Tuesday, November 29, 2011

SAVE THE DATE FOR API PRESERVATION FORUM


The second annual Asian Pacific Islander American Historic Preservation Forum will be held June 21-23, 2012 in Los Angeles. The theme will be

"SAFEGUARDING AND SHARING AMERICAN STORIES.”

For more information, visit www.apinhpforum.org

3,000 Volunteers Needed to Bring Historical Hawaiian Language Newspapers to the Internet




HONOLULU, HAWAII - Awaiaulu, Inc., a local non-profit organization, is seeking 3,000 volunteers from around the world to participate in a unique nation-building initiative that aims to make 60,000 pages of Hawaiian-language newspapers accessible via the Internet. Participants can sign up to hand-type pages of newspaper copy currently housed in Hawai'i archival collections as originals and microfilmed images.

The ambitious project, titled 'Ike Ku'oko'a, or Liberating Knowledge, will launch on November 28, 2011 to coincide with La Ku'oko'a (Independence Day as celebrated throughout the Hawaiian Kingdom era), and is scheduled to be completed in approximately eight months. The entire volunteer effort will be managed online using a web-based program, allowing interested individuals to download the files and participate from remote locations. Volunteers are not required to know the Hawaiian language to participate.

"The magnitude of what we are trying to accomplish is unprecedented," said Puakea Nogelmeier, Professor of Hawaiian Language at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa, who is spearheading the project. "With the completion of this project, more than half of the entire archive of Hawaiian-language newspapers published between 1834 to 1948 will be searchable on the World Wide Web. In the past 10 years, a small team of paid operators was only able to process 15,000 pages, mostly using OCR technology. We realized that we needed to change our approach and, after careful consideration, decided the best way forward would be to open up participation to anyone who wanted to help."

While funding sources recommended exporting the work to a foreign company experienced in similar digital-text projects, they ultimately determined that exportation would violate the spirit and integrity of the project - and it would produce less usable text.

"Certainly, to coordinate an enormous volunteer campaign requires more resources than simply hiring a company to produce the pages, but we strongly believe the benefit of Hawai'i claiming back Hawaiian knowledge far outweighs any additional effort and costs," said Kaui Sai-Dudoit, Project Manager for Ho'olaupa'i: Hawaiian Newspaper Resource, an innovative program of Awaiaulu, Inc. that makes searchable pages from early Hawaiian language newspaper available on the Internet.

Key benefits noted by organizers include the unparalleled potential for social engagement and the sense of pride, ownership and familiarity for the Hawaiian community and its far-flung supporters.

Interested volunteers can visit http://www.awaiaulu.org/ for more information. Pre-registration will occur from now to November 27, 2011. General registration will begin on November 28, 2011 and will continue until the project's scheduled completion on July 31, 2012, or La Ho'iho'i Ea (Restoration Day in the Hawaiian Kingdom) or until all the work is completed.

Once the project commences, volunteers will be able to log in to the website, reserve a page for typing and hold that page for one week, with the option of an additional one-week extension. If the reserved page is still not completed by the end of the extension, it will return to the unfinished cache, where other volunteers may select it for typescripting. All typed pages will be reviewed for accuracy. The completed project is scheduled to be available for online viewing on November 28, 2012.

Many organizations and institutions are jumping on board to assist with finances and resources in this important Hawaiian legacy project. Organizations include The Puʻa Foundation, Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Kamehameha Schools, Hawai'inuiakea: Center for Hawaiian Knowledge, U.H. Sea Grants Hawai'i, and numerous civic clubs and halau in Hawai'i and abroad.

"It's impossible to overstate the value that the success of this project will have, not only for the Hawaiian people, but for those interested in Hawaiian history and scholarship," said Toni Bissen, Executive Director of the Pu'a Foundation. "We invested in this project to support our own (Pu'a Foundation's) mission of developing educational resources to serve Hawai'i's communities and reconcile consequences of the overthrow of our monarchy," said Bissen.

Submitted by Bright Light Marketing

National Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act Program to Host Webinar on FY 2012 Grants

What: Section 10 of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to make grants to museums, Indian tribes, and Native Hawaiian organizations for the purposes of assisting in consultation, documentation, and repatriation of Native American "cultural items", including human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, and objects of cultural patrimony.

