Koho Ko Maui Meia I Nā Luna Hou No Nā Keʻena Hale, Kumuwaiwai ʻŌiwi

Kā ka luna hoʻoponopono nota: Unuhi ʻia na Ākea Kahikina. Click here to read this article in English.

Ua koho ʻo Richard Bissen, ka meia o Maui, iā Richard Mitchell ma ke ʻano he luna o ke keʻena hou ʻo ke Keʻena Hoʻolako Hale, a me Kaponoʻai Molitau ma ke ʻano he luna o ke Keʻena Kumuwaiwai ʻŌiwi, wahi a ke kalana i hoʻolaha aku ai.

ʻO nā keʻena ʻelua, ka mea i hoʻomaka ma ka lā 1 o Iulai, ua koho pāloka ʻia e nā kamaʻāina o ke Kalana o Maui ma Novemapa o ka makahiki 2022. Ua haku ʻia ke Keʻena Hoʻolako Hale ma o ka moku ʻana o ka Department of Housing and Human Concerns.

Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen (left) selected Richard Mitchell to lead the new Department of Housing at a time when this issue is the most critical that the island is facing. (Cammy Clark/Civil Beat/2024) — Ua koho ʻia ʻo Richard Mitchell e ko Maui meia ʻo Richard Bissen ma ke ʻano he luna o ke Keʻena Hoʻolako Hale, he keʻena i haku ʻia aku nei. (Cammy Clark/Civil Beat/2024)

Ua hana aku ʻo Mitchell ma ke ʻano he loio kau kānāwai ma ke Office of Council Services mai ka makahiki 2019 aku. Ua loaʻa mai iā ia kahi kēkelē loio maiā Syracuse University, kahi kēkelē laeoʻo ma ke kūkulu kaona maiā University of Michigan a me kahi laepua kaha kiʻi hale maiā Cornell University.

“He waiwai nui ko Mr. Mitchell ʻike i pili i nā kulekele hale, ka hoʻohana ʻāina, ke kūʻai ʻāina ʻana, a me ke kānāwai,” wahi a Bissen ma kekahi ʻōlelo i hoʻolaha ʻia i kēlā pule aku nei. “Kau nō ko mākou mau maka i kona alakaʻi ʻana ma ka hoʻokō ʻana i ka nuʻukia a ke Keʻena Hoʻolako Hale e lako ai nā hale no nā kamaʻāina, e laʻa nā luaahi ahi.”

Ma hope o kona hoʻokō ʻana i kāna kēkelē laepua, ua kaha kiʻi hale ʻo Mitchell ma Lādana, Nūioka, a me Seattle.

Ua hana ʻo ia ma kekahi papahana kūkulu hou i pili i ke kūkulu ʻana i nā hale kumukūʻai ʻuʻuku ma Lādana hikina, kahi āna i hānai ʻia ai ma nā hale lehulehu.

Ma kona wā e hele ana i University of Michigan, ua noho ʻo Mitchell no kekahi kauwela ma ʻĪnia Komohana, kahi āna e ʻohiʻohi ai i ka ʻikepili helu kanaka no ka hōʻoi ʻana i nā kaona ʻuʻuku ma Kingston, Iāmeka.

Na kēia papahana i hōʻeuʻeu iā ia e hele i ke kula loio ma Syracuse University, kahi āna i hana ai ma ke ʻano he kākau ʻōlelo ma ka Harlem Legal Aid Society ma Manahatta.

Ma Seattle, ua komo aku ʻo Mitchell i kekahi papa luna o ka Low Income Housing Network, he hui hoʻopuka waiwai ʻole nāna e paipai i ka hoʻolako hale ʻana no nā kaiāulu ʻuʻuku ma ka Pakipika ʻĀkau Komohana. Ua hana loio ʻo ia no 23 mau makahiki ma ke kaona a ua hana ʻo ia ma ke ʻano he loio nui no Christine Gregoire, he kiaʻāina kahiko no Wakinekona. Ua hana hoʻi ma ke ʻano he komikina ma ke King County Housing Authority.

ʻEkolu mau keiki kāne a Mitchell lāua ʻo kāna wahine, ua hemo kula lākou ʻekolu mai ke kula kiʻekiʻe o Maui, a ke hele pū nei lākou i ke Kulanui o Hawaiʻi ma Mānoa.

Kaponoʻai Molitau was appointed by Maui Mayor RIchard Bissen as director of the newly created Department of Oiwi Resources. (Photo Courtesy: Maui County) — Ua koho ʻia ʻo Kaponoʻai Molitau e ko Maui meia ʻo Richard Bissen ma ke ʻano he luna o ke Keʻena Kumuwaiwai ʻŌiwi. (Maui County/2024)

ʻO Molitau, ka mea i koho ʻia ma ke ʻano he luna o ke Keʻena Kumuwaiwai ʻŌiwi, ʻo ia nō ka mea hoʻokumu a me ka CEO o Native Intelligence, ka mea i wehe ʻia ma ka makahiki 2009 ma ke ʻano he kikowaena kumuwaiwai moʻomeheu Hawaiʻi a he hale kūʻai liʻiliʻi ma Wailuku.

“Ua hōʻike mai ʻo Kaponoʻai i kona kūpaʻa ʻana ma ka hoʻomau ʻana i ka ʻike a me nā hana kuʻuna o ko kākou moʻomeheu Hawaiʻi,” wahi a Bissen ma kekahi ʻōlelo i hoʻolaha ʻia. “ʻO kona pilina makamaka i nā hana kuʻuna, e waiwai lua ʻole ana nō ia i ke alakaʻi a me ka hoʻomohala ʻana i kēia keʻena hou.”

Ma kona noho kumu hula ʻana no ka Hālau Nā Hanona Kūlike ʻO Piʻilani, ua aʻo aku ʻo Molitau i nā keiki, nā kūpuna, a me nā kumu ʻē aʻe i ka hula a me ke oli ʻana no nā makahiki he 21.

Ke kūkulu hou nei ʻo Molitau i ka heiau ʻo Kealakaʻihonua, a ke hānai aku nei ʻo ia i kahi papa kahuna kakalaleo no nā hanauna hou i wahi e aʻo ʻia mai ai nā hana kuʻuna. Hana pū ʻo ia me nā alakaʻi ʻōiwi ma Maui a me Moananuiākea.

Ke hoʻokō nei ʻo ia i kahi kēkelē laeʻula ma ka ʻike ʻōiwi i pili i ka heiau a me ka hana kuʻuna ma Awanuiarangi University ma Aotearoa.

Ua hoʻomaʻamaʻa ʻo ia no nā makahiki he 32 ma nā hana kuʻuna, a ua lilo ʻo ia i loea ma ka heiau ʻo Puʻukoholā, kahi āna i lilo ai, ʻo ia nō ka hiku o nā kānaka i lilo i kahuna nui o nā hana kuʻuna.

E hana ana ke keʻena hou i mau polokalamu e mālama pono ʻia ai nā kumuwaiwai ʻōiwi, e laʻa ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, nā inoa ʻāina, nā mea i pili i ka moʻolelo, nā wahi pana, nā iwi, a me nā kumuwaiwai kūlohelohe e hoʻohana ʻia ma nā hana kuʻuna.

ʻO kā Civil Beat kūkala nūhou ʻana i pili i ke Kalana o Maui, ke uku hapa ʻia nei e kekahi haʻawina kālā mai ka Nuestro Futuro Foundation.

Ua kākoʻo ʻia kēia papahana e ka ʻOhana o Harry Nathaniel, Levani Lipton, ka ʻOhana Mar, a me Lisa Kleissner.

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