Kaho'olawe island a beacon for Hawaiians

The Maui News editorial says "Kahoolawe, known as the Target Island for a half century, was one of the primary touchstones in the Native Hawaiian renaissance that began flowering in the 1960s and 1970s."

During the early part of the 1900s, Kahoolawe was considered a wasteland, although a 1910 Territorial Forester's report noted trees on the island caught clouds that backed up to Ulupalakua and produced rain. At various times, the Territory of Hawaii leased the island to ranchers - largely to control depredations from wild goats - and at one point, the territorial Legislature considered selling the island outright.

In 1941, the 45-square-mile island was commandeered by the U.S. Navy. For the next 49 years, Kahoolawe was a bombing range, pummeled by aircraft and naval guns. In the years after World War II, the island was used as a training site for not only the United States but by Pacific allies during annual joint exercises.

While the Navy was in control, access to Kahoolawe and it waters was strictly controlled. In an irony of colossal proportions, the fact the island and its waters were off limits helped preserve what wasn't hit by bombs and artillery shells and the marine life that flourished on the reefs around the island.

In 1976, the grass-roots, largely Native Hawaiian Protect Kahoolawe Ohana began protests that included clandestine landings on the island, arrests and the deaths of two involved in the protests lost at sea. The protests, supported by many non-Hawaiians in the islands, served notice that Hawaiians were willing to risk their lives to regain their historic place in Hawaii.

Friday, the U.S. Navy marked the end of a $280 million cleanup effort that removed 12.9 million pounds of scrap metal from Kahoolawe and made at least 2,650 acres safe for major cultural and educational activities. The Navy remains responsible for disposing of any unexploded ordnance that might be found on the 28,800 acres of land and in the waters around the island in the future.

Kahoolawe is more than one of the four islands that make up Maui County. For non-Hawaiians, Kahoolawe is a living symbol of what Native Hawaiians have achieved and of the future challenges they face. For Native Hawaiians, Kahoolawe is a spiritual link to their past and the target for a future they can claim as their own.

Posted: Sun - April 11, 2004 at 06:56 PM

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Kaho'olawe island a beacon for Hawaiians

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