The National NAGPRA Program offers two types of grants, Consultation & Documentation Grants and Repatriation Grants. Consultation & Documentation Grants are project-based grants that support the efforts of eligible applicants to consult and document NAGPRA-related human remains and cultural items. Consultation & Documentation grants are competitive awards for up to $90,000.

Repatriation grants are non-competitive awards for up to $15,000. These project-based awards are intended to defray costs associated with packaging, transportation, contamination removal, reburial, and/or storage of NAGPRA-related human remains and/or cultural items.

The webinar will provide information on the NAGPRA Grants program, review the FY 2012 Consultation & Documentation grant application and provide information about new resources available on the NAGRPA website to assist with proposal development.

When: December 6, 2011 2:00PM-4:00PM Eastern Daylight Time

Fee: This is a free webinar!

For More Information: To register for the webinar, please send an email to nagpra@rap.midco.net. Information on how to access the webinar will be sent after registering. Include the following information in the body of your email message:
* Name
* Title
* Institution
* Address
* Email
* Phone number
* Name and Title of additional participants
* How you found out about the webinar

Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation Stakeholders Meeting

The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) is hosting a meeting for cultural stakeholders in the Kalihi and Kapalama ahupua`a. The purpose of the meeting is to consult with potential lineal and cultural descendants, Native Hawaiian organizations and other interested parties about the Archaeological Inventory Survey (AIS) and the Final Consultation Protocol for `Iwi Kupuna Discovery During the AIS for City Center (Construction Phase 4) of the Honolulu Rail Transit Project, which includes Kalihi, Kapalama and Honolulu Ahupua`a in the Honolulu District on the Island of O`ahu.

The burial consultation protocol is available (click HERE). A copy is also available on the project website at www.HonoluluTransit.org under the Document Library - Programmatic Agreement - Identification & Protection of Archaeological Sites and Burials.

Project staff will provide an update on the archaeological survey work in this region and a briefing on the consultation protocol for `iwi kupuna discovery.

If you have any questions or comments regarding this meeting, please contact Kaleo Patterson at KPatterson@honolulu.gov or (808) 768-6176.

City Center AIS Consultation
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
5:30 pm - 7:00 pm
Kalakaua District Park Multi-purpose Room
720 McNeil Street


Honolulu, HI 96817

Monday, November 21, 2011

HISTORIC FIRETRUCK TOURS SET FOR CITY LIGHTS

Fire Truck Hawaii will be offering tours of the Honolulu City Christmas Lights in the historic fire truck during December. The tours will be daily from December 4 – 30, 2011. Tours run every 30 minutes from 6:00 p.m until 9:00 p.m. They are closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Prices are $8 per person, $4 for children 2 and under (cash only). Meet at the Mission Houses Museum, 533 South King Street (across the street from Honolulu Hale, facing Frosty the Snowman).

Call (808) 781-7389 for reservations.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

We’re looking for Haunted Historic sites in Hawaii that may be suitable for filming a SYFY channel feature……. Historic homes and buildings are fascinating in many ways as we all know. We’d like to learn more about the local ghost stories related to historic homes and buildings here. We’d love it if you would post to our Facebook wall “Historic Hawai‘i “ or send an email to us at member@historichawaii.org




Kakaako Fire Station. An old man with a dog, probably an ancient firefighter, is said to haunt this fire station on South Street.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

The Painted King


CONSERVATION OF ORIGINAL KAMEHAMEHA I STATUE

DETAILED IN NEW BOOK, THE PAINTED KING



Visiting art conservator to present book at two events on November 22


HONOLULU — New York art conservator Glenn Wharton will visit Honolulu on November 21–23 to launch The Painted King: Art, Activism, and Authen­ticity in Hawai‘i, released this month by University of Hawai‘i Press.[ http://www.uhpress.hawaii.edu/p-8559-9780824836122.aspx/] The book is Wharton’s first-hand account of his life-changing experiences while working with the North Kohala community in conserving the original King Kame­hameha I statue in Kapa‘au. (The Kamehameha statue in downtown Honolulu is a replica; the original, cast in Paris in the 1880s and the first statue in the Islands, stands before the old courthouse in rural Kapa‘au, North Kohala, the legendary birthplace of Kamehameha I.)

