CORRECTION: This story has been updated to correctly translate “wahi pana,” which translated is actually a celebrated or storied place, while “wahi kapu” is the correct phrase for a sacred place. In addition, the first name of kupuna Nellie Thomas Angelo was corrected.
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Hundreds showed up Saturday at the Waipi‘o Valley Lookout in the name of ocean access.
Malama I Ke Kai ‘O Waipi‘o, MaKa for short, organized the rally, asking attendees to wear blue. The group, comprised of surfers, anglers and other ocean users, sued the county after Mayor Mitch Roth closed Waipi‘o Valley Road to all but residents and farmers via emergency declaration on Feb. 25. The county’s rationale for the action was that the steep, narrow road to the valley floor presents a significant rockfall and erosion hazard, endangering the road’s users.
The organization is also concerned about the possible privatization of Waipi‘s black sand beach, including an access road chained by a private landowner.
“I don’t want to see the county restricting people’s access to the ocean. And this has been public access,” said Chris Yuen, a former county planning director who’s also served on the state Board of Land and Natural Resources. “There are trails and roads to the valley that have been shown on the maps from at least the late 1800s and, probably, way before that, there was a way to get to the beach.
“We want to see this continue.”
After MaKa’s attorney, Steve Strauss — who’s also a plaintiff in the lawsuit — announced a mediated settlement with the county, Roth issued another emergency proclamation on Sept. 19 that, in theory, opened the steep county road to Hawaii Island residents, Native Hawaiian practitioners and licensed tour operators.
Since then, another group, Protect Waipi‘o Valley, set up what it calls a “kupuna checkpoint.” Kupuna stopped vehicles atop the valley rim, attempting to dissuade occupants who weren’t legally allowed to use the road under the mayor’s first emergency proclamation from doing so now.
A sizable contingent from the Waipi‘o community were also on hand Saturday, many of them wearing blue, as well.
“I don’t think there is two sides,” said Ku Kahakalau, a Native Hawaiian educator and cultural practitioner. “We are not against ocean access. As you can see, we’re all wearing blue. We are not against traditional practitioners going down to Waipi‘o and doing whatever the law allows them to do. So I don’t really think there’s two sides. There’s just miscommunication and a feeling of entitlement and ‘it’s all about me’ on one side. And the other side having a kakou mentality, which is we all work together — not only for ourselves as kanaka but also for the land, and also for the spiritual realm. So it’s a different mindset, right?”
The gathering remained peaceful, although for about an hour, MaKa and its supporters were at the lookout’s point, down a steep walkway from the kupuna checkpoint where the Waipi‘o residents and their supporters remained. There were multiple generations of families at both locations.
Nellie Thomas Angelo, aka “Aunty Lady,” an octogenarian who grew up in the valley, expressed a nostalgia for the valley’s past before the access road was paved, attracting tourists and islanders who weren’t valley residents.
“The lifestyle was beautiful and loving, and that was in my lifetime. And that’s what I hope to see the (youth) now, the community in Waipi‘o bring back. And learn to respect,” Angelo said. We don’t have that up here. I learned it all from there in Waipi‘o.”
“And now there’s no respect, no love, that deep love of Waipi‘o. I love Waipi‘o so much, you know,” she added and broke into tears, prompting a young man to bring her tissue. “We’re trying to get whoever is in charge to fix the road, make it safe for everybody.
“And then respect Waipi‘o when you go down.”
The condition of the road also was brought up by several. Sherry Pung, a taro farmer, called on Roth to “just malama the community down there and fix the road, like he promised.”
Pung had another request, as well.
“We would love the surfers to drop the lawsuit. We would love that. And just unite as one,” she said.
Yuen acknowledged issues with the road, saying, “There are ways to make it safer.”
Yuen reiterated his contention, however, that the county’s rockfall study by Seattle-based consultant Hart Crowser “blew an equation of how to calculate it, and exaggerated the risk by 280 times for pedestrians and 100 times for vehicles.”
Local-born island resident Cayson Peterson said there shouldn’t be a monopoly on who has access to the valley or judgment as to whose love for the wahi pana, or sacred place, is more valid.
“We are here with the same passion in our heart for what Protect Waipi‘o are standing for,” Peterson said. “But for us, we want the same thing which is to protect Waipi‘o and make sure the road is safe. We come down here to surf. And we love this land just the same way they do.
“We cherish this coast. We cherish it as a sacred place, And we want to protect it.”
A conch shell sounded at about 10:45 a.m. Shortly thereafter, MaKa ascended the trail back up to the valley rim and members of both groups — plus three police officers — held hands as a Hawaiian prayer was said.
Strauss called on Roth to “sign the mediation agreement.”
“The only sticking point is that, so far, he has not agreed not to cooperate with third parties when they want to deny ocean access,” he said. “It really needs to be done. And if he does that, we can close this chapter out and we can move together with our brothers and sisters up there to work through the County Council on a responsible, long-term management that deals with tourism issues, that deals with deals with vehicle issues.
“It may not solve everybody’s problem, but it’s a lot better than emergency declarations when there’s no emergency to close the roads.”
There’s a court hearing at 10 a.m. Wednesday before Hilo Circuit Judge Peter Kubota to hear MaKa’s motion for a preliminary injunction, as well as county’s motion in opposition to the injunction and a motion to continue proceedings.
There’s also a public hearing from 5:30-7 p.m. Wednesday on the county’s road repair plans at the Honokaa High and Elementary School gymnasium, a change of venue from Honokaa People’s Theater to provide better parking.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.