I embrace your use of olelo words. Kuleana is one of my personal favorites. I describe it as the honor/privilege of having a selfless duty. I think that relates to your mention of belonging.
I’ve always been curious about the state of currently available ‘affordable’ housing on Hawai’i. I’ve seen the funky homesteads down in Puna (some now under what, 20’ of lava?) but I’ve never seen any of the legendary Hawaiian Homestead communities.
It seems like damn near a complete failure, when I read about the lack of progress, deadly waiting lists, lack of infrastructure, etc.; despite the formidable assets of several native agencies like OHA, Kamehameha Schools, Bishop Trust, etc.
Maybe most Real Estate is about Big Bucks estates for outside money, but I am so curious as to what is actually available to Hawaiians desperately wanting to stay in Hawaii. Is there a Habitat for Humanity agency?
Here in WA, housing looks very different the minute one crosses onto a tribal reservation, kind of the polar opposite of HOA communities.
Is this a factor in the roadblocks to local’s reconstruction in Lahaina? I read Civil Beat and after a few years of that would never start a business in Hawai’i!
Now on to Housing. While there are many problems with DHHL, the problems really stem from trying to exist and thrive under the colonial/capitalist structures that give rise to the large problem of permanently affordable living in Hawaiʻi and elsewhere. To the extent your comments seem to be asking about housing for the Native Hawaiian community in particular, I have many friends who grew up in proud, established Homestead communities. I have Hawaiian friends who bought homes like the rest of us on the open market. I have Hawaiian friends who bought under other affordable housing programs that are available to all residents. I have Hawaiian friends who live on lands that have been in their families for generations.
The housing problem as we look at it here is about locals of all ethnicities not being able to remain where they were born and raised. And yes, there is a lot of focus on it from government at all levels right now. I am heavily involved in creating alternatives, like the community land trust model, and would be happy to discuss off line!
Hi Ali, I have been pondering all week how to respond to your comment and questions.
I want to start your first paragraph and then go on to housing if thatʻs ok.
I said explicitly in the post that my role is to be an ally. A large part of my ongoing journey is learning how to be a GOOD ally, and often that means communicating nuances to other well-intentioned people like me. Thank you for appreciating my use of ʻolelo Hawaiʻi. I am not sure with whom you have studied so offer this with humility. The nuance I want to convey to you is that in my hearing, you offered your own definition of another word not mentioned in my post, just a "personal favorite" - and if I were to do that my kumu (plural) and ʻohana would give me a look that is somewhere along the lines of "how dare you - you know better". And ironically in my next post I give what might sound like my own definitions of words so I am checking myself even as I offer this.
Itʻs subtle - but in my experience native speakers experience it as cultural appropriation when non-Hawaiians tell them or others what particularly significant words mean. Those words include kuleana along with aloha and pono, for starters.
My understandings of words in ʻolelo are continually evolving as I listen to different teachers and fluent speakers make distinctions. For example right now there is a lot of conversation around the distinctions Kumu Hina offered at the 2024 Native Hawaiian Convention around kuleana and kūlana. I heard her elaborate on them last weekend, and that deepened my understanding of the layers of meaning and connection between the words. I have been pondering her talk since September and that is one reason why kūlana rather than kuleana made it into this post.
And then there are the casual colloquial usages (e.g. "not my kuleanaʻ) that differ from thoughts offered in completely Hawaiian context.
So while your description of kuleana is not "wrong," and you are correct that it does very much relate to this concept of belonging that I am deconstructing here, I want to thank you for allowing me to elaborate on something that I should make clearer for all my readers as I continue writing!
I embrace your use of olelo words. Kuleana is one of my personal favorites. I describe it as the honor/privilege of having a selfless duty. I think that relates to your mention of belonging.
I’ve always been curious about the state of currently available ‘affordable’ housing on Hawai’i. I’ve seen the funky homesteads down in Puna (some now under what, 20’ of lava?) but I’ve never seen any of the legendary Hawaiian Homestead communities.
It seems like damn near a complete failure, when I read about the lack of progress, deadly waiting lists, lack of infrastructure, etc.; despite the formidable assets of several native agencies like OHA, Kamehameha Schools, Bishop Trust, etc.
Maybe most Real Estate is about Big Bucks estates for outside money, but I am so curious as to what is actually available to Hawaiians desperately wanting to stay in Hawaii. Is there a Habitat for Humanity agency?
Here in WA, housing looks very different the minute one crosses onto a tribal reservation, kind of the polar opposite of HOA communities.
Is this a factor in the roadblocks to local’s reconstruction in Lahaina? I read Civil Beat and after a few years of that would never start a business in Hawai’i!
Glad you’re back. 💐
Now on to Housing. While there are many problems with DHHL, the problems really stem from trying to exist and thrive under the colonial/capitalist structures that give rise to the large problem of permanently affordable living in Hawaiʻi and elsewhere. To the extent your comments seem to be asking about housing for the Native Hawaiian community in particular, I have many friends who grew up in proud, established Homestead communities. I have Hawaiian friends who bought homes like the rest of us on the open market. I have Hawaiian friends who bought under other affordable housing programs that are available to all residents. I have Hawaiian friends who live on lands that have been in their families for generations.
The housing problem as we look at it here is about locals of all ethnicities not being able to remain where they were born and raised. And yes, there is a lot of focus on it from government at all levels right now. I am heavily involved in creating alternatives, like the community land trust model, and would be happy to discuss off line!
Hi Ali, I have been pondering all week how to respond to your comment and questions.
I want to start your first paragraph and then go on to housing if thatʻs ok.
I said explicitly in the post that my role is to be an ally. A large part of my ongoing journey is learning how to be a GOOD ally, and often that means communicating nuances to other well-intentioned people like me. Thank you for appreciating my use of ʻolelo Hawaiʻi. I am not sure with whom you have studied so offer this with humility. The nuance I want to convey to you is that in my hearing, you offered your own definition of another word not mentioned in my post, just a "personal favorite" - and if I were to do that my kumu (plural) and ʻohana would give me a look that is somewhere along the lines of "how dare you - you know better". And ironically in my next post I give what might sound like my own definitions of words so I am checking myself even as I offer this.
Itʻs subtle - but in my experience native speakers experience it as cultural appropriation when non-Hawaiians tell them or others what particularly significant words mean. Those words include kuleana along with aloha and pono, for starters.
My understandings of words in ʻolelo are continually evolving as I listen to different teachers and fluent speakers make distinctions. For example right now there is a lot of conversation around the distinctions Kumu Hina offered at the 2024 Native Hawaiian Convention around kuleana and kūlana. I heard her elaborate on them last weekend, and that deepened my understanding of the layers of meaning and connection between the words. I have been pondering her talk since September and that is one reason why kūlana rather than kuleana made it into this post.
And then there are the casual colloquial usages (e.g. "not my kuleanaʻ) that differ from thoughts offered in completely Hawaiian context.
So while your description of kuleana is not "wrong," and you are correct that it does very much relate to this concept of belonging that I am deconstructing here, I want to thank you for allowing me to elaborate on something that I should make clearer for all my readers as I continue writing!