“The law allows for traditional and customary practices such as hunting and gathering in ahupuaa where your kupuna hunted and gathered.”īeyond hunting and access rights, previous incidents with trucks driving on Kawakiu Beach and trash being left have also alarmed Molokai residents in the past.Īt the protest, Ritte responded to this well documented complaint. They can attempt to rewrite history and impose their own interpretation of what the laws are, but the courts are very clear,” said Rawlins-Fernandez. “We won’t be locked out of our home.”įor Rawlins-Fernandez, Saturday wasn’t a protest but rather an assertion of constitutionally protected rights for Native Hawaiians. “Most of us look at Molokai, not just one area but the entire island, as being our home, especially if we are from multigenerational families,” explained Rawlins-Fernandez. The uniqueness of life on Molokai makes decisions about land access personal. Our culture is place-based,” said Rawlins-Fernandez. “The rural lifestyle that we have maintained on Molokai is one of pilina to our home … being locked out would sever the next generation from being able to have that relationship with place. Maui County Council member Keani Rawlins-Fernandez likewise weighed in on the effect of the demonstration on the larger Molokai community. “I have friends on both sides of the gate,” said Molokai resident Chad Kaika Moran.īorn and raised on Molokai, Moran recalled shooting his first buck at Kawakiu, but acknowledged how However, not all Molokai community members were as enthusiastic about the march. “Today is another example of what we need to do in order to make sure that we can always feed our families,” Ritte said. Maui County Council member Keani Rawlins-Fernandez says Molokai residents “won’t be locked out of our home.” From these trips, they had learned the best spots for lobster, the types of fish in the area, how to pick salt from the rocks, and more. Molokai residents at the protest explained that they grew up coming to Kawakiu with their families. One site had the largest collection of fishing tools ever found in Hawaii. It’s important for us to understand that,” Ritte said during the protest.īeyond being a location for cultural practices such as hunting axis deer, fishing and gathering salt and opihi, Ritte explained that Kawakiu is also a historic and sacred place.Ī recent study published by archaeologist Marshall Weisler found housing sites, fishing shrines, stone mounds, walls and grinding slabs at Kawakiu. “Rights of access came from Molokai in 1975. (Courtesy: Jack Kiyonaga/2023)Īccording to Ritte, this previous movement helped create constitutional protections for Native Then-Mayor Elmer Carvalho opened the access gate to Kawakiu with the perhaps fate-tempting words, “may this gate never be closed again.” Walter Ritte, with megaphone, has long opposed the closing of the access gate at Kawakiu. In 1975, Ritte and other activists, including his wife Loretta Ritte, led a movement seeking improvements in rights for Native Hawaiians. This is not the first time Ritte has opposed the gate at Kawakiu. If you’re going to sell (Molokai Ranch), we’re the guys who want to buy it,” Ritte told the group gathered Saturday. “The main message is to you guys in Singapore: It’s time to come to the island of Molokai. The dirt road is owned by Molokai Properties Limited, a Singapore-based company also known as Molokai Ranch that controls 56,000 acres on Molokai. The gate preventing vehicle access to Kawakiu had been a point of contention among residents for months.
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