12/4/2004

2004 State of OHA address - full text

State of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs Address

delivered by Trustee Haunani Apoliona

Chairperson, Board of Trustees

Kawaiahao Church

Wednesday, December 1, 2004, 10:00 a.m.

Aloha pumehana kakou e na lei hoi o na kai ewalu, na oiwi olino, na pulapula a Haloa, mai Hawaii o Keaweikekahialiiokamoku a Niihau o kahelelani, a puni ke ao malamalama. E na hulu kupuna, na lei makua, na maka opiopio, e na kamaaina a me na malihini, aloha. Oiai e ku nei kakou ma ka palena lihilihi o keia makahiki. He wa kupono keia e huli a e hoomanao aku ai i na hana e me na mea maikai he nui i loaa mai ia kakou, ke kaiaulu Hawaii no ke keena kuleana Hawaii. He makahiki keia i piha pu ia me na hana koikoi a me na hanana like ole.

Warm greetings to you all, beloved ones of the "eight seas" of Hawaii, natives who seek wisdom and cherish knowledge, descendants of Haloa, from Hawaii of Keaweikekahialiiokamoku to Niihau of Kahelelani and throughout this brilliant world, to our beloved elders, our respected parents and bright-eyed youth, to those born of this land and to newcomers, greetings. As we stand here at the fringe of 2004, it is a fitting time to recount the many good things as well as the challenges we faced. This year has been filled with daunting tasks and a myriad of productive activities.

In December of 2003, we gathered here at Kawaiahao and presented the very first "State of OHA message." We, at the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, our trustees and staff, are pleased today to continue that process of feedback to the Hawaiian and non-Hawaiian community on progress made not just by OHA, but by the Hawaiian community as a whole – where we are, what work has been accomplished during 2004 and the many challenges ahead for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the Hawaiian people, collectively.

I. Legal challenges to Hawaiian rights

A most pressing issue facing native Hawaiians today is legal attacks on our trusts, rights, and entitlements, to which OHA, the affected Hawaiian agencies and supportive individuals responded collectively. Legal attacks on trusts include OHA trust funds, trust lands held by the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, the lands of ke alii Pauahi and the legacy lands of Queen Liliuokalani.

In the Arakaki v. Lingle case, the original 16 plaintiffs filed their complaint in 2001 to dismantle the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. In December 2003 and January 2004, the defendants – Hawaii and the Hawaiians – prevailed at the district court level. However, in February the plaintiffs appealed Judge Oki-Mollway’s decision to the 9^th circuit court, seeking an expedited hearing. Oral arguments on that appeal were heard Nov. 1, one month ago today. The questions from the panel of judges were assertive and appeared insightful as to the history of native Hawaiians. We anticipate a decision in 2005, and while we cannot predict the decision of the court, we remain "cautiously optimistic".

The Doe v. Kamehameha Schools suit seeks to require Kamehameha schools to eliminate the Hawaiian preference for admission and admit non-Hawaiian students, destroying the intent of founder Bernice Pauahi Bishop and the hopes of the Hawaiian community. Kamehameha successfully prevailed at the district court level, but, as no surprise, plaintiffs appealed. The hearing for that appeal was held on November 4, three days after Arakaki v Lingle. Kamehameha schools, all of Hawaii and the nation await the decision.

We stand in solidarity with the Kamehameha ohana and declare that the plaintiff violates the trust of ke alii Pauahi and is overwhelmingly inappropriate, given the lack of quality educational options for the 30,000 Native Hawaiian children who would like to attend Kamehameha but have not been afforded the opportunity. We commend Kamehameha for its commitment and discipline to reach out to more Native Hawaiian students wherever they reside, extending the reach and staying focused on the mission of founder Bernice Pauahi Bishop.

For the last three years, the Queen Lili’uokalani trust faced attempts to divest its land holdings under condominiums by way of Chapter 38, the leasehold-conversion law passed by the Honolulu City Council in 1991. With leadership by trustees and community members – both Hawaiian and non-Hawaiian – and the resolve of thousands who took the message of justice to the street, the lei of victory is within reach. 2005 should bring good news for the Queen Liliuokalani and ke alii Pauahi trusts and small landowners.