During his upcoming visit, Dr. Wharton will first make a stop on the Big Island to celebrate the book’s publication with North Kohala residents. He will then fly to Honolulu and has two events scheduled for Tuesday, November 22. The public is invited to attend these free events (books will be available for purchase):
From 3:00-4:30 p.m., at the Queen Lili‘uokalani Center, Room 412, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Dr. Wharton will give a brief presentation on his book, followed by comments from UH-Mānoa faculty Karen Kosasa and Ty Tengan. Professor Geoffrey White from the Department of Anthropology will moderate the discussion. Karen Kosasa is associate professor of American studies and director of the Museum Studies program. Ty Kāwika Tengan is associate professor of anthropology and ethnic studies and author of the book, Native Men Remade.
From 6:30-8:30 p.m., the Hawai‘i Arts Alliance will join UH Press in celebrating The Painted King at Native Books/Nā Mea Hawai'i, with a short talk by the author, followed by a book-signing and reception. With several national grants, the Hawai'i Arts Alliance was able to support the work of Glenn Wharton for the conservation of the original monument. In addition to The Painted King, the DVD of King Kamehameha: A Legacy Renewed, directed by Tuti Baker, which PBS nationally broadcast in 2002, will also be available for purchase.
Glenn Wharton holds dual positions at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and New York University (NYU). At MoMA he serves as time-based media conservator, where he cares for video, performance, and electronic collections. At NYU he is a research scholar in the Museum Studies program, teaching graduate courses on the conservation of cultural heritage.

Published by University of Hawai‘i Press, The Painted King: Art, Activism, and Authenticity in Hawai‘i is priced at $19.00, paperback and $42.00, hardcover. Books will be available at local retailers and can be ordered directly from UH Press—address: 2840 Kolowalu Street, Honolulu, HI 96822; phone: (808) 956-8255 or toll-free 1-888-847-7377; FAX: (808) 988-6052 or toll-free 1-800-650-7811; email: uhpbooks@hawaii.edu; or online via its website: http://www.uhpress.hawaii.edu/.
For more information, contact Carol Abe at UH Press, phone (808) 956-8697; email: abec@hawaii.edu

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Asian Pacific Islander American Heritage Forum Releases Video

The video below captures some of the ideas and energy that resulted from the first National Asian Pacific Islander American Historic Preservation Forum held in San Francisco in June 2010. Interviews were conducted with more than twenty attendees and portions of those interviews, along with additional footage from the gathering, form the basis of the video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUrNoMf8GJM
The second National Asian Pacific Islander American Historic Preservation Forum will be held in Los Angeles, June 21-23, 2012.

AMERICA’S GREAT OUTDOORS

Salazar Highlights Two Proposed Projects in Hawaii to Promote Outdoor Recreation, Conservation




