Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 37, Number 10, 1 October 2020 — MACHADO, [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

MACHADO,

CŪLETTE

© colettemachado@gmail.com © www.machadoforoha.com AGE: 69 ŪCCUPATIŪN: Grassroots community organizer, puhlie servant to the Lāhui WHERE ūlū YŪU GRŪW UP: I was born in Ho'olehua. Moloka'i. My 'ohana has deep roots on Moloka'i my grandfather Zachary Pali-Pahupu was one of the six original pioneer homesteaders who helped to establish the Hawaiian Homesteading Program at Kalama'ula in 1921. SCH00L(S] ATTENŪEŪ: University of Hawai'i at Mānoa

CURRENT RESIDENCE: I live with my husband, Myron Akutagawa, in Pūko'o, Mana'e, East Moloka'i. Myron is a descendant of taro farmers from Wailau Valley.

1) -Ka 'Ohana O Kalaupapa (Board Member) -Ho'olehua Hawaiian Civic Club of Moloka'i -Moloka'i Land Trust (Founding President) -Moloka'i lsland Burial Council (Chairperson) -Mālama Mana'e (Co-founder) -Ka Leo O Mana'e (Co-founder) -Kāko'o Kawela (Co-founder) -Mālama Moloka'i (Co-founder) -Hawaiian Homes Commission -Hui Alaloa ine. -State Land Use Commission 2 ] Like many who live on Moloka'i, I know too well the rising cost of shipping and the trickle down effect it has on families. I am against the practice of passing the bulk of the burden to our loeal families. One pieee of the solution is loeal: by supporting sustainable practices that allow neighbor islands to achieve food sovereignty. OHA has already done this during the COVID-19 pandemic by funding $830,000 in food security grants to farmers and nonprofits. I will work to ensure that efforts like these are expanded. I also support OHA's loan programs whieh ean help to start and expand operations of loeal, Native Hawaiian-owned small businesses. At the federal level, OHA must advocate against continued cuts to the U.S. Postal Service. The Postal Service is a critical lifeline for neighbor island eommunities. There are kūpuna who even rely on the Postal Service for critical medication and home essentiafs. 3 ] The State of Hawai'i and the University of Hawai'i have neglected their kuleana to mālama Maunakea. I have strongly supported OHA's advocacy and eventual legal intervention to stop this mismanagement and desecration. As the current Chair of OHA's Board of Trustees, I passed a resolution to provide financial support to the protectors on Maunakea. More than that, I have stood with our kia'i on the Mauna, sang with them, cried with them, and felt the mana of our kūpuna. I also held an OHA Board visit to meet with kia'i and elevate their voices. But this is not a new cause for me. I was an original member of the Protect Kaho'olawe 'Ohana movement to stop the military's bombing of Kanaloa Kaho'olawe. I protected the ko'a and heiau at Kaiaka Rock and Kawakiunui on West Moloka'i from development by Moloka'i Ranch. I helped protect the sites at Nā'iwa, Moloka'i by organizing to stop the expansion of the Highlands Golf Course at Kala'e. As president of the Moloka'i Land Trust, I helped to repatriate 1,800 acres on the northwest coast of Moloka'i, providing protection for fishing ko'a, adze quarries, house sites and access trails. I supported the acquisition of the Wao Kele O Puna Rainforest for permanent protection from geothermal development. I also supported the acquisition of the Kūkaniloko Birthing Stones for permanent protection. And I supported the transfer of the 20 acre Palauea Cultural Preserve. I know this fight because I have fought this fight. And I am committed to keep fighting the fight.