We stand with the trustees of the Queen Liliuokalani and Princess Bernice Pauahi trusts, our alii trusts, to support the passage of Bill 53, which would abolish this form of forced, unwilling sale of Hawaiian lands – lands whose income, in the instance of the Queen Liliuokalani trust, addresses the needs of over 9,000 Hawaiian children and youth statewide.

To help defend against these legal challenges, we at OHA, with the collaboration of supportive groups and individuals, will continue a posture of "political activism" to assert our rights for survival and renew our collective and responsible call to action. Indeed, sometimes we may grow weary, but we will not fade and we will not go away.

II. Political activism

A. Legislative testimony

As we look to 2005, one of the first opportunities we Hawaiians will have to assert and target "political activism" is during the 90 working days of the state legislative session. This past year, the Office of Hawaiians Affairs reviewed 7,000 bills, took a position on 600 bills, and provided testimony on 200 bills. We sponsored two legislative briefings, one of them tailored specifically for newly elected Senate and House members. We anticipate conducting a 2005 briefing for new House members as well.

In presenting these testimonies, OHA established informal but essential working relationships with the Hawaii chapter of the Sierra Club; the Conservation Council of Hawaii; Hawaii’s Thousand Friends; KAHEA – the Hawaiian-Environmental Alliance; the Hawaii Audubon Society; Hawaii Clean Elections; the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs; the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands; the State Council of Hawaiian Homestead Associations; the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation; and the Ilioulaokalani Coalition, to name a few.

At the end of the legislative session, we prepared a legislative scorecard, evaluating legislative actions favorable or unfavorable to Native Hawaiians. The overall grade assigned to the Legislature on Hawaiian issues was a "C minus." We will strive to improve that grade in the 2005 legislative session and look for passage of bills to improve the well-being of all Hawaiians. We must stand together to support legislation and legislators who support Hawaiians and things that are important to Hawaiians.

B. Kau Inoa

On Jan. 17 of this year, the 111^th anniversary of the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom, OHA trustees with many Hawaiian leaders launched Kau Inoa at Aliiolani Hale, the site of the Legislature of the Kingdom of Hawaii and the actual site where the decision to overthrow the kingdom was made. It seemed fitting to return to this historic place where our Hawaiian government was extinguished to make public our declaration of beginning the organization of a new Hawaiian government. Kau Inoa is the registration for all Native Hawaiians wherever they reside. The purpose of registration is so that all Hawaiians can be notified and included in the process of building a Native Hawaiian governing entity. We know there are over 400,000 Hawaiians in the United States – 240,000 in Hawaii and the remaining 160,000 in other states. However, someone needs to gather their names and addresses so they can be notified and included. The strength and success of Hawaiian governance will be measured by the foundation upon which it is built. That foundation, we all agree, is the enrollment.

As Native Hawaiians, we are filled with feelings of hope, optimism, reflection and resolve, as well as anxiety, speculation, wonderment and uncertainty – feelings that all very real and very normal as we navigate along this path of Native Hawaiian self-determination. As one Native Hawaiian leader and master navigator has said, "this is the time to be informed, this is the time to be clear-thinking and to have clarity. This is not the time to be indecisive, and if being divided makes us fail ... then what do we tell our children?" Indeed, what do we tell the generations ahead?

We and our kupuna have struggled. We and our kupuna have ached. We and our kupuna have wept. We and our kupuna have grieved for 111 years. We are now at the threshold and must act to design the next 111 years and beyond, learning from the past to realize the future.

Native Hawaiians, here at home and beyond our shores, must participate in the process for Hawaiian governance. Kupuna, makua and opio must step forward to sign up, be counted and participate. Our message should echo to the far corners of Hawaii nei, the nation and the world, saying to every native Hawaiian, in Hawaii and elsewhere: it is our responsibility, it is our privilege, it is our kuleana.

Give voice to our ancestors and kupuna who are not alive to feel the warmth of this day. Fulfill their hopes that they placed with us of one day reconciling past wrongs. Participate as we organize our Native Hawaiian government and nation for the future. For your sake and that of your ohana, and for seven generations and generations yet unborn. Know that our ultimate and long-lasting success will be realized through the positive support of all, both native and non-native.