WASHINGTON — Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar released a 50-state report outlining some of the country’s most promising ways to reconnect Americans to the natural world. Salazar highlighted two projects in the state of Hawaii that are included in the final report — representing what states believe are among the best investments in the nation to support a healthy, active population, conserve wildlife and working lands, and create travel, tourism and outdoor-recreation jobs across the country.
Expanding recreational opportunities at the North Kona-South Kohala Coastline String of Parks on the island of Hawaii and creating a National Blueway on the Wailua River on Kauai are among 100 projects nationwide that are in the report — two in every state — as part of President Obama’s America’s Great Outdoors initiative to establish a 21st century conservation and recreation agenda and reconnect Americans to the outdoors.
The report is a result of 50 meetings with governors and stakeholders held by Salazar and other senior Interior officials to solicit ideas on how to best implement AGO in their states. These projects were identified for their potential to conserve important lands and build recreation opportunities and economic growth for the surrounding communities as part of close engagement with Gov. Neil Abercrombie and the state of Hawaii, as well as private landowners, local- and tribal-elected officials, community organizations and outdoor-recreation and conservation stakeholders. The full 50-state report will be released in the coming weeks.
“Under the America’s Great Outdoors Initiative, we are listening to the people of Hawaii and communities across America and working with them on locally-based projects that will conserve the beauty and health of our land and water and open up more opportunities for people to enjoy them,” Salazar said. “My staff and I have been asking each governor for the most promising projects to support in their states, and we will do all we can to help move them forward.”
The two projects in Hawaii highlighted by Salazar in the report are:
North Kona-South Kohala Coastline / Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail
Thirty-one miles of coastline on the Island of Hawaii make up the North Kona-South Kohala Coastline String of Parks, beginning at Honokōhau Small Boat Harbor and ending at Pu‘ukoholā Heiau National Historic Site. Hawaii wants to connect these seven national, state, and county parks via aquatic and terrestrial trails interspersed with multi-use recreation facilities. The National Park Service’s Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail already provides land links through parks in coastal areas, and it could be linked by sea as well, via recreational-boating opportunities.
In addition to providing recreation access, the North Kona-South Kohala Coastline has a rich cultural history, including ancient artifacts at sacred sites, and great potential for environmental education and interpretation. The National Park Service is currently working with a dozen local communities in the trail corridor to develop community-based trail-management plans. The plans include an economic-development component, which is focused on job creation within the recreation- and visitor-services fields. This project meets AGO outdoor-recreation goals and is supported by state and community entities.
Wailua River National Blueway
The slowly meandering Wailua River on the Island of Kauai is a heavily used recreational destination. Its culturally and historically significant features include the sacred Fern Grotto site, several Hawaiian Heiau, and ancient petroglyphs at the mouth of the river. Commercial tours and paddleboat entrepreneurs crowd the banks.
Managing the Wailua River’s limited area presents the challenge of balancing its heavy recreational use with public safety and impacts on natural and cultural resources. Demand for public recreation access has increased, but an aging marina infrastructure must be addressed.
The state needs help with increasing the access to the river, enhancing existing facilities, and assisting in the conservation of the natural and cultural resources. The long-term goal is to manage river use sustainably to protect river values while increasing recreation use along the blueway.
The report will also include potential actions by Interior and its bureaus to support the projects identified. In Hawaii, for example, the Department could designate the Wailua River as a National Blueway and provide technical, financial, and planning assistance to Hawaii both for increasing public access and restoring the river.
The Department could also provide technical and financial assistance to the Island of Hawaii to enhance the Ala Kahakai Trail and provide new access along the Kona Coast. It could work with the state and local communities in greenway, water trail, and interpretive planning for 31 miles of the Kona Coast. At the Wailua River, it could provide technical, financial, and planning assistance to Hawaii to both for increasing public access and restoring the Wailua River.
The Department of the Interior will work with each of its key bureaus — including the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service — to direct available resources and personnel to make these projects a reality.
“The America’s Great Outdoors Initiative turns the conventional wisdom about the federal government’s role in conservation on its head,” Salazar said. “Rather than dictate policies or conservation strategies from Washington, it supports grassroots, locally driven initiatives.”
For more information on the President’s America’s Great Outdoors initiative, click here.
To view a map of the projects already announced, click here.

