people new about the nice, you know the beautiful Kingslanding, you know Kingslanding is really really nice. I know we used to walk in to make limu kohu and limu ʻeleʻele, no more limu ʻeleʻele but ahhh limu lipoa. My mom used to pick to make dah…the fish smell good yah, well anyways she taught us of all the different things and she new the different things. Down deah had plenty ah…ah  what you call lapaʻau, yah. She, she, got, she I wish I learned about it, lapaʻau, but I neva learn about it cause she cured my brother from the TB. She took um my brother up to the Laupahoehoe mountains and dey stayed up dea for even the doctors wanted to know, but she my brother was cured of the TB and she just died couple years ago. Yah, yah heart problem eh, but das why my brothers father was Japanese and my brother he believed in Hawaiian medicine. And he knew da Kingslanding had plenty, plenty lapaʻau and he was real good friends with ʻem mrstah dat guy at third bay, he build one house at third bay. Ahh he have to get one key to go into his place, ahh what is his name now? Da son live right ova here.

(4:31)

Haʻawina Wise:

Pakani?

Luana Aina:

Yah Pakani.

Haʻawina Wise:

Uncle Bill Pakani.

Luana Aina:

He was good friends with Pakani. Pakani gave him that key and everything. Because he trusted my brother and we used to go third bay was easy to go get the limu ova dea. And ah deh had liken one nice little sandy beach ova dea yeah um… where you folks stay down the other side? Or on the ocean side?

Haʻawina Wise:

The bay before Uncle Bills. 

Luana Aina:

Ohh the second bay

Haʻawina Wise:

Yah, Waikaʻalulu Bay

Luana Aina:

Ohhh the second bay

Haʻawina Wise:

Yah.

Luana Aina:

Yah we called it first bay, we called it Leleiwi first, den first bay, second bay, third bay then paipaʻi. 

Haʻawina Wise:

Yup.

Luana Aina:

Paipaʻi was, was ahh right close too Shipman.

Haʻawina Wise:

Yup.

Luana Aina:

Yeah and when I started to work out deah out Keaʻao, Mr. Shipman was real nice to me. I don’t know why but he was really nice. We used to take our kids down dea and im we could walk back into um third bay. You know ah.. Ah uncle Pakanis place and the kids used to go and play ova dea but and we used to walk all the way back up to the gym again, wasn’t that far you know, because Shipman he had one road going in.

Haʻawina Wise:

Yup.

Luana Aina:

He had one one road going in and when I took my kids in he had all the food ready for them he made his maids he had maids you know.

Haʻawina Wise:

I bet.

Luana Aina:

Shipman. And he told us watch out, you don’t cross dah dah that place because das Uncle Pakanis place. I said you dink so I told him it belongs to us, us I told him because Uncle Pakani he let everybody go over dea. When we go um… sometimes when I, I talk about that place I cry because we used to go we had to go make money to live, and we live off, off the land and Kingslanding was the land that we lived off. We, we, we made wana, we made for Mrs. Kai. she really wanted wana, Mrs. Todd. You remember Mrs. Todd down Keaukaha school? Aww those people used to be. In fact she gave me the job at Keaukaha school. She was da third grade teacher. She used to teach from underneath my moms house, yeah and ahh we used to tell her she should go down Kingslanding with us, the first time she went down with us she neva wanted to go back again cause you had to walk all the way in yeah, there was no road we couldn’t go in no road and the place over dea was soooo, how can I describe that place… fruit of the land (mumble, not understandable) you don’t think so, you stay down deah yeah, it was fruit of the land.