Despite Kau Inoa’s slow start due to a mix of controversy in the community, we believe most of those concerns are resolved, and we stand ready to partner with the community to register every Native Hawaiian, regardless of blood quantum. To that end, we have agreements with the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs, the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, Kamehameha Schools, the Queen Liliuokalani Trust, Alu Like, the State Council of Hawaiian Homestead Associations and many other organizations to help register or confirm the Hawaiian ancestry of registrants.

We conducted several Kau Inoa outreach sessions on the continent as well, speaking to hundreds of Native Hawaiians in San Diego, Orange County; Los Angeles; the San Francisco Bay Area; Sacramento; Denver; Salt Lake City; Phoenix; Las Vegas; Portland, Seattle; Tacoma; Chicago; Orlando, Washington, D.C.; Virginia and Maryland. We were met with enthusiasm and commitment, and they are organizing.

Although OHA has the resources to fund this effort, ultimately, the Hawaiian community – leaders and members – must drive this cause by stepping forward and enrolling themselves and their ohana wherever Hawaiians are found. Regardless of your position – status quo, independence, kingdom, nation-within-a-nation or other model of governance – the enrollment is a personal declaration that "I am Hawaiian, and I am proud of it."

Let us not recede, but let us advance together in this milestone effort.

III. Federal recognition

Parallel to our position of "political activism" at home, our "political activism" in Washington, D.C., has been to support passage of the Native Hawaiian government reorganization act of 2004, known as the Akaka Bill, S.344, and its House version, H.4282.

This year, the Akaka Bill underwent three revisions. We recognize that the revisions were controversial to many in the Hawaiian community, but after taking time to read the bill and understand the context and intent of its language, and after local, national and international experts weighed in, many initial critics, who also understand how to effect legislation, have modified their stance to say enact the bill in its best version currently possible. Yes, the best possible bill rather than no bill at all.

We recognize the tireless and resolute efforts of our congressional delegation – Senators Akaka and Inouye, and Congressmen Abercrombie and Case – in navigating the legislative and political hurdles. We also acknowledge the efforts of governor Linda Lingle in testifying before the Senate Indian Affairs committee in favor of the bill, meeting with fellow Republicans in D.C. and conferring with President and Mrs. Bush on the unique history of Hawaiian people and native hopes for future governance. Mahalo also to our 2004 state Legislature for their support.

Further we commend and appreciate the active support of the Hawaiian benevolent societies, locally and in Washington, D.C.; the thousands of letters to Congress from individuals and families in Hawaii and on the U.S. continent; the Alaska Federation of Natives; National Congress of American Indians; and various national organizations – Asian, Hispanic, African-American and Pacific Islander – who stand in public support of federal recognition for Native Hawaiians.

Unfortunately, the bill was blocked from being heard on the Senate floor, following procedural maneuvers. We are deeply disappointed, of course, that the Akaka bill has not passed. However, we seek the continued support of our congressional delegation, Governor Lingle and her administration, the state Legislature, and our total community in this bipartisan effort.

IV. Other forms of self-determination

Because federal recognition is only one form of self-determination, OHA has sought to continue the discussion and education of self-governance in general. To that end, an advisory group, later renamed "coalition," was formed in February 2004 and has held four meetings, with a fifth meeting scheduled for later this month. Each meeting has brought together longtime activists and others from most of the islands, about 200 people total, to discuss how best to proceed in forming a nation.

The process has been slow, and, understandably, there have been many differences. OHA is committed to continue funding the coalition, provided it makes steady progress toward the ultimate goal of self-determination. The coalition has agreed on a mission statement: "... To establish a process that will provide the Hawaiian people with a mechanism for achieving self-governance through self-determination." We encourage the coalition to stay focused on this mission. Be disciplined and visionary, as there is an urgency to create a nation if we are to stave off the legal attacks on Hawaiian trusts, rights, and entitlements. We must remain focused upon our expressed outcome. We must advance, or we will recede.

To encourage understanding of other forms of self-determination, OHA is co-sponsoring, with the Nation of Hawaii, a series of educational workshops to be presented by international law professor Francis Boyle later this month.

Roundtable discussions on Olelo

To stimulate discussion and promote education on major Hawaiian issues, OHA sponsored 17 one-hour roundtable discussions on Olelo community access television. Topics included international law and the United States; ceded lands; the Akaka Bill; the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands; and comparisons of Hawaiian governance to the Maori experience and the American Indian and Alaska Native experience.