Monday, November 14, 2011

Oahu’s beautiful architectural legacy disappearing one home at a time



By J.R. Robinson, for Honolulu Star Advertiser



This stately Colonial Revival home at 2346 Manoa Road was not protected by preservation restrictions and was torn down.
In early October, the City Council finalized its amendments to Ordinance 11-7, the rule that grants a significant property tax exemption to owners of historic homes. The amendments provide new clarity, transparency and improved enforcement to the city’s historic homes preservation program.
My purpose in writing is, first, to applaud the City Council members for supporting this measure. The continuation of the property tax exemption for historic homes was by no means assured. Abuses of the exemption privilege by homeowners were exposed in investigative reports published in the Star-Advertiser and certain vocal activists attempted to turn the issue into a debate about social equity. To its great credit, the Council was able to see the larger, more important picture — that preserving our architectural heritage is absolutely critical to maintaining the sense of “old Hawaii” in Oahu neighborhoods. In truth, the property tax exemption for historic homes is a proven, effective tool for encouraging preservation, and it is indisputable that historic homes enhance the values of surrounding properties and their neighborhoods.
My second inspiration for writing is to provide an unfortunate example of what happens in the absence of either economic incentives for preservation or zoning restrictions on alterations to historic residences. On Manoa Road, there stood a stately home that was one of a handful of Colonial Revival houses built in Manoa in the 1920s by the same architect. The home had a beautiful lava rock fireplace, double-wall redwood construction, white oak floors, a sleeping porch and many interesting visual architectural features. I toured the house during a Realtor’s open house last year and, while it was in need of major interior restoration, it was by no means beyond salvation. On my drive home from work recently, I was saddened to discover that the house had been demolished and the site leveled for new construction.
To be clear, I do not begrudge the new owner of the property for his actions — the house was not on the historic register and, in the absence of other preservation restrictions, he has the right to do with his property as he sees fit. I also understand that not everyone shares my appreciation of old houses. However, to those who do not see the value of preserving Oahu’s architectural heritage, I maintain that Manoa suffered a very real economic and cultural loss when the house was destroyed. Aside from the loss to an Oahu landfill of the old growth redwood, pine and koa from which the house was constructed, the disappearance of this irreplaceable home undeniably diminishes the character of the neighborhood and Manoa Valley. The cost of losing this house is tangible, obvious and permanent.
To my knowledge, this is at least the third such property to disappear in Manoa in 2011 alone. Had these homes been on the historic register, it might have deterred the people who demolished them from buying the houses in the first place.
Make no mistake: The incremental loss of these properties is extinguishing the charm and character of Oahu’s residential neighborhoods, and underscores the importance and need for further measures to preserve the startlingly small number of pre-WWII homes that remain.
I hope that in some small way this example will raise awareness of the importance of Ordinance 11-7 and of the need to do more to preserve Oahu’s architectural legacy.

Monday, November 7, 2011

FIVE SITES ADDED TO HAWAI‘I’s MOST ENDANGERED HISTORIC PLACES LIST

Historic Hawai‘i Foundation has announced five additions to the list of the Most Endangered Historic Places in Hawai‘i. The annual list is compiled by HHF in cooperation with the State Historic Preservation Division and HONOLULU magazine.


The 2011 additions are published in HONOLULU’s November issue




"The list is a call to action, but it’s also a way to appreciate the hidden treasures of our built environment,” writes reporter Victoria Wiseman.



The 2011 Most Endangered Historic Places are:
Mānoa’s historic residences (Honolulu, O‘ahu)
Kapahulu Art Moderne buildings (Honolulu, O‘ahu)
Ka‘a Ahupua‘a (Lāna‘i)
Queen Emma Building (Honolulu, O‘ahu)
Kapaia Swinging Bridge (Līhu‘e, Kaua‘i)

Waikalua Loko Fishpond Work Day November 19







La Hana Loko I'a


Work Day at Wikalua Loko fishpond

(just ma kai of Pu ohala Elementary School in Kaneohe)




Work Days
2011


February 19, April 16, June 18, September 10, November 19


Time:


8 a.m. to 12 noon


Bring:

"Ohana," friends, school and community groups

Wear clothing you don't mind getting dirt

Old athletic shoes or tabis

Reusable water bottle


Bonus:
Education tours of our fishpond

We will provide a light lunch!


Interested?
Contact Andrea Jepson at jepsona001@hawaii.rr.com or phone 263-8202 to pre-register yourself or your group.

For additional information see:www.waikalualokofishpond.org or www.ulukau.org for a teacher's curriculum guide.

Directions to the Fishpond:
Take Kane'ohe Bay Dr. to Castle High School.
At the traffic light, turn right onto Puohala Rd. if you're coming from Kailua.
Or, left if you're coming from Honolulu.
Make your first right onto Kulauli Rd. Follow road past Puohala elementary School through the golf course until you reach fork in the road, veer off to the left and follow dirt road to the end.

