Preservation Program Helps At-Risk Youth
Among the programs I have most enjoyed has been to mentor at-risk teens in a cultural mentoring partnership with Alu Like. Historic preservation in an era dominated by electronic distractions presents a challenge to youth engagement, and this program enabled us to connect young people with important places in our history. Places like Nu`uanu Pali, where the battle of Kamehameha’s drive to unify the islands ended. We preserve history not for ourselves, but for generations beyond us, to carry on the memory of who we are and who we were from time immemorial. Failing to do this will result in loss of our personal identity as a people and a community.
Why Preservation Matters
Historic preservation, in my view, is an important kuleana of every civilization because it endeavors to preserve the mo`olelo, or stories and history of a community, a people, and its treasured places of antiquity and connects us all with where we came from. For example, when I visit the wahi kapu of Lulumahu, a narrow valley of Nu`uanu that is “hidden from view”, I can feel the presence of the kupuna kahiko – our ancestors of O`ahu island who were trapped in this valley and killed during the great Battle of Nu`uanu. I sense the sadness and quiet of the stone mounds that mark their common graves, and hear the cries of the children left on the trail as the kupuna and women fled from the pursuing army. Encountering this large pohaku a Kane, I find a silent sentinel that stands watch near Lulumahu falls and see in him a vast body of ancient knowledge from the time before the Hawaiians of old settled in the back of this valley. Walking in the footsteps of our kupuna kahiko…
~Mahealani Cypher
Mahealani Cypher is an active community volunteer, she also owns Native Knowledge LLC, offering consultation on native Hawaiian issues, historic preservation and Hawaiian perspectives on planning and conservation.
Ms. Cypher has been involved as a community advocate on Windward O‘ahu issues for over 35 years, participating in numerous community and Hawaiian organizations since 1975. She currently serves as president of the O‘ahu Council of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs, immediate past president of the Ko‘olaupoko Hawaiian Civic Club, and is a board member for the non-profit organizations Hawai‘i Maoli, Kāko‘o ‘Ōiwi, and the Ko‘olau Foundation. She is a former member of the Kāne‘ohe Neighborhood Board.