Now is the time to talk about Pōhakuloa Training Area
The protests at Mauna Kea by Kānaka Maoli (Native Hawaiians) and their allies show the growing desire to conserve and protect Hawaiʻi’s natural environment and culture. Advocates hope this activism will soon turn to the base of Mauna Kea—Pōhakuloa. Currently, the U.S. Army holds a lease of nearly 23,000 acres of ceded land in the area, which it uses for live fire testing and training. In 1964, the state of Hawaiʻi leased the land to the Army for 65 years and for only $1. Now, these lands are a part of the Pōhakuloa Training Area (PTA) and the lease expires in 2029.
The Army has begun preparation for lease renewal negotiations. In September, the Army released a federal register notice of its intent to begin an environmental impact statement (EIS). Their next step is to draft an EIS that will likely be released in 18 to 24 months, as well as a cultural impact assessment (CIA). To submit comments on the CIA visit the Army’s public survey. The Army will provide other opportunities for public participation, as required by law.
Formal negotiations between the governor and the Army will likely begin in 2027, so the next governor will begin preparations for renewal, and the following administration will carry out negotiations. Other government participants in the negotiations will likely be congressional members, local legislators and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustees.
To help prepare for public participation, this blog post is intended to serve as a resource for readers about the Pōhakuloa Training Area.
Overview
Source: Ka Maka Koʻi and Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Pōhakuloa: Now that you know, do you care?
Indigenous People of Hawaiʻi
Kānaka Maoli or Kānaka ‘Ōiwi (“Native Hawaiians”) are the indigenous people of the Hawaiian Islands, and descendants of Polynesian voyagers who first arrived to Hawaiʻi as early as 300 AD. Prior to first European contact in 1778, Native Hawaiians developed a complex culture, language, and stable land tenure system that supported a population estimated to be between 300 thousand to 1 million people.
Throughout the 19th century, European countries and the U.S. repeatedly recognized the Native Hawaiian Kingdom as a sovereign nation. However, in 1893, American and European businessmen overthrew the Kingdom with support from the U.S. government. In 1898, the U.S. declared domain over Hawaiʻi through annexation without a formal treaty.
Today, Native Hawaiians make up a large and growing part of Hawaiʻi’s population. In Hawaiʻi in 2017, approximately 21 percent or 302,000 residents were full or part Native Hawaiian. In total nationally, approximately 614,000 people were full or part Native Hawaiians, meaning half of Native Hawaiians live outside of Hawaiʻi.
For overview of Hawaiʻi’s history and Native Hawaiian culture, we recommend Moolelo Ea O Na Hawaii: History of Native Hawaiian Governance in Hawaiʻi by D. McGregor and M. MacKenzie and the Native Hawaiian Law: A Treatise edited by M. MacKenzie.
Native Hawaiian Value of Mālama ʻĀina
In Native Hawaiian creation stories, the islands were born from Papahānaumoku, earth mother, and Wākea, sky father, who ultimately gave birth to the kānaka (people). For Native Hawaiians, the natural elements and creatures of the islands are their primordial ancestors, so man must mālama (care) their older siblings, who will in turn care for them (Kanaʻiaupuni, 285). Within their worldview, Native Hawaiians participate in a reciprocal relationship with the natural world—to take and give in kind, as a sound and necessary means to ensure their collective well-being, which is inclusive of ʻāina (land) (Kurashima, 5). The principle of mālama ʻāina (to take care of the land) is linked to conserving and protecting not only the land and its resources, but also humankind and the spiritual world as well (MacKenzie).
Where is Pōhakuloa?
Situated over 6,000 feet above sea level, Pōhakuloa (which means “long stone”) is the saddle between the mountains Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa and Hualālai on Hawaiʻi Island with a stark landscape of folded black lava and bulging cinder cones. The area is home to large tracts of tropical, sub-alpine, dryland ecosystem—one of the rarest ecosystems worldwide—and dozens of threatened and endangered plants, birds and bats. It is also situated over water reserves.
Additionally, Pōhakuloa has numerous historical and cultural sites for Native Hawaiians, including heiau or sacred shrines. A Native Hawaiian practitioner, Kalani Flores, explains because Pōhakuloa lies at the center of Hawaiʻi Island, the area is its energetic piko (lit. navel, umbilical cord, fig. blood relative) and sacred.
Ancient History of Pōhakuloa
As told by Uncle Ku Ching, a Native Hawaiian cultural practitioner:
“From a Hawaiian cultural and historical perspective, the Pōhakuloa saddle area was very important to ʻUmi A Liloa, the paramount Hawaiʻi Island chief of the 1500s, who built Ahu A ʻUmi, where, among other things, he assembled and trained his warriors for victorious assaults on the Kona District. He also built other heiau in the area—on Mauna Loa, at the original Hale Pōhaku on Mauna Kea, and at Puʻu Keʻekeʻe, which is situated on the present day Pōhakuloa Training Area (PTA).
