KAHOʻOLAWE A CULTURAL TREASURE, NOT TOXIC WASTE DUMP A LETTER TO THE EDITOR OF THE MAUI NEWS SUBMITTED BY PKO MEMBER KALEI LUʻUWAI

Some have suggested that toxic waste from the fires should be temporarily stored on Kaho’olawe.
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I write on behalf of my ʻohana, who has ancestral ties to Kaho]olawe, and the Protect Kaho]olawe ʻOhana whose members have persevered throughout the past 47 years to stop the abuse and destruction of the island by military bombardment and training exercises and to heal the island. We find this suggestion offensive, uninformed and appalling.

Kaho’olawe is a sacred and culturally-significant place for Kānaka ‘Ōiwi. Our ancestors named and dedicated the island to Kanaloa, Hawaiian god of the ocean. It was a center for training navigators in wayfinding.

The entire island is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. As a result of an islands-wide grassroots movement for Aloha ʻĀina, the U.S. Congress stopped military use of the island and declared it as a National Cultural Treasure.

The State of Hawai’i manages the island as a natural and cultural reserve, “to be used exclusively for the preservation and practice of all rights customarily and traditionally exercised by Native Hawaiians for cultural, spiritual, and subsistence purposes” for eventual transfer to the sovereign Hawaiian entity.

Taking toxic waste from Lahaina to Kahoʻolawe is not culturally appropriate or legal. Moreover, the Protect Kahoʻolawe ʻOhana will not allow the island to be abused, yet again, reversing over three decades of healing and restoration of the island.

I implore our community to thoroughly evaluate before making decisions in haste that would forever impact our community for generations to come.
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Kalei Luʻuwai
Waiʻehu