Below is a full length quote from a statement put out by Michael
and Sondra Grace of Anahola Homesteads, Kaua'i, Hawai'i. I received
the statement by fax from them today and encourage folks to forward it onto
other appropriate people. Mahalo.
Malama pono, me ke onipa'a,
J.Kehaulani Kauanui
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KAHALE'S DEATH WILL NOT BE IN VAIN
Hilbert 'Kahale' Smith was a friend to everyone in Anahola.
He embodied the spirit of aloha. He never had a negative word for anyone
and he always tried to bring the divergent parts of our community
together. He came to the beach everyday, usually in the late afternoon,
for a swim and a quiet time with nature. He was an Hawaiian who tried to
work in the American system.
It is ironic that he died because of the inability of the
Hawaiian Homes Commissioners and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to
find a solution to twenty-year-old problems. It is ironic because Kahale
believed that the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act could work for the native
Hawaiian beneficiaries.
In 1985 Kahale and other members of Kahea came to our tent at
Makapu'u Beach Park. They had wanted to help us. They gave us a copy of
the Act and taught us the word 'jurisdiction' and they explained why the
City and County of Honolulu had no right to arrest us. Thus began our
ongoing struggle to get the kanaka maoli people back on the land.
After five years we saw that the answer didn't lie in Hawaiian
Homes, but in rebuilding our sovereign, independent Nation. Kahale
stayed with his belief that justice could be found with Hawaiian Homes
and continued his work with Aupuni o Hawai'i. We honor his determination.
At the same time we hold the commission and the Department
responsible for the death of Kahale Smith. And even more culpable is the
Department of the Attorney General and the governor himself. In spite of
thousands of Hawaiians telling them that things had to change, that the
systems don't work, the officials turned a deaf ear to all of us. We
went to court, we occupied land, we were arrested hundreds of times, we
went to thousands of meetings and hearings. And we must not forget the
30,000 plus Hawaiians who died quietly on the [Hawaiian Home Lands]
waiting list. Kahale didn't want much. he just wanted his home to be
safe and to have something to pass on to his children. And he wanted his
Hawaiian people to have justice. Me ke aloha pumehana o Kahale. We will
continue your life's work and learn from your aloha. Kahale, you are our
hero.
Michael and Sondra Grace
P.O. Box 372
Anahola, Kaua'i, Hawai'i 96703
(808) 822-0647
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