Nā ʻAikāne O Maui is one step closer to rebuilding its Native Hawaiian cultural center after it was destroyed in the Lahaina wildfires.
The organization was recently granted an after-the-fact revocable permit by the Board of Land and Natural Resources, with future plans to secure a long-term lease.
Nā ʻAikāne O Maui founders Keʻeaumoku and Uʻilani Kapu have been busy spearheading recovery and relief efforts in Lahaina, including cultural monitoring of cleanup efforts.
Healani Sonoda-Pale of Ka Lāhui Hawaiʻi said the permit will allow the organization to pursue public assistance from FEMA for debris removal and recovery, as well as loss of personal property.
“Whatever financial recovery Nā ʻAikāne O Maui will get from FEMA will never be enough to replace the priceless cultural items and personal effects of the Kapu ‘Ohana and the West Maui community,” Sonoda-Pale said.
“Nā ʻAikāne O Maui and the Lahaina Center has been the niho stone of the kanaka maoli community across the pae ʻāina in rebuilding the foundation for our lāhui upon which hundreds of kupuna, makua, and ʻōpio stand,” Sonoda-Pale said.
“What they have done at the center has helped many of our people reconnect with our past and help us navigate current sometimes confusing systems advocating for kanaka maoli rights.”
The land upon which the cultural center once stood is adjacent to Mokuʻula and Mokuhinia, the sacred island and famed fishpond where aliʻi resided until the mid-1800s.
The organization has had a revocable permit for the property since 2010, but that permit was revoked the day after the fires.
