OHA Staff Service-Learning Day at Kūkaniloko
27 Acres on Kona’s “Gold Coast” Protected
Some 27.38 acres of shoreline in North Kona will be protected in perpetuity thanks to the community, nonprofit Trust for Public Land (TPL), and Waikoloa Land. Previously earmarked for resort development, ʻAnaehoʻomalu Kapalaoa is now owned – and will be stewarded – by Nā ʻŌiwi o Puʻuanahulu, a nonprofit led by lineal descendants of North Kona.
ʻAnaehoʻomalu Bay and the Kapalaoa Coastline, a wahi pana that includes heiau, wai ʻopae (anchialine ponds), petroglyph fields, and ancient trail networks, was the last remaining undeveloped beachfront parcel belonging to the Waikoloa Beach Resort.
Waikoloa Land chose to forgo proposed resort development and return the lands to descendant families for stewardship and community access. Under Nā ʻŌiwi’s stewardship, the site will function as a kīpuka (an oasis) where the community can perpetuate traditional ecological knowledge through educational programs, restoration work, and cultural practice.
This acquisition was made possible with monetary support from various sources, including the County of Hawaiʻi’s Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resources Preservation Fund, the state’s Legacy Land Conservation Program, and a grant from the Dorrance Family Foundation through its Marine Conservation Initiative.
TPL led and facilitated the acquisition and the community united to raise funds to protect the land and convey it to Nā ʻŌiwi o Puʻuanahulu. Hawaiʻi County now holds a conservation easement over the property, protecting it in perpetuity.
Three ʻŌiwi to be Honored by HHF
Shad Kāne, Thomas Lenchanko, and Kai Markell – Courtesy Photos
Three Native Hawaiians will be recognized by the Historic Hawaiʻi Foundation (HHF) for their exemplary individual achievements and contributions to historic preservation in Hawaiʻi at HHF’s 2025 awards ceremony on October 18.
Presented since 1975, the Preservation Honor Awards program offers the community an opportunity to celebrate excellence in historic preservation. This year, the Individual Achievement awardees are Shad Kāne, Thomas Lenchanko and Kai Markell, all from Oʻahu.
Kāne, a respected cultural practitioner, historian and community leader has dedicated more than 40 years to preserving ʻEwa’s cultural and historical landscape, founding the Kalaeloa Heritage and Legacy Foundation, restoring sacred sites and mentoring younger generations through hands-on education and research.
For over 50 years, Lenchanko has dedicated his life to the protection and preservation of sacred Kūkaniloko in Wahiawā, transforming the site into a living classroom that honors its cultural, spiritual and historical significance. As a steward, educator and kūkaʻawe (guardian), he has safeguarded this wahi kapu, preserved its moʻolelo and inspired generations.
Cultural advocate, preservationist and attorney Kai Markell has worked for 30 years to protect Hawaiʻi’s historic and sacred places, most recently as the compliance manager at the Office of Hawaiian Affairs where he has worked for the past two decades to safeguard iwi kūpuna and sacred sites, inspiring others through his leadership, advocacy and dedication to mālama ʻāina.
The awards ceremony will be held at the Japanese Culture Center of Hawaiʻi. For tickets or information email awards@historichawaii.org or call 808-523-2900.
A Win for Water Advocates
On September 5, the Hawaiʻi State Supreme Court confirmed that the Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) violated water advocates’ constitutional rights when it permitted Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. (A&B) to drain east Maui streams dry.
The court also affirmed the BLNR’s statutory responsibility to consider the mauka-to-makai impacts of its decisions, given the wide-ranging impacts of stream diversions on watersheds, estuaries, and the nearshore environment.
Notably, the supreme court also emphasized that the BLNR, as a state agency, must consider the “mauka to makai” impacts of its decisions under the Coastal Zone Management Act.
“This is about more than the impacts of dried out streambeds, disrupted cultural practices, and rampant water waste,” observed David Kimo Frankel, Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi attorney. “This is also about whether a government agency can simply deprive you of your constitutional rights – without any opportunity to present and examine facts or demonstrate the extent of the harm that you may suffer from its decisions.”
The controversy over the BLNR’s repeated issuance of “temporary” permits to allow A&B to continuously drain east Maui streams dry is long-standing, having spawned more than 20 years of litigation, highly controversial legislation, and multiple rebukes by the environmental court as well as the highest court of the land.
The supreme court opinion will likely influence the outcome of similar cases pending in lower courts.
Ka Lāhui Hosts Piko Gathering
About 100 ʻŌiwi from across the pae ʻāina gathered for three days in ʻAhupuaʻa Kawaihāpai on Oʻahu for Ka Lāhui Hawaiʻi’s recent Piko Gathering: Hāpai ka Waiwai o ka ʻIke Kūpuna, August 29 – September 1. The intergenerational gathering of Aloha ʻĀina celebrated and shared ancestral knowledge through 18 workshops, led primarily by cultural practitioners working on the front lines of our community.
