A Day with the Helenihi 'Ohana: 8/30/8

The Helenihi family has a long history at Ka'ena point. They have been caring for the land, sea and cultural sites for many generations, and have been especially focusing on trying to educate people about the sites and the care and respect that those places need. Unfortunately, they have also been harassed and cited by DLNR for overnight cultural practice.



Uncle Fred Mullins, po'o of the 'ohana who gathered in Ka'ena this weekend and founder of Kokua Ka'ena, is an awesome repository of cultural and historical knowledge, as well as overall mana'o on how to be right with the land and sacred places.


Uncle Fred's daughter, Summer, cleans the area regularly (yes it's the practitioners, not the city or state, who keep the place clean). Summer is an educator by profession who works especially well with youth.


Unfortunately, their efforts are not recognized by DLNR, who visited after the sun went down...

Note: this video is 17 minutes long. We hope to get a shorter version up soon. Still, it really shows the problem...especially in the very end, when the DLNR officers are driving away from citing the cultural practitioners -- OVER the BURIAL DUNES!!!

Also, remember that this video shows the way that cultural practitioners are treated when video cameras are present. From the stories that are now being collected, it seems that when cameras are not around, a whole new level of intimidation is common...FISHERMEN: CARRY VIDEO CAMERAS!!!

Uncle Fred was cited for sheltering his family (and for bringing his tiny 'ilio, Mahina, with him, who is definitely part of the family!). His court date is OCTOBER 9, 2008 at the WAHIAWA DISTRICT COURT. Please come to support if you can!!