HTA SEEKS TO FUND PROJECTS THAT PERPERTUATE HAWAIIAN CULTURE AND PRESERVE NATURAL RESOURCES

Free workshops to be held statewide for interested applicants of HTA's Kukulu Ola - Living Hawaiian Culture Program and Natural Resources Program


-The Hawai'i Tourism Authority (HTA), the state agency for tourism, in partnership with the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement (CNHA), is accepting applications for the HTA's Kukulu Ola - Living Hawaiian Culture Program (HTA LHCP) and Natural Resources Program. These programs provide funding to support organizations for projects that strengthen, perpetuate and preserve the Hawaiian culture and the state's invaluable natural resources. This year, the HTA is providing $1.4 million to support these initiatives for non-profit, for-profit and government agencies as a part of key initiatives in the Hawai'i Tourism Strategic Plan: 2005-2015 and The Hawai'i Tourism Authority Strategic Plan: 2012-2013.
"This is an incredible opportunity for eligible entities to receive funding for programs and initiatives aimed to perpetuate the Hawaiian culture and preserve our precious natural resources," said Keli'i Wilson, Director of Hawaiian Cultural Affairs for the HTA. "The natural beauty of our islands and the Hawaiian culture are part of what makes our islands so special, and the HTA is pleased to support these programs for both residents and visitors to enjoy."
To assist individuals and organizations with the application process, the HTA and CNHA will be holding statewide workshops to provide technical assistance and training to explain the objectives of the HTA programs, including the application and award process. Registration forms for the workshops are available at the following link
http://www.hawaiitourismauthority.org/about-hta/hta-events/workshops/


Information on the workshops is provided below:


Kaua'i- Tuesday, November 8, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Anahola Resource Center, 4523 Ioane Road.


Maui- Wednesday, November 9, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Maui Arts and Cultural Center, 1 Cameron Way.


Kona-Thursday, November 10, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., King Kamehameha Hotel, 75-5660 Palani Road.


O'ahu Wednesday, November 16, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Best Western Ohana Honolulu Airport Hotel, 3401 Nimitiz Hwy.




Applications are available for pick-up at the HTA's office (1801 Kalakaua Avenue, Level 1) or downloadable at http://www.hawaiitourismauthority.org/about-hta/rfps/. Packets are also available at the CNHA's office (1050 Queen Street, Suite 200). Proposals must be received no later than 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 25, 2011 at the CNHA's office.
For more information about the program or to register for a workshop, contact Katie Gallagher, CNHA Community Development Specialist, at (808) 596-8155 or via email at
training@hawaiiancouncil.org.
CNHA is dedicated to enhancing the cultural, economic, public policy and community development of Native Hawaiians. CNHA achieves its mission through policy advocacy, community convening, leadership development, training and technical assistance, providing access to capital, and linking resources and solutions to community challenges. For more information on CNHA, visit
www.hawaiiancouncil.org. Established in 1998, the Hawai'i Tourism Authority, the state's tourism agency, is responsible for strategically managing tourism to optimize benefits for Hawai'i that integrates the interest of visitors, the community and visitor industry. Tourism is our state's leading economic driver and largest employer and the HTA continually works to ensure its sustainability well into the future. For more information on the HTA, please visit www.hawaiitourismauthority.org, find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter (@HawaiiHTA).

Monday, October 24, 2011

Royal Hawaiian displays final painting by Herb Kane




By Nina Wu, Honolulu Star Advertiser

Herb Kane's final painting hangs near the entrance to the Monarch Room in the Royal Hawaiian Hotel.

