(BIVN) – Former Hawaiʻi County Councilwoman and Hawaiian homesteader Emily Naeole spoke out on various issues during the Hawaiian Homes Commission meeting in Hilo on Monday.

Naeole urged the other Hawaiian beneficiaries who were packed into the Crown Room of the Grand Naniloa Hotel to “hold themselves” so that the discussion could remain civil, and she offered a pule before she testified.

Naeole, known as Aunty Emily in her Puna community, started her talk with a reflection on the Makuʻu homesteads, where she says she has lived for 34 years.

“There’s a lot of druggies coming my homestead,” Naeole said, “and they’re
controlling the path. I do not like it.”

Naeole also had something to say about the vacant lots around her. “One hundred people never show up. And if you one of them, I like pull your ear,” she said, “because my neighbor on the side and my neighboring in the back never come yet.”

“There’s 100 people never show up in Makuʻu for 34 years,” Naeole said. “What’s your problem? A lot of people waiting on the list need to come on.”

She also spoke against the possibility of a spaceport in East Hawaiʻi. “I no like. Aʻole,” she said. “Why are we bring all this kine hewa to our people? We no need none of this crap. It doesn’t belong to us. It’s not for our knowledge. Our people are akamai, yeah? So we no need the spaceport.”

Finally, Naeole discussed the situation on Mauna Kea, where the standoff over the Thirty Meter Telescope has been ongoing since mid-July. “I’ve been up there 7 times,” she said, “because I no drive, I have to hitchhike, catch a ride, do whatever I can to get up the mountain.”

“It saddens me to see our people, no more,” Naeole said, “and other people come in and get first rate. No can.”

Big Island Video News will be featuring more public testimony from Monday’s Hawaiian Homes Commission meeting.