OHA also participated in two productions of Kapiolani Community College’s "You and the Law" series: the first on raising a nation, with Ms. Julie Kitka of the Alaska Federation of Natives and Ms. Jaqueline Johnson of the National Congress of American Indians, and the second on "The Akaka Bill: Myth or Reality," with attorney Melody McKenzie, Professor Charles Wilkinson and retired Hawaii Supreme Court Justice Robert Klein.

V. Bettering the conditions of Hawaiians

The legislative and constitutional mandate for OHA is that OHA shall work to better the conditions of Native Hawaiians. Statistically, Hawaiians are still casualties in socio-economic terms. We continue to struggle to be healthy. We drop out of school or we fail at higher education. Lacking completed education, meaningful employment is out of reach. We do battle with high rates of substance abuse and teen pregnancies. We are incarceration-bound more often, as teens and as adults. We are the face of the homeless. Numbers of Native Hawaiian children in foster care are high due to dysfunction in our families.

But it is not hopeless. A collective commitment over time will change the statistics. To this end, the OHA Board of Trustees has increased budgeted funds for addressing these concerns.

A. Education

In the area of education, OHA continues to fund Na Pua Noeau, a program for gifted and talented Hawaiian children, in the amount of $581,000 per year.

In addition, the trustees this year approved:

B. Housing

In the area of housing, OHA continues to fund the Homesteader Loan Program, which has a $1 million revolving fund to help homesteaders build homes.

In addition, trustees this year approved the following:

In September, OHA agreed to cooperate in supporting the transfer to the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands of 1,800 acres of land, currently in litigation, made up of select properties at Leialii in Lahaina, Maui, and Laiopua in Kona, Hawaii for development of 3,500 homes for Native Hawaiians. The OHA Board affirmed that the transfer of these select and specific properties was fully consistent with its lawsuit pending before the Hawaii supreme court because the transfer of these lands to the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands for the purpose of developing new homes for Native Hawaiians serves the direct purpose that the lawsuit had been designed to achieve – namely, to protect these lands for Native Hawaiians. The remaining properties in the litigation remain on appeal to the Hawaii Supreme Court.

C. Health

In the area of health, OHA continues to sit on the board of Papa Ola Lokahi and to encourage kupuna to participate in the Sage Plus program, a state-initiated program for kupuna volunteers to help other kupuna to apply for Medicare and other benefits to which they are entitled. OHA also conducted a health survey in conjunction with the Department of Health, Kamehameha Schools and other Hawaiian agencies.

In addition, trustees this year approved:

* $65,820 for two dialysis machines and a water filtration system to provide on-site dialysis to Hansen’s disease patients residing in Kalaupapa; and

* $80,000 for programs focusing on the Native Hawaiian diet. A number of new health initiatives are being developed by the staff and will be presented to the Board of Trustees for their consideration in December. These initiatives will focus on Native Hawaiian health and wellness education and kupuna health care.

D. Human services

In the area of human services, OHA continues to fund Alu Like, a multi-service organization, in the amount of $665,000 per year. With these funds, Alu Like provides case management and referral assistance to Hawaiians with immediate personal needs, such as food, clothing, and housing. The OHA grant also provides $60,000 in emergency funds for these needs.

In addition, trustees this year approved:

* $21,000 to fund a position on the island of Lanai; and

* $30,000 to purchase bus passes or other modes of transportation for kupuna who are unable to pay for it on their own.

E. Economic development

In the area of economic development the trustees have taken a number of actions this year to assist Hawaiians. First was the creation of the OHA Micro-Loan Program. This program provides emergency, educational and job equipment loans to beneficiaries for up to five years at the low interest rate of 5 percent.

Also in 2004 our Native Hawaiian Revolving Loan Fund was the subject of a review conducted by the Administration for Native Americans (ANA). At the conclusion of the review period, we were pleased to have the ANA commissioner, Quannah Crossland Stamps, address the OHA trustees and review many of the recommended programmatic changes with us. Rather than being a loan program of last resort, the commissioner envisions, the OHA Native Hawaiian Revolving Loan Program being the lender of first resort. The trustees agree and look forward to implementing many of the recommendations developed by ANA. Please check our OHA website, www.oha.org, for announcements of changes in our Native Hawaiian Revolving Loan Fund Program.

