Hale O Kūhiō, image from video by David Corrigan

(BIVN) – A new Hale o Kūhiō has replaced the previous structure of the same name along the Mauna Kea Access Road on Hawaiian Home Lands.

In a recent interview, two kanaka rangers stationed at the “Aloha Safety Checkpoint” – Kalaniakea Wilson and Kepa Kaʻeo – talked about the creation of the red-painted structure named after Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole, the aliʻi who spearheaded the passage of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act in Washington D.C. as a Congressman. The Act set aside approximately 200,000 acres of land to establish a permanent homeland for native Hawaiians in order to help with the rehabilitation of the people.

According to Wilson and Kaʻeo, the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands has failed to effectively administer the program over the years. They are part of the Beneficiary Trust Council effort to institute an ʻĀina Mauna Solution for the DHHL ʻĀina Mauna legacy lands in Humuʻula. The effort includes the checkpoint at Hale o Kūhiō.

However, the ʻĀina Mauna Solution has not been sanctioned by the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. Wilson and Kaʻeo produced a letter from a DHHL official, instructing them to take down the first, smaller-sized Hale o Kūhiō. The kanaka rangers complied. Now, a larger structure has taken its place.