Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 8, Number 5, 1 May 1991 — Ten years later . . . an update [ARTICLE]

Ten years later . . . an update

The Protect Kaho'olawe 'Ohana and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, two organizations born in the turbulent 1970s, today in 1991 are working together to determine the terms and conditions for the U.S. Government's return of Kaho'olawe island to Hawai'i. OHA Trustee Frenchy DeSoto, who onee was an active member of PKO before leading the way for the creation of OHA in 1978, and Dr. Emmett Aluli, a occasional critic of OHA and a leader of the PKO, are two of the five members of the Kaho'olawe Conveyance Commission. The commission has two years to figure out how to elean up and stabilize the heavily eroded and bomb-scarred island and to recommend its best long-term fate. Other questions faced by the commission include the cost of elean-up, who will pay for eleanup, and whieh parts of the island will eventually be suitable for human habitation, if any. Their first meeting was held Dec. 17, 1990. The almost 20-year struggle to stop the bombing of Kaho'olawe by the U.S. military brought poliheal vigor to the Hawaiian rights movement and made the Hawaiian concept of "aloha 'aina" a rallying point for activists throughout the state. Alu Like and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs have grown closer over the years as the OHA trustees and Alu Like directors

leam to coordinate their efforts and resources for the most efficient delivery of services to the Hawaiian community. Right now, OHA and Alu Like are involved in several joint projects to benefit our community. Contract arrangements between the two agencies allow applicants to OHA's Native Hawaiian Revolving Loan Fund to receive support and assistance from Alu Like's "entrepreneurship training outreach" program. In other words, Alu Like will help OHA's Loan Fund applicants with their business plans, budget plans and other services. OHA has also provided Alu Like with funds to support the research and planning efforts necessary for Alu Like to get federal grants for minority job-training and other programs. On Maui, Alu Like and OHA are about to become "roommates." The tight commercial space market on Maui has encouraged the two agencies to look for shared office space in Wailuku and/or Kahului. Lastly, OHA is helping to fund Alu Like's effort to list all Hawaiian-owned businesses in Hawaii. The Iist will be published in a booklet to encourage networking among Hawaiian businesses and to increase visibility for Hawaiian businesses in federal minority hiring programs.