In October of this year the trustees approved hiring an economic development specialist to focus additional energy on developing an economic development strategy that will serve all Hawaiians. Additionally, we are also working to resolve longstanding problems with the Hana Village Marketplace, a community economic development located in Hana on the land owned by Wananalua Congregational Church.

F. Land & water rights

In the area of land and water, OHA continues to be an advocate for the protection of Native Hawaiian rights and practices. The OHA trustees have taken positions on such controversial topics as the programmatic agreements for the Stryker Brigade, use of Pearl Harbor and historic preservation of family housing at U.S. Army garrisons.

OHA trustees, in cooperation with Kauai County, have activated support for community and beneficiary access to Papaa Bay, Kauai. And in October of this year the Board of Trustees approved funds to realize community stewardship of rural lands by assisting the County of Maui in acquiring lands at Muolea Point to assure that these historic lands continue to be protected for future generations.

G. Culture

In 2004 OHA also supported various efforts to continue and perpetuate Hawaiian cultural practices. We have worked closely with NASA as they have scheduled and conducted a series of community meetings through out the state as part of the environmental impact study on the use of Mauna Kea. As you will recall, OHA filed a lawsuit against NASA over use of the mountain.

OHA is committed to maintaining and perpetuating the Hawaiian culture. The Hawaiian civic club movement also strives to maintain the Hawaiian culture. In 2004, OHA encouraged the formation of a new Hawaiian civic club on the east coast of the United States. Made up of charter members living in the tri-state area of Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia, Ke Alii Makaainana Hawaiian Civic Club is the first Hawaiian civic club started on the east coast. They were recently chartered during the November convention of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs. We are very pleased to have this group as part of the Hawaiian civic club ohana. We also anticipate the creation of a Hawaiian civic club in the Chicago area.

Native Hawaiians, had the privilege of gathering with indigenous people in September to celebrate the opening of the National Museum of the American Indian. Participating in the procession of Native Nations on the national mall, and contributing to Native Hawaiian arts and cultural performances in a week-long celebration honoring native peoples, Native Hawaiians from Hawaii and the continent joined with Alaska Natives, American Indians and other indigenous people of the world.

H. Grants

In 2004, OHA made more than $4.2 million dollars in grant awards. These varied from community-based economic development grants to smaller administrative grants. In all cases, the grants were awarded to certified nonprofit organizations providing a program or service consistent with OHA’s strategic plan goals and objectives.

VI. Securing a better future for Hawaiians and Hawaii

To secure a better future for Native Hawaiians – and, through that effort, to improve conditions for all who call Hawaii home – there are several things we need to do. First, we need to be makaala – alert, vigilant, watchful and wide awake. We need to be aware of and speak out on all attempts to divest Hawaiian trusts, to limit our ability to practice our culture and to otherwise minimize who we are as a unique cultural, spiritual and political class of people.

Second, we need to work together in common effort, laulima. If we are divided, we leave doors open for others, whether Hawaiian or non-Hawaiian, to wedge and leverage us and weaken our efforts. OHA will strive to continue building positive working relationships with Hawaiian organizations and individuals and all in the community who impact conditions for Hawaiians.

Third, we need to raise our beloved nation, hooulu lahui aloha. Unifying our collective "political will" for this priority is the single most important task before us to show that we have a unique political status and trust relationship that requires the U.S. to treat us not merely as a race, but as the aboriginal class of people indigenous to these islands, the pae aina of Hawai’i.

VII. OHA’s role in the Hawaii and Hawaiian community

In the context of makaala, laulima, hooulu lahui aloha and aloha aina for Hawaiians and all of the people of Hawaii, let me clarify OHA’s role in the years ahead.

To better conditions for Hawaiians:

• Protect and stabilize Native Hawaiian rights through fostering enrollment of all Native Hawaiians and the process for self-governance of their choice;

• Protect and advocate for increase of the 200,000 acres held by the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands;

• Protect and grow approximately $325 million in OHA assets;

• Defend the right of the alii trusts to hold land in private leasehold interest;

• Defend the right to admit only Hawaiian students to Kamehameha Schools; and

• Defend native Hawaiian entitlement programs

To improve living in Hawaii for everyone:

• Enable a more self-sufficient Hawaiian community to impact positively on all the people of Hawaii nei. We will not forget the many non-Hawaiians who now make Hawaii home, who are members of our ohana, and who share values of our special island home.