Herb Kane's last painting, "Kamehameha Landing," now graces the wall by the entrance to the Monarch Room at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel.
It was the last painting the artist-historian was working on before he died March 8. It remains incomplete and unsigned, though someone with an untrained eye might not notice.
The 5-foot-tall, 10-foot-wide oil on canvas depicts King Kamehameha I and his warriors in canoes preparing to land on the shores of Waikiki in great detail.
Commissioned by Kyo-Ya Hotels and Resorts, "Kamehameha Landing" will be officially unveiled Friday with a private Hawaiian blessing by the Historic Hawai‘i Foundation.
Kane is also being honored by the foundation as the 2011 Kamaaina of the Year with a benefit dinner on Saturday in the Monarch Room.
"One of the marks of his greatness was his attention to culturally accurate detail, including the color of the water, the rigging and cordage on the canoes and the angle and slope of surf," said cultural consultant Peter Apo, his friend of more than 30 years. "Most people would just sort of draw waves, but if you're a surfer and you saw the waves, you would say, ‘I know where that is. That's the Waikiki swell.'"
Several years ago, Kane had already made a sketch of the scene but had not yet gotten to the full color painting, which he had always wanted to do.
As Kyo-ya was renovating the Royal Hawaiian, the company wanted a new piece of art for the hotel. Apo connected Kane with architect Rob Iopa.
Kane worked on the painting for about seven to eight months in his studio at Kealakekua Bay before he died.
"He fully expected to finish it," Apo said.
He also intended for it to be his last painting of that scale because his eyesight was deteriorating and he could paint only during the day.
After his death, Kyo-ya had the painting framed and transported to Oahu, according to Iopa, and decided it was best to leave the painting as is, with Kane's final touches rather than having someone else complete it.
King Kamehameha I's Waikiki landing in 1795 was a pivotal point in the history of Hawaii, Apo said, given that he would go on to conquer Oahu and unite the Hawaiian islands.
Some 2,000 war canoes stretched from Ala Moana Beach Park to Kahala, according to some accounts, he said.
"It's a beautiful depiction of a landing and preparing for battle," said Iopa. "Probably what stands out more than the painting itself was the knowledge behind what was being painted. It really celebrates a great man and what we believe to be a great piece."

Friday, October 21, 2011

Polynesian Voyaging Discussion - FREE Event!

Polynesian Voyaging Discussion - FREE Event!

Come join us on Sunday, October 23, 2011 for this free event:

Polynesian Voyaging Discussion
12 noon
Royal Hawaiian Hotel
Free and open to the public

Join a Talk Story about Polynesian ocean voyaging and its rebirth in modern times and get to meet some of the original navigators!

ʻŌiwi TV - Herb Kane Information

Historic Hawaiʻi Foundation’s 2011 Kamaʻāina of the Year: Herb Kāne


Herb Kawainui Kāne will be honored at this year’s HHF event for his contributions in the revival of our Hawaiian culture.


The amount of detail and the amount of research that went into Herb’s paintings really are unprecedented in depicting Hawaiian scapes.


His paintings remain a rich source of Hawaiian history, including his last piece “Kamehameha Landing.”


It’s especially unique and special because Kamehameha set up his then united kingdom here on the grounds of the Royal Hawaiian in Helumoa


The Foundation is honoring Herb as the “Kamaʻāina of the Year” for his valuable contributions to Hawaiʻi’s history.


Our mission as (the) Historic Hawaiʻi Foundation is to preserve the elements of our culture.
Herb accomplished this via his paintings and much more. I obviously know of him as an artist, obviously know of him as a historian, and obviously know of his instrumental participation and leadership in establishing the Polynesian Voyaging Society.


Events will be held thru Sunday including a screening of Papa Mau, a talk story with voyagers, and canoe landings.


Visit http://www.oiwi.tv/live/article/historic-hawai%ca%bbi-foundations-2011-kama%ca%bbaina-of-the-year-herb-kane/ for complete article and video.



Thursday, October 20, 2011

Papa Mau: The Wayfinder

Don't forget to join us Friday night, October 21, 2011 for this event!

Papa Mau: The Wayfinder
Screened at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel Regency Room
6:30 p.m. / Open to the public
This documentary recounts the fundamental role that master
navigator Mau Piailug played in reawakening Polynesian pride by
teaching Hawaiians the dying art of traditional voyaging without
the aid of instruments.
Sponsored by Paliku Documentary Films and ‘Oiwi TV

How we deal with Natatorium will put our character to the test

Star-Advertiser
A 1973 aerial view shows the Waikiki Natatorium in better times.