Participants engaged in meaningful discussions on iwi kūpuna, kuleana lands, wai, and more, fostering a culture of care, providing rest and respite as they learned about the pressing issues affecting our people today. The gathering provided an opportunity for ʻŌiwi to reconnect with one another and the ʻāina, and to affirm their commitment to mālama our resources and heritage, and to stand against injustice. On day three of the gathering, participants witnessed a hōʻailona from the kūpuna when they were visited by honu, monk seals, and a spectacular display by the hihimanu (sting rays).
The event was a collaboration of Ka Lāhui Hawaiʻi, Hawaiʻi People’s Fund and the Maui Medics Healer Hui, along with the various presenters and leaders. Due to the high interest, Ka Lāhui has decided to make this an annual event, and to host it on a different islands. For more information, visit kalahuihawaii.net or email kalahuihawaii@gmail.com.
Celebrating Pacific Innovation at Honolulu Tech Week
Lahaina Fire Documentary Wins Award
A PBS Frontline documentary, Maui’s Deadly Firestorm, recently won an Emmy Award for outstanding climate, environment and weather coverage. The award was presented last June during the 46th Annual New & Documentary Emmy Awards hosted by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in New York City.
The film is the result of a year-long investigation into the August 2023 wildfire that claimed 102 lives and razed the historic town of Lahaina.
The film examines the fire’s causes and how changes to the climate as well as to Maui’s landscape made the island increasingly vulnerable to wildfires. It also documents critical systemic failures in the emergency response, and explores the ongoing tensions as survivors work to rebuild their community in the aftermath.
Serving as the Hawaiʻi field producer for the documentary was Keoni Kealoha Alvarez, a cultural practitioner, filmmaker, artist, author and advocate for the protection of iwi kūpuna and Hawaiian burial sites from Hawaiʻi Island.
The documentary premiered online on Dec. 17, 2024, and on broadcast television on Jan. 7, 2025. It can be viewed at: pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/documentary/mauis-deadly-firestorm/.
Kaʻanāʻanā Named Green Growth CEO
Former Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority (HTA) executive Kalani Kaʻanāʻanā took on a new kuleana this past July as CEO of Hawaiʻi Green Growth (HGG).
Nonprofit HGG is recognized by the United Nations as a Local 2030 Sustainability Hub, a public-private partnership committed to advancing economic, social and environmental sustainability goals as well as Hawaiʻi’s statewide Aloha+ Challenge sustainability and climate goals.
The Aloha+ Challenge is a statewide commitment to achieve Hawaiʻi’s social, economic and environmental goals by 2030 in areas such as clean energy transformation, local food production and consumption, natural resource management, solid waste reduction, green workforce and education, and creation of smart sustainable communities.
The hub brings together diverse stakeholders to connect generations of Indigenous knowledge and systems-thinking with modern science, technology and policy to support scalable solutions that can be applied globally.
Kaʻanāʻanā worked for nine years at HTA in various leadership roles including chief brand officer and chief stewardship officer. Kaʻanāʻanā is a graduate of Kailua High School and has a bachelor’s degree in Hawaiian language and Hawaiian studies from UH Mānoa.
Kalāheo Hawaiian Studies Project Wins Award
Kalāheo High School on Oʻahu is one of three Hawaiʻi public schools awarded a 2025 Cooke Beautification Award for Public Schools in recognition of campus projects that blend environmental education, Native Hawaiian culture and student-driven creativity.
Kalāheo expanded its Hawaiian Studies program with the construction of a traditional Hawaiian hale, built with the guidance of cultural practitioner Keahi Piʻiohia and the support of Paepae o Heʻeia.
Students and faculty worked alongside community members to build Hale Kaleilenaoke- aloha (Yellowing Lei of Love) a 400-square foot structure named to honor the guardian of Kawainui Marsh and the many hands that made the project possible.
“Hale Kaleilenaokealoha is the first legal Indigenous structure on a Department of Education campus,” said teacher and project coordinator Tara Gumapac.
“It would not have been built without the ʻike, or knowledge, of our Master Hale Builder Keahi Piʻiohia, along with the support of our administrators, faculty, staff, students, community and our community partner organization, Paepae o Heʻeia.”
The biennial award, administered by the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation on behalf of the Cooke Foundation, honors schools for transformative efforts that improve campus environments and foster educational enrichment.
The other two winners were Innovations Public Charter School in Kailua-Kona, and Mountain View Elementary School.
OHA Leaders Visit INPEACE
