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Hawaii Stories of Change Kokua Hawaii Oral History Project Hawaii Stories of Change Kokua Hawaii Oral History Project Gary T. Kubota Hawaii Stories of Change Kokua Hawaii Oral History Project Gary T. Kubota Hawaii Stories of Change Kokua Hawaii Oral History Project by Gary T. Kubota Copyright © 2018, Stories of Change – Kokua Hawaii Oral History Project The Kokua Hawaii Oral History interviews are the property of the Kokua Hawaii Oral History Project, and are published with the permission of the interviewees for scholarly and educational purposes as determined by Kokua Hawaii Oral History Project. This material shall not be used for commercial purposes without the express written consent of the Kokua Hawaii Oral History Project. With brief quotations and proper attribution, and other uses as permitted under U.S. copyright law are allowed. Otherwise, all rights are reserved. For permission to reproduce any content, please contact Gary T. Kubota at [email protected] or Lawrence Kamakawiwoole at [email protected]. Cover photo: The cover photograph was taken by Ed Greevy at the Hawaii State Capitol in 1971. ISBN 978-0-9799467-2-1 Table of Contents Foreword by Larry Kamakawiwoole ................................... 3 George Cooper. 5 Gov. John Waihee. 9 Edwina Moanikeala Akaka ......................................... 18 Raymond Catania ................................................ 29 Lori Treschuk. 46 Mary Whang Choy ............................................... 52 Clyde Maurice Kalani Ohelo ........................................ 67 Wallace Fukunaga ............................................... 91 John Witeck .................................................... 97 Dancette Yockman .............................................. 108 Liko Martin ................................................... 115 Edyson Ching .................................................. 121 Lawrence (Larry) “Harbottle” Kamakawiwoole ......................... 129 Lucy Witeck ................................................... 149 Gary T. Kubota ................................................. 157 Alfred G. Abreu ................................................ 174 Darrell Tagalog ................................................. 181 Dwight Yoshimoto .............................................. 185 Kehau Lee Jackson .............................................. 191 Maivan Clech Lam .............................................. 201 Reverend and former State Rep. Robert Nakata ........................ 207 Nora Gozon Tagalog. 215 Sally Tagalog ................................................... 219 Randy Kalahiki ................................................. 222 Virgil Demain ................................................. 228 Robert Fernandez .............................................. 237 Raymond Ako ................................................. 244 James Ng ..................................................... 252 Claire Shimabukuro ............................................ 257 Francis Kaholi ................................................. 267 Ed Greevy .................................................... 272 Cindy Lance .................................................. 279 Gwen Kim .................................................... 283 Terrilee Kekoolani .............................................. 290 Chronology of Kokua Hawaii ...................................... 295 HAWAII STORIES OF CHANGE 2 Foreword When I approached author Gary T. Kubota to create an oral history book about the activist group “Kokua Hawaii” three years ago, he was reluctant to take on the endeavor. He was in the middle of producing his national touring play Legend Of Koolau and still working as a journalist at the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. In 2008, he had sent emails to a number of Kokua Hawaii members inviting them to be interviewed by him for a book and received just one reply. I assured him that this time around, he’d get more cooperation, and he did. The collection of more than 30 interviews took place from homeless camps to hospitals to the penthouse office of a former governor during the course of three years. Hopefully, this book will help to provide an understanding about Kokua Hawaii’s contribution to the Hawaiian Renaissance. Just what makes individuals decide to put their reputation, and sometimes their bodies, on the line in an act of civil protest can vary as much as their backgrounds. At least that seems to be the case with those interviewed for the Kokua Hawaii Oral History Project. Those protesting against the eviction of farmers and Native Hawaiians in Kalama Valley in 1971 came from different parts of the economic spectrum, ranging from a public housing youth to a Honolulu socialite, from a motorcycle gang member to a former