Clifford Nae‘ole honored with Individual Achievement Award

By Trisha Kehaulani Watson, J.D., Ph.D., owner of Honua Consulting, a consulting company and respected leader in environmental and cultural resource management in Hawai‘i.

As the Hawaiian cultural advisor for The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua, Clifford Nae‘ole prides himself on being an educator to both the residents and visitors who come to the property. As a professional in the hospitality industry with 35 years of experience, he both enjoys and excels in his profession. Traditionally trained as a chanter and hula dancer, Clifford has used his background as a cultural practitioner to develop a robust and authentic cultural program that focuses on teaching guests the importance of respecting Hawai‘i as a place and Hawaiians as a people.

Yet, unlike others in the hospitality industry, Nae‘ole also carries a notably heavy kuleana. For over twenty years, caring for the kūpuna of Honokahua has been his primary responsibility. Many may already be familiar with the history of the site: during the initial development of the hotel in the 1980s, over 1,000 iwi kūpuna (ancestral remains of Native Hawaiians) were encountered and exhumed. This led to extensive demonstrations and years of advocacy to both return the kūpuna to their resting place and to change existing preservation laws to prevent similar events from occurring again.

Nae‘ole, including community leaders like Dana Naone Hall, Isaac Hall, Kahu Charles Maxwell, Leslie Kulololi‘o, and many others, worked for years to have a burial preserve created that ensured the kūpuna of Honokahua could be returned to their resting place and be left in peace. As a result, the site today is protected through a conservation easement and a series of agreements between the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Hui Alanui o Makena, and landowner The Ritz Carlton, Kapalua, that offer perpetual protection to this wahi kapu (sacred site).

Today, the ‘āina at Honokahua is a place of peace. Much of this is due to Clifford’s extraordinary dedication to the preservation of the Hawaiian culture. Perhaps the greatest testament to the legacy Clifford has built is the annual Celebration of the Arts Festival, where Clifford and The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua annually welcome some of Hawaii’s most well-known artists, practitioners, and educators to share and celebrate their culture.

No one less than a most extraordinary individual could have transformed the challenges the hotel faced in the last century into a program that truly celebrates the Hawaiian culture. Clifford Nae‘ole has shouldered the task with strength, poise, and pride.

“Honokahua changed the history of Hawaiʻi. They have set precedent that we will never ever go back to this complacency and complete disregard for the iwi of our kupuna. Honokahua has created the laws, Honokahua is the law, this stands as the kahili for all burial sites from here on to perpetuity. This is the battleground, this is the piko of these new laws.”

Clifford Nae‘ole, Hawaiian Cultural Advisor, The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua 

As Hawaiian cultural advisor for The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua, Clifford Nae‘ole has educated and advised employees and guests for more than 27 years. Born and raised on Maui, he is dedicated to forming bridges between the Hawaiian culture and the contemporary business world.

In addition to the annual Celebration of the Arts festival, Clifford offers a weekly “Sense of Place” video, discussion and walk to the border of the Honokahua Preservation Site. This presentation is open to the general public as well as resort guests.

A student of Hawaiian chant and hula, he is an active supporter of Maui’s Hawaiian language immersion schools.

Clifford Nae‘ole is the recipient of a 2021 Preservation Honor Award in Individual Achievement.  Nae‘ole was a presenter at the May 26, 2021 Preservation Training Seminar for Native Hawaiian Burial Protection. A recording is available here: https://historichawaii.org/2021/04/05/nativehawaiianburialprotection.

Additional resources:

Nā Wai E Hoʻōla i Nā Iwi? – Who Will Save the Bones? – a documentary video produced and directed by Puhipau and Joan Lander of Nā Maka o ka ʻĀina.

Then There Were None – a full length film by Elizabeth Lindsey.