“The Pōhakuloa saddle area was like a Hawaiian ‘Grand Central Station’—it connected east and west Hawaiʻi Island, and was the entrance to Mauna Kea for the fine basalt raw material for adze makers and the habitats for the birds favored by feather collectors. Even in this modern day, ʻakēʻakē, ʻōpeʻapeʻa, and nēnē (some of which mingle among the military in training at PTA) are among the remarkable, rare and endangered residents of the area.”
Pōhakuloa’s Ceded Lands
The Pōhakuloa area includes ceded lands, which were entrusted to the state of Hawaiʻi for the benefit of Native Hawaiians and the general public during statehood. Under the state’s constitution, the state has fiduciary responsibilities for ceded land management and certain requirements for non-conservation use of the lands. In 2019, the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court reaffirmed this responsibility and set the standard of “mālama ʻāina” (lit. to take care of the land) in management of Pōhakuloa ceded land.
U.S. Army’s Pōhakuloa Training Area
The Pōhakuloa Training Area (PTA) is 133,000 acres (an area slightly smaller than the island of Kauaʻi), which is comprised of private crown lands seized upon the overthrow, purchased private land, and ceded lands controlled by the state. In 1964, the state awarded 23,000 acres of ceded land to the Army for a 65-year lease at the price of one dollar. This lease expires in 2029. A key stipulation of the lease says the military must “make every reasonable effort to … remove or deactivate all live or blank ammunition upon completion of a training exercise.” The ‘reasonable’ clause worries advocates that the military will leave the area like Kahoʻolawe, for which Congress provided only $400 million for restoration projects and to clean up only 75 percent of the surface after almost half a century of bombing.
For the last 70 years, the U.S. Army has used the Pōhakuloa region for military testing and live-fire training, including sniper practice, throwing grenades, firing vehicle-borne armaments, torpedoes, mortars, artillery and munitions. B-2 and B-52 bombers have flown from as far as way as Guam and Missouri to drop dummy bombs on the area. PTA is also used by foreign militaries for training during the biennial Rim of the Pacific exercises (RIMPAC). Additionally, in the 1960s, the Army used depleted uranium (DU) in training munitions; yet, DU’s continued presence has not been studied.
Mālama ʻĀina Civil Case
In 2014, the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation on behalf of two Native Hawaiian cultural practitioners, Clarence Ching and Mary Maxine Kahaulelio, filed suit against the state of Hawaiʻi alleging that the state was not in compliance with the fiduciary responsibilities and obligations that it had accepted as trustee for the ceded lands. They argued that despite requirements for the Army to cleanup training areas, the Army regularly failed to do so and the state failed to hold them accountable.
The Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation and the cultural practitioners not only won the case, but the ruling created a new precedent. Judge Gary Chang’s ruling specifically used the term “mālama ʻāina” as the standard by which the state is to treat the ceded lands of Pōhakuloa Training Area—and presumably all of the ceded lands. Governor Ige’s Administration appealed the ruling, but in 2019, the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court upheld the lower court’s findings and recommendations, obligating the state to monitor activities and ensure trash and unexploded ordnance is removed.
Taking Action
Advocacy & Opportunities
Advocates hope the movement behind the Mauna Kea protests will extend to the mountain’s base, Pōhakuloa. The U.S. government and the state of Hawaiʻi must go through a years long process, including environmental and cultural impact reviews, before in-depth negotiations to extend the lease at Pōhakuloa begin, which is anticipated in 2027. So, the public has time to influence the negotiations by making their voice heard through engagement. Here are a few suggestions:
Participate in public events and submit comments when opportunities arise at the federal and state level. Agencies often give short notice of opportunities, so monitor the Army’s PTA website and sign up for news alerts, such as OHA’s Ka Wai Ola.
Fill out the Army’s public survey on PTA’s cultural impact assessment. You may also contact community@honuaconsulting.com or (808) 392-1617.
The Army expects the draft EIS to be released in 18 to 24 months, and will provide opportunity for public comment and meetings then.
Vote for candidates that support your opinions to lay the groundwork for Pōhakuloa’s future, including for the Governor, congressional members, legislators, OHA trustees, and Hawaiʻi County Council members.
Join an advocacy group. For example, the Malu ʻAina Peace Center on Hawaiʻi Island opposes PTA lease renewal process.
Write letters to the editors and to officials, as well as share your thoughts with elected officials on social media platforms.
We are interested in hearing from you regarding your perspectives on this issue. Please share your thoughts with Seana Pieper-Jordan at seanna@hibudget.org.
Works Cited
Kanaʻiaupuni, Shawn Malia and Nolan Malone, “This Land is My Land: The Role of Place in Native Hawaiian Identity,” 2006 Hūlili, Vol. 3 No. 1.
Kurashima, Natalie, Jason Jeremiah, A. Nāmaka Whitehead, Jon Tulchin, Mililani Browning and Trever Duarte, “ʻĀina Kaumaha: The Maintenance of Ancestral Principles for 21st Century Indigenous Resource Management,” Sustainability, 31 October 2018.
MacKenzie, Melody Kapilialoha, Susan K. Serrano and Koalani Laura Kaulukukui, “Environmental Justice for Indigenous Hawaiians: Reclaiming Land and Resources,” NR&E, Winter 2007.