Annapolis appointee, from a waitress to a former congressional aide. Yet out of the threat of mass evictions and the anti-Vietnam protest in Hawaii in the 1970s came a Hawaii movement that changed the political landscape. The arrests of local Hawaii people in Kalama Valley on May of 1971 marked a shift in assumptions of land ownership and began raising questions about public land policies that evicted the poor to make way for the wealthy and increase homelessness. Up until then, tenants and farmers facing eviction generally moved to the next valley. But farmers like George Santos who had moved multiple times were tired of being evicted and had run out of options in east Oahu. Kokua Hawaii members and their supporters also began researching not only the policies of the nonprofit Bishop Estate, the landowner in Kalama Valley, but also state policies that allowed business people to lease Hawaiian Homestead lands that were supposed to go to house Native Hawaiians. Critics also began looking at the use of former Hawaiian crown and government lands, known as ceded lands, with the intent of providing some benefits to Native Hawaiians. HAWAII STORIES OF CHANGE 3 Foreword After the Kalama Valley conflict, the chief focus of Kokua Hawaii was to serve as organizers helping several minority communities fight mass evictions and to build a multi-ethnic coalition of supporters. The coalition was pivotal in supporting a sit-in in 1972 to preserve the then experimental Ethnic Studies Program at the University of Hawaii-Manoa. The program is now a department. The volunteers who developed this book project apologize for the lack of diacritical markings throughout the text. They had neither the funding, nor the language expertise to embark on providing Hawaiian pronunciation markers. The volunteers are hoping to include diacritical markings in the second edition. The legacy of Kokua Hawaii continues through its former members, supporters, associates, and their children, with the knowledge that working together in a multi-ethnic coalition has been an important part of successful political movements in Hawaii. Our special thanks to Department of Ethnic Studies professor Davianna McGregor and department chair Monisha Das Gupta for supporting this endeavor. We also are grateful to former newspaper editor Alan Isbel and historian Gavan Daws for stepping forward as volunteers to assist in preparing this book for publication. The project would not have happened without the support of steering committee members of the Kokua Hawaii Oral History Project, including Gary and Merle Pak, Sylvia Thompson, Gwen Kim, Cindy Lance, and Claire Shimabukuro. We hope this book encourages others to share their personal stories about pivotal turning points in Hawaii history. There are no doubt a number oral histories of people who could be included in future volumes of this era. — L ARRY K AMA K AWIWOO L E Chair, Kokua Hawaii Oral History Project 4 KOKUA HAWAII ORAL HISTORY PROJECT INTERVIEW WITH George Cooper George Cooper was a student at the University of Hawaii when he first met members of the island activist group Kokua Hawaii in the 1970s and eventually became involved in opposing developments at Niumalu-Nawiliwili on Kauai. He later was co-author of the landmark book Land and Power In Hawaii with historian Gavan Daws. Cooper, who now lives in Cambodia where he works as an attorney, was interviewed by Gary T. Kubota over a period of months through email exchanges, ending December 25, 2017. GK: What year were you born and where were you raised? Please describe your best and worst George Cooper childhood memory. Photograph by Ed Greevy GC: I was born in 1948. I lived in southern Virginia and then New York till I was five, then my family moved to northern Virginia — the Washington, D.C. area, and I lived there till I went to college in Massachusetts in 1966. I honestly can’t think of a best childhood memory. I had a pretty happy childhood, except for the fact that my father died when I was seven, which is my worst childhood memory. GK: What is the name of your mother and father and what were their occupations? GC: My mother was Lucy Jane Cooper. For many years she was a housewife and mother, then in about her fifties, she became a store clerk. My father’s name was the same as mine. He was an Army officer. GK: What prompted you to move to Hawaii and what were you doing — occupationally, educationally, recreationally — prior to your associations with Kokua Hawaii, and what prompted you to contact the group? GC: I moved to Hawaii in 1970 to go to the East-West Center and University of Hawaii at Manoa. Almost immediately after arriving, I met Kokua Hawaii people. I remember meeting Kalani Ohelo and Larry Kamakawiwoole. Most likely I met them because of John Witeck. John and I grew up in the same
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