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The Office of Hawaiian Affairs spent almost��$5,000 to support a massive public demonstration��in Waikiki earlier this month, one focused on land use in the islands in general but opposition to the in particular.

Many organizations contributed to the march. What’s different about OHA’s support is that it is a quasi-state agency using money designated for Native Hawaiian beneficiaries.

CEO Kamana‘opono Crabbe explained in an internal OHA memo dated Aug. 13, four days after the , that he approved the funds because “the��goals and specific��planned outcomes of the march were directly supportive of OHA’s strategic priority results related to aina and moomeheu.”

Kamana’opono Crabbe outside OHA’s offices in 2014.

PF Bentley/Civil Beat

“Aina” is Hawaiian for “land,” while��“moomeheu” translates as��“culture.”

The unity march, which drew an estimated��10,000 participants, was a show of strength that organizers hope to translate into ongoing political action.

The march’s main purpose was��to “express political views regarding issues that are impacting the management and use of land and natural resources in Hawaii,” according to for the march. “At the forefront of these issues are the construction of TMT on Mauna Kea, regulation of pesticide use on agricultural lands in rural communities throughout the state, and mismanagement of agricultural lands across the State.”

“TMT is what’s hot, but the march was an opportunity for people to recognize all the other things that are going on in this state as well. Mauna Kea drew everybody out, but there is also GMOs and pesticides.” — Kuhio Lewis, OHA community outreach manager

While��the march was foremost about bringing Hawaiians together, several participants told Civil Beat, a major concern expressed at the march was protecting Mauna Kea and protesting the TMT,��planned to be��the biggest and most advanced telescope on the mountain. Construction has been stalled since early April, following the arrests��of��protesters��attempting to halt the $1.4 billion project.

Underscoring the connection between the march and the telescope, an��announcement of the march was made��in front of the Hawaii Convention Center, where��2,000 astronomers were��attending a two-week-long convention of the��.

The IAU turned down a request by leaders of the protest movement to address the conference or participate in a public discussion. The protesters then elected to��invite the��astronomers to march with them��to Kapiolani Park to learn about��Mauna Kea and also Haleakala, the mountain on Maui that is also the focus of observatory��protests.

Health, Safety of Kupuna

OHA’s Board of Trustees initially supported the TMT project. In April it��rescinded its support,��but also took no position opposing it.

Crabbe makes no mention of��Mauna Kea, telescopes, the TMT, protesters or��protectors (a word preferred by some instead��of “protesters,” to emphasize care of the mountain, which is considered sacred by many Hawaiians) in his internal memo.

Robert Lindsey, board chairman, directed Civil Beat’s media inquiry to Crabbe.��In an email statement, Crabbe said:

“The Aloha Aina March brought attention to many land use issues important to Native Hawaiians. OHA was approached by beneficiaries concerned about the health and safety of our kupuna and others involved in the march. