Kaʻū News Briefs Feb. 24, 2024

Kaʻū Rural Health Community Association is asking for public testimony to support a three year community health worker pilot program for Kaʻū. Representatives attended a health fair at Nāʻālehu School Gym on Saturday. Photo by Ophir Danenberg

REP. JEANNE KAPELA MET WITH HEALTH AND SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS and the public at Nāʻālehu School Gym on Saturday. Among presenters was Kaʻū Rural Health Community Association and its founder Jessie Marques. The KRHCA team asked for public support of a bill before the Hawai'i

Rep. Jeanné Kapela and Miss Kona Coffee's
 Teen, Taira Aoki, at Nāʻālehu on Saturday.
Photo by Ophir Danenberg

Legislature, Senate Bill 2483, which would direct the state Department of Health to launch a three year community health worker pilot program in Kaʻū. Testimony can be submitted through the Hawai'i Legislature's website www.capitol.hawaii.gov.
    The summary of the Kaʻū pilot health care worker bills says the program would "provide outreach, education, training, and navigation to individuals residing in Kaʻū" and "address social determinants of health, by a community health worker."
    The text in the bill says that "The legislature finds that community health workers connect rural, underserved communities with health care, prevention, outreach and training. Often serving in rural underserved communities, community health workers spend a significant portion of their time doing telehealth and behavioral health, outreach such as assisting individuals to apply for medical insurance, providing health education resources, and locating work opportunities. Other community health workers may serve as translators, assisting their communities to navigate health care and social service systems."
    The language describes community health care workers as "a critical intermediary between residents and health care and social services," with "a unique understanding of their community needs and accessibility to services."
    During the pilot program, community health workers would promote health awareness, disease prevention and healthy lifestyle practices, along with info on health care services, resources and programs. "Community health care workers shall demonstrate cultural sensitivity and competence in their interactions with diverse populations within their community."

Sarah Kamibayashi, head librarian for Pāhala and Nāʻālehu, right, supports
health care education initiatives through the library system along with library staff
member Maelene Kaapana. Photo by Ophir Danenberg

    Kapela said rural communities like Kaʻū need to come together for needed funding from the legislature, particularly given the overwhelming  need among victims of last year's Lahaina fire and the COVID disasters. She said places like Kaʻū, which has its own needs, could be overshadowed by funding for disasters.

    Hawai'i Island Community Health Center and Hawai'i Public Health Institute focused on House Bill 1778, which would ban the sale of flavored tobacco products and mislabeled e-liquid products that contain nicotine. The bill is making its way through the 2024 Hawai'i Legislature. Miss Kona Coffee's Teen, Taira Aoki, talked about the challenge of reducing vaping among young people. Kapela is co-author of the bill.

    Concerning dental health, Kapela said she appreciated an organization supporting dental health distributing 500 oral health packs with toothbrushes, floss and toothpaste going to attendees and to Nāʻālehu School.

     Kaʻū Public Librarians were on hand to discuss a new initiative to support health care education through the libraries in Pāhala, Nāʻālehu and beyond. The program trains and employs high school and undergraduate students to be health and digital navigators in their local libraries to help individuals and families learn how to use computers and the internet to access information on health and health care.

     Common Cause was also represented at the health fair and promoted Bill 2381 at the legislature. Its Program Manager Camron Hurt said the legislation would establish a comprehensive system of public financing for all candidates seeking election to state and county public offices in the State of Hawaiʻi, to begin with the 2028 general election year. He said it would provide funding for election campaigns and would help to reduce the amount of "dark money" used in running for office. The bill is co-authored by Kaʻū's state Senator Dru Kanuha. For more, see https://www.commoncause.org/hawaii/.

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HAWAIIAN LANGUAGE MONTH IS THE FOCUS OF VOLCANO WATCH, the weekly column from scientists and affiliates of USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. This week's contribution is written by Research Corporation of the University of Hawai‘i geologist Katie Mulliken with HVO volunteer and naturalist Bobby Camara. This article was translated from English into ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi by Nakamakanikolonahe Obrero.

     He ʻatikala puka pule me nā nūhou ʻīnana ʻo Kiaʻi Lua Pele i kākau ʻia e nā akeakamai o U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory a me kona mau hoa kākoʻo. Kākau ʻia maila kēia pukana ʻatikala e ke kanaka hulihonua ʻo Katie Mulliken a me ke kanaka puni ao kūlohelohe ʻo Bobby Camara.

     February is ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, Hawaiian Language Month, and an opportunity to appreciate the value that the Native Hawaiian language has provided to volcanology, especially here in Hawaiʻi nei.
    ʻO Pepeluali ka Mahina ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, a he manawa kūpono ia e mahalo aku ai ka waiwai na ka ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi i hoʻolako i ke kālaipele, ʻoi loa aku ma Hawaiʻi nei.

This photo of Wahinekapu (Steaming Bluff) in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park depicts māhu (steam) draping the pali during strong trade winds after heavy rain.  While the bluff is Wahinekapu, the grass-covered flat area is Kūkamāhuākea (the broad place where steam rises). USGS photo. Hōʻike kēia kiʻi o Wahinekapu ma ka pāka aupuni ʻo Kīlauea i ka māhu e kōheoheo ana i ka pali ma ka wā e pā ikaika ana ka makani kamaʻāina ma hope o ka ua loku. ʻO Wahinekapu kahi o ka pali, a ʻo ka ʻāina mauʻu pālahalaha ʻo Kūkamāhuākea. He kiʻi na USGS. 

    The ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi alphabet consists of twelve letters, along with two diacritical marks that indicate pronunciation. The ʻokina (glottal stop) appears like a backwards apostrophe and is treated like a consonant, while kahakō (macrons) appear as a line over vowels, indicating a long vowel pronunciation. Both ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi and English are the official languages of the State of Hawaii.
    He ʻumikūmālua huapala ma ka pīʻāpā Hawaiʻi, me nā maka puana ʻelua e hōʻike ai i ka puana pololei. ʻO ka ʻokina, he kohu koma luna i huli ʻokoʻa lā me ka hoʻohana ʻia ʻana ma ke ʻano he koneka, a ʻo ke kahakō, he kohu laina pololei i luna o nā woela e hōʻike ana ka puana woela lōʻihi. ʻO ka ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi a me ka ʻŌlelo Pelekānia pū nā ʻōlelo kūhelu o ka mokuʻāina o Hawaiʻi.
    Native Hawaiians were the first observers of volcanic activity in Hawaiʻi and used words for geologic features that science communities continue to apply today. Volcanologists around the world use pāhoehoe, ʻaʻā, and kīpuka, for example. Pāhoehoe and ʻaʻā are the two main types of basaltic lava flows. Pāhoehoe has a smooth, sometimes ropy texture whereas ʻaʻā is rough and broken. Kīpuka color the lava flow landscape like patchwork. They are pockets of vegetation surrounded by younger lava flows, illustrating one definition of kīpuka as “a variation or change in form.”
    ʻO nā kanaka ʻōiwi kai kiaʻi mua loa o ka lua pele ʻā, a hoʻohana ʻia akula nā huaʻōlelo no nā hiʻohiʻona hulihonua na ke kaiaulu akeakamai e hoʻopili nei i kēia mau lā. Hoʻohana akula nā kanaka kālaipele a puni ka honua i ia mau huaʻōlelo i laʻa me ka ʻaʻā, ka pāhoehoe, a me ke kīpuka. ʻO ka pāhoehoe a me ka ʻaʻā nā ʻano ʻā pele ʻalā nui ʻelua. He hiʻonapāʻili laumania me kekahi ʻano kaula lā ka pāhoehoe, no ka mea kākala a me nāpelepele ka ʻaʻā. Palapalaulu ke kīpuka i ka hiʻonaina ʻā pele me he pāhono lā. He mau ʻāpana ʻāina nāhelehele ia e kaʻapuni ʻia e ka ʻā pele hou loa, e hōʻike ana kekahi manaʻo o ke kīpuka ma ke ʻano he loli i kona kino.

Geologist Katie Mulliken, of University of Hawai'i, writes about Hawaiian language and volcanology. Photo from U.H.

    Numerous newspapers of the 1800s written by Native speakers, and published in ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, provide us valuable insight to eruptions and their effects, while ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi place names help us understand landscapes and their use. Keanakākoʻi, for example, is a small crater near the summit caldera of Kīlauea. Its name means “the cave in which azdes were made,” providing us with an understanding of the place (a crater) and how the location was used in the past (adze source).
    Manomano nā nūpepa o nā makahiki 1800 i kākau ʻia e nā mānaleo, a hoʻopuka ʻia hoʻi ma ka ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, e hoʻolako ana iā kākou i ka ʻike waiwai no ka huaʻi ʻana o ka lua pele a me kona mau hopena, ʻoiai hoʻomaopopo pū mai nā inoa wahi i nā hiʻohiʻona ʻāina a me kona mau waiwai. I laʻana, he lua liʻiliʻi ʻo Keanakākoʻi i ka nuʻu o Kīlauea. ʻO ka manaʻo o kona inoa, ʻo ia ʻo ke ana nona ke koʻi, a he hōʻike kēia i ka hoʻomaopopo ʻana mai i ia wahi a me ke ʻano ona i hoʻohana ʻia ma ka wā i hala.
    Native Hawaiian oral traditions also inform volcanologists of the range of behaviors at Hawaiʻi’s active volcanoes. For example, when a water lake appeared at the bottom of Halemaʻumaʻu following the 2018 caldera collapse, Hawaiian chants provided clues that surface water had been found at the summit in earlier times. Likewise, the saga of Pele and Hiʻiaka is thought to record extensive lava flows, as well as an earlier collapse of Kīlauea summit caldera, in about the year 1500.
    Hoʻonaʻauao pū mai nā moʻolelo kuʻuna Hawaiʻi i nā kanaka kālaipele no ka lawena laulā ma nā luapele o Hawaiʻi. I laʻana, i ka wā i huaʻi ai ka loko wai i ka piko o Halemaʻumaʻu ma hope o ka hāneʻe ʻana o Kaluapele ma 2018, aia ma nā oli Hawaiʻi he mau ʻāhuoi no ka huaʻi ʻana o ka wai i ka lua ma ka wā ma mua. E like pū me ka moʻolelo o Pele a me Hiʻiaka e hoʻopaʻa ana i ka nui ʻā pele, me kekahi hāneʻe ʻana o ka nuʻu o Kīlauea ma kahi o ka makahiki 1500.
    Native Hawaiians today continue to call the elemental force creating the ʻāina (land) Pelehonuamea (Pele of the red earth), while molten lava is pele (no longer used with English additions such as “Madame, Goddess, or Deity”). ʻŌlelo noʻeau (Hawaiian sayings and proverbs compiled and interpreted by Mary Kawena Pukui) pertaining to Pelehonuamea describe her relationship with landscapes and people living on them, particularly in the District of Puna. “Ka wahine ʻai lāʻau o Puna” translates to the “tree-eating woman of Puna.” “Pōʻele ka ʻāina o Puna,” tells us that “The land of Puna is blackened [by lava flows].” These sayings convey a sense of geologic history of destructive lava flows from Kīlauea in Puna.

This article was translated from English into ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi by Nakamakanikolonahe Obrero.
Photo from facebook

    Mau nō nā kanaka maoli e kapa aku ana i ke akua nāna ka hānau ʻāina ʻo Pelehonuamea, ʻo Pele o ka honua mea hoʻi, a ʻo ka pele hoʻoheheʻe ʻia ka pele, ʻoiai ʻaʻole hoʻohana i nā inoa kapakapa e like me Madame, Goddess, a i ʻole ʻo Deity. Wehewehe nā ʻŌlelo noʻeau, ʻo ia nā ʻōlelo akamai na Mary Kawena Pukui i hōʻuluʻulu a unuhi, no Pelehonuamea i kona pilina me nā hiʻohiʻona ʻāina a me ka poʻe e noho ana ma laila, keu hoʻi ma ka moku ʻo Puna. Unuhi ʻia ʻo Ka wahine ʻai lāʻau o Puna i ka manaʻo no ka wahine o Puna nāna e pau ana ka ululāʻau i ka ʻai ʻia.” Hōʻike ʻia ka manaʻo ʻo Pōʻele ka ʻāina o Puna i ka ʻāina o Puna i pōʻele ʻia e ka ʻā pele. Hōʻike kēia mau ʻōlelo noʻeau i ka mōʻaukala hulihonua o nā ʻā pele lauahi mai Kīlauea i Puna.
    Over the years, spellings of ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi words and place names have evolved, to better reflect their pronunciation, meaning, or grammar. For example, the Hawaii Board on Geographic Names provides guidance to the U.S. Board on Geographic Names (USBGN), which standardizes the spellings names of places, features, and areas within the United States. They recently corrected the spelling of lava shield features on the Southwest Rift Zone and East Rift Zone of Kīlauea. Maunaiki and Maunaulu, both of which used to be two words (Mauna Iki and Mauna Ulu), are now one to better align with ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi rules, grammar, and usage.

HVO volunteer naturalist Bobby Camara writes about Hawaiian
 language and volcanology. Photo from Ka Wai Ola

    Ma ka holo ʻana o nā makahiki, liliuewe maila ka pela ʻana o nā huaʻōlelo Hawaiʻi a me nā inoa ʻāina, i mea e hōʻike kūpono ai kona puana, kona manaʻo, a i ʻole kona ʻōlelo. I laʻana, alakaʻi mai ka ʻAha Kūkā Hawaiʻi i ka ʻAha Kūkā ʻAmelika hui pū ʻia, ʻo USBGN hoʻi, ma nā inoa hulihonua, e hoʻopaʻa kūmau ana ka pela inoa ʻana o nā ʻāina, nā hiʻohiʻona, a me nā wahi i loko o ʻAmelika hui pū ʻia. ʻAkahi nō lākou a hoʻopololei i ka pela ʻana o nā hiʻohiʻona kuahene pele ma ke kāʻei māwae komohana hema a me ke kāʻei māwae hikina o Kīlauea. Hoʻokuʻi ʻia ʻo Maunaiki a me Maunaulu, ʻoiai he ʻelua huaʻōlelo nā inoa ʻelua ma mua ʻo ia ʻo Mauna Iki a me Mauna Ulu, i mea e hahai pololei ai i nā lula, ka ʻōlelo a me kona mau ʻano i hoʻohana ʻia ma ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi.
    The names of some locations have also changed over time. Using details found on archival maps of the early 19th century, the name of Kīlauea caldera, the site of frequent eruptions over the past 200 years, was recently updated in the USBGN database to be Kaluapele, meaning “the pit of Pele.” The seamount formerly named Lōʻihi (because of its length) was updated based on Native Hawaiian cultural knowledge, including chants, to Kamaʻehuakanaloa—“the ruddy, reddish child of Kanaloa,” the elemental force whose kuleana (responsibility) includes the ocean.
    Hoʻololi pū nā inoa o kekahi o kēia mau ʻāina ma ka holo ʻana o ka wā. Ma ka hoʻohana ʻana i nā lāliʻi i hoʻokumu ʻia ma nā palapala ʻāina kahiko o ke kenekulia ʻumikūmāiwa hiki mua, hoʻololi ʻia ka inoa o ka lua ʻo Kīlauea i Kaluapele, ʻo ia hoʻi kahi e huaʻi pinepine ana ma nā makahiki he 200 i hala aku nei, ma ka polokalamu hōkeo ʻikepili USBGN me ka manaʻo o ka lua a Pele. Ua hoʻololi ka mauna kai i kapa inoa mua ʻia ʻo Lōʻihi, no kona lōʻihi hoʻi, ma muli o ka ʻike kuʻuna ʻōiwi e like me nā oli, i ka inoa ʻo Kamaʻehuakanaloa - ʻo ia ke kama ʻehu a Kanaloa, ʻo ke akua hoʻi nona ke kuleana o ka moana.
    The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory looks forward to future opportunities to incorporate ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi vocabulary, and deeply appreciates valuable observations of volcanic activity made by Native Hawaiians.
    Hoihoi Ka Hale Kilo Lua Pele Hawaiʻi USGS i nā wā kūpono mai kēia mua aku e hoʻokomo i ka huaʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, a mahalo maoli ʻia nā kilo waiwai o nā ʻīnana ʻā pele i waiho ʻia e nā kanaka maoli.

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