(7:50)     

(pause to get tissue)

My brother Walter, you know Walter yeah? He used to go down deah, they used to be good fisherman, spears, spearsman, but one time he went down deah ( mumble, not understandable) Leleiwi, some Japanese fisherman was fishing called the boys and told the boys, eiii, get one lady outside dea floating ohh my braddah taught was my mom because she go make ʻōpihi yah, but she never went by herself she went either went with us or with with the a family member….. Walter when just dive in the water and had a Alpert Kawelu with him and Dulachi and they was looking at him in the water Leleiwi and they know what my mom told them, but Walter just dived in the water. But he should have known dat my mom told him never to go you know out there but when he reached out dea he told the boys its not my mom. But the boys they brought back and when they came back in fact had the picture of them in the news paper the three boys. Ummm Boldermarick Dublock, Demaltri and Alpert Kawelu and my brother Walter. Dey had a picture of dem dem went out to dive for her before (mumble not understandable) you know when I think about Kingslanding I think about all those things one time. Went down went down to go pip we needed money den cause we had soup kitchen my faddah. He had ahhhh. We didn’t have money we had to go eat soup kitchen so we went down dea and we picked lauhala we pick limu kohu and we pick wana, you know dird bay getohh  nice wana ova dea. So we was diving for wana ova dea and we brought it. Ohh Mrs Times, Mrs. Todd deh like and our doctor deh like da limu kohu so we sell em to dem you know and deh always pay us extra you know but my sister, my older sister she was the my older sister Lawaina I don’t know if you know her she was the salesmen us we shame we no go, but anyway we used to pick wana at third bay and limu at third bay and the ʻōpihi we used to pick at Paipai you know you know where the ʻōpihi stay down deah? You know at Paipai we pick ʻōpihi mostly at Paipai sometimes second bay get plenty but we used to, I used to go down deah without shoes. 

(11:00)

One time we had so much ʻōpihi so he carried the ʻōpihi all the way home you know, when we reached home no more the ʻōpihi my maddah said what you did with the ʻōpihi? We when throw em back into the ocean and so my mom said you know it’s no good when you do that Pettah das really no good, my mom she believe in dis legendary things you had to…. you pick you go take home for do what you have to do with it don’t go trow it back inside. Da next time we went down Lucky had my braddah, not Walter, Chiefy. He when almost drown….. (laughing)… the wadah the ocean took him. Because he threw my mom told him no do that again. When… when Chiefy brought em back he said you know why (mumbling, laughing, not understandable) he tell my mom, aww, I thought I was going to die. But my mom said its because you drew the ʻōpihi back into the water and, and me iʻm thinking why dey going do dat, you know. I, I was like 16, 17 but we used to have to go down an down ahh, ahh Kingslanding and Kingslanding was sooooo beautiful, I, I like ahh going down deah, even though we had to work, walk inside miles, miles and den when we reach down Paipai we used to camp sometimes you know and even to now my braddah them go down dea camp. Da church, the Morman church dey go down deah camp because we used to go down deah camp. You know real nice place and you can get plenty fish, the uhuʻs plentiful down deah. You know and you know no more kole, kole no go stay down breakwater, if you like ʻem go down deah because we used to go down deah all the time. But…. we learn how to live off the land, we learn from, mostly from Kingslanding I dink because we used to go down deah all the time. One time Better Bumko got lost, cause we when go pick, ola, lauhala and my mom told him Petter you stay on the trial now you no go off the trial we lost him, guess where we when find him, way down by um Nakagawa pond, (mumbling, laughing, not understandable) I donno how he got down deah, you know dah ummm dat dat resturant….down by em 4 miles he when reached down deah he was inside the bushes, my faddah saw him from the road, you know how far it is ehh… sooo funny I tell you Petter he used to be ahh the talk of the town but but he knew, he knew, he knew Pai, all da way from, he knew how to walk in, he knew but he got lost dat time and he got all scared. We donʻt know how he got down deah you know from Kingslanding….

(14:22)

Ohh but das my experience with going down deah. We had… We used… use (mumble, not understandable) we went down almost every week and we studied da place…. First Bay, Second, Bay Third Bay, Paipai, does how we studied the palace but now dey get different names yah. Spooky go over deah but a lot of people know spooky go vea deah….. Yeah gotta watch out when you go ova deah…but dah addah places you like you go malia da water you go we used to watch the tide you know and when good tide early morning we out deah already, we walking bare footed and all, now I cannot even walk on the pavement, sora my feet (laughing)……

(15:17)

Ohh this is good to learn more about the ahh…….. about our  land our land get plenty food and people gotta know that you know and das why we going live on the lands because get plenty food. We used to make lauhala, you know, cut  the lauhala and sell ʻem, before you sell ʻem one bunch 2 dollahs and hundreds das had but das plenty money 2 dallas during our time and all down Kingslanding. Dey say the lauhala near the ocean soft eh, dey like so dey buy from us we used to tie ʻem up sell ʻem. My mom she used to do all those kind things she used to make us do ʻem she made us work hard.

(16:22)

My mom used to make us live off the land and when get soup kitchen kitchen she go use.. She give the fish…. My sistah she used to make us clean the limu den go make balls and she used to go sell em, we has to make money we neva had money to live off.. but..Kingslanding was our place to make money… we had to live and Kingslanding was our land our place to live…. We start walking from you know Pu, Pumaile when we called that and we go in the bushes all the way outside on the ocean all the way First Bay, Second Bay, Third Bay we stop every bay… before, neva used to have house before.. And den all of a sudden had house, but had Pakanis house when we went. He when build his house that time das long time, i dunno how he when drive in no mo road dat time….. Yeah because when we used to go neva had road no more. I was telling Kumu Lehua too… he said how you guys used to go in, I said walk from the ocean side we used to make our own trail, we had our own trail going down….. Yeah…. Pick up all the lauhala on the way coming back we pick up the lauhala come home strip em we had to strip the da dorns.. And then and den sell ‘em for two dallas, hundreds (laughing) so we were good at striping afterwards.        

 ___________________________________________________________________________

Date: February 9th, 2022

Location: Lehia Grassy Field

Keaukaha, HI

Interviewer: ʻĀina Ioane and Haʻawina Wise

Interviewee: Hana Vititua

Summary:

In an interview with Hana Vititua he explains that the sovereignty Movement brought him into Lehia. At that time, the houseless Hawaiians at Onekahakaha and Break Wall were being evicted and went to Lehia for refuge. He further explains that life in Lehia was like “one big family,” everyone helping out each other. He remembers fishing and teaching the kids and families how to live this lifestyle. He originally built the ahu, which sits at the grassy field at Lehia Park, to represent those friends and family members who had passed and preferred to have their final resting place be the shoreline of Lehia, as well as those who passed at the old Pu’umaile Hospital. He recently rededicated the ahu to represent the new generations usage of the place. 

Hana Vititua:

K, what brought, started the whole ding was sovereignty, because sovereignty was a new ding at the time and I was just learning about sovereignty.. And I moved in I would say like in da late eighties, yah in the late eighties and das when I started to occupy Lehia and at the time I was, I was occupying Lehia, i had some friends from Moloka’i dat came in and help me with da Hawaiian (? merds) Program and das how I occupied in here, and den just so happen the ocean came up and when clean da ‘aina, so I had to move out for a while den I moved back in and dis all happened at the same time Onikahakaha beach people was getting evicted and not too long afatah dat, break wall peoples got evicted, and dey all started to move down into Lehia. Back den everybody was helping one anadah, it was living like one big family. I had a good time fishing in hear and teaching a lot of kids and family how to survive dis life. It was pretty interesting. Dey, dey learned a lot and it was a good example while I was living in heahh and da ahu was cause I have a lot of friends and family that had passed away and had preferred being put out in da front of Lehia and das so I build dis ahu back here for represent dem and da hospital das used to be heaahh and today I had to update da ahu for da purposes of da new generation dat moving in. Two years ago I was having some difficulties out front and I came in and asked M.A.H.A if I could move back in and I had to go on the waiting list like everybody else and apply with Hawaiian Homes Lands first make sue you got all your records done with Hawaiian Homes Land and den I came in seen M.A.H.A and M.A.H.A O.K’ed everything and I had to return back to hawaiian Homes and den Hawaiian Homes said yah, o.k cause M.A.H.A said o.k. And das why I chose to live in heah and if my family member want to get on board I would put them also on it, and if dey dont da place go back to M.A.H.A