By Peter Apo; Steven M. Baldridge; Brian Keaulana; Benjamin R. Mixon; William M. Smith Jr; and William Y. Thompson. Published in the Honolulu Star Advertiser, Oct. 19, 2011


Richard Borreca argues that 32 years of "dithering and delay on the Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium has got to end" ("Natatorium is a problem that just won't go away," Star-Advertiser, On Politics, Oct. 4).
We agree.
But we do not agree with those who say that demolition or a change of use is in the public interest or the less expensive financial alternative to restoration.
The city, while led by Mayor Jeremy Harris, spent $4.2 million restoring the facade, bathrooms, bleachers and volleyball court and built a new district lifeguard office. Mayor Harris's and the Honolulu City Council's total $11.5 million appropriation for the project also would have paid for a re-engineered pool that would provide ADA access to the ocean for the elderly, and disabled. Had the so-nearly-realized restoration been completed, we would be celebrating its return to public use and swimming there today.
But the succeeding mayoral administration, under Mufi Hannemann, swept into City Hall with a passion to undo important major projects undertaken by Harris, beginning with a stunning reversal of a fully designed and permitted Natatorium restoration.
It not only stopped the restoration, but went into high gear to demolish the entire structure. It pursued demolition with a spirit of irreverence that dishonored the memory of more than 10,000 warriors from Hawaii who are memorialized by the Natatorium. Auwe!
We are as tired of sloshing through debate as some are of having to listen to it, but Borreca's column cannot be left unchallenged. To spare your readers from having to navigate a manifesto on the subject, let it suffice for us to say here that the real consequences of demolition lie far beyond what most people realize. The Natatorium serves as a sand retention revetment; it created San Souci beach. Demolish the Natatorium and San Souci is history.
Alternative uses like creating additional new beach or volleyball courts are not permitted shoreline uses and would have to survive a lengthy and daunting county, state and federal permitting process, not to mention court challenges.
The Hawaii Supreme Court has already ruled, in 1973, against demolition for any other use of the shoreline expect for a Natatorium (defined as a swimming pool in Act 15 of the Territorial Legislature, 1921). The cost of demolition to effect the new uses proposed, even if successful, rivals or exceeds the cost of restoration. So much for the argument that it's cheaper to demolish.
Further, the structure sits in a declared marine sanctuary. Demolition-triggered reef damage is a significant threat. A new beach, according to an Army Corps of Engineers study, would require replacing the Natatorium with the equivalent of a three-wall small boat harbor replicating the footprint of the Natatorium walls and its sand retention function to protect San Souci as well as the proposed added 100 feet of new beach. Go figure.
The proposal to "preserve" the arch by moving it is not an engineering possibility. It would have to be rebuilt as a reproduction. So much for preservation.
Finally, hundreds of pages of scientific and expert studies, including a $1.2 million environmental impact statement, show the least expensive, least environmentally harmful option is full restoration.
The idea of demolishing the Natatorium ranks up there with the attempts to demolish Iolani Palace for a parking lot and the Royal Hawaiian Hotel for a new high-rise hotel. The Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium is the last of the great historic treasures of the Waikiki shoreline. How we respond to this challenge will mark the greatness or failure of who we are as a people.
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Peter Apo is an Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustee; Steven M. Baldridge is president of BASE Structural Engineering; Brian Keaulana is a waterman; retired Lt. Gen. Benjamin R. Mixon is former commander of the U.S. Army Pacific; William M. Smith Jr. is an Olympic gold medalist and former director of the city Water Safety Department; and William Y. Thompson, is president of the 442nd Veterans Club.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Application Now Available for Battlefield Preservation Grants



Proposals are now being accepted for the American Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP) Battlefield Preservation Grants. Non-profit groups, academic institutions, and local, regional, state, and tribal governments are encouraged to apply.

Types of eligible projects inlude:

* Archeology
* Cultural Landscape Inventories
* Cultural Resource Documentation
* GIS Mapping
* National Register Nominations
* Preservation Plans


Since 1990, the ABPP has worked with partners like you to help protect and enhance more than 280 battlefields. Project funding has ranged from $5,000 to $75,000. The ABPP encourages, but does not require, matching funds or in-kind services for these projects. Application form, deadline and complete guidelines are available on-line at:
www.nps.gov/history/hps/abpp/

For further information contact Kristen McMasters at: 202-354-2037.