VIII. Moving OHA into the future

It is time for OHA to look to the future, to a time when a Hawaiian governing entity is formed and led by principled Native Hawaiian leaders. We as the elected trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs must look for ways to make this transition as simple as possible.

The transition and supportive transformation will include both the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. Wherever legally permissible, OHA needs to begin to operate as the quasi-independent organization, the fourth arm of government, that was envisioned by the framers of the Hawaii State Constitution in 1978. We will join with the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands in common, shared steps wherever possible along this path of transition for the public trusts. With the support of my fellow trustees, we anticipate having certain legislative initiatives introduced during the 2005 session of the Legislature which will begin this process of creating an OHA with less statutory or regulatory constraints – retaining accountability and prudent decision-making, but moving closer to enabling the paradigm of native governance fashioned by Native Hawaiians.

IX. Conclusion

In closing, I wish to thank my fellow trustees for their strong support and diligence in the past year. I look forward another year of productivity in 2005 working with Trustee Akana; Trustee Cataluna; Trustee Carpenter, chair of the Asset Resource and Management Committee, Trustee Dela Cruz; Trustee Machado, chair of the Beneficiary Advocacy and Empowerment Committee; Trustee Mossman, vice-chair of the Beneficiary Advocacy and Empowerment Committee; Trustee Stender, vice-chair of the Asset and Resource Management Committee and Trustee John Waihee IV, board vice-chair.

Trustees, we have kept our word of December 2003 to our community to do better than in previous years in outreach and response to the Native Hawaiian community.

Community, we renew our commitment to you to demonstrate a successful model for Hawaiians to work together for the greater good. We have organized our Board of Trustees for the coming year with a unanimous vote in anticipation of a strongly unified effort toward planned outcomes. And, may I add, we did it on November 22 in a nine-minute meeting, gavel to gavel – truly a record in OHA’s 24-year history.

We trustees look forward to continuing to work together with all of you to better the conditions of Native Hawaiians. As a community, much work still lies ahead of us. We ask every Hawaiian to step forward and play a part in building our nation and helping to secure a better future for Hawaiians and all of Hawaii’s people.

Native Hawaiians have courageously taken a sip of that bitter water and have stepped forward with spiritual resolve. We must continue to chart the course for the future, accepting our kuleana and place in this struggle to make things right for Native Hawaiians and ultimately for Hawaii, for there is no retreat, no turning back.

We invite our non-Hawaiian friends and ohana to stand by us in support and to join us in this renewal, keeping mindful of the vision of the 1978 Constitutional Convention, when delegates created the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and all voters of the state ratified the constitutional amendment that established OHA.

We embrace our past, present and future, moving to sip of the sweet and bitter waters – for there is no turning back.

E o e na oiwi olino, na pulapula a Haloa, mai Hawaii a Niihau, puni ke ao malamalama.

Answer, o natives, those who seek wisdom. The descendants of Haloa. From Hawaii island in the east to Niihau in the west and around this brilliant world.

Aloha e na kupuna kahiko, nana e hooulu mai nei, ia kakou e holopono, a loaa e ka lei lanakila.

Love to our ancient forbearers, who continue to inspire us to move forward on a righteous path, that the lei of victory will be realized.

E hana kakou me ke ahonui, a pili me ka ha a ke aloha, oiai e kulia i ka nuu, a kau i ka iu o luna.

Let us work together with patience, holding close the essence of aloha, as we strive for the very best until we achieve our ultimate goal.

Kai mai e na hoa kui lima, lei ia i ka ula o ka lehua, Akaka wale hoi ka manao, i ka a o ka lamaku awakea.

March forward comrades, arm in arm, wearing the vibrant red hues of the lehua blossom. Thoughts are clear and focused as the torch is ignited at mid-day.

I mua e na pokii a inu i ka wai awaawa. Aohe hope e hoi mai ai.

Let us move forward my brothers and sisters and drink of the bitter waters. There is no turning back now. There is no retreat.

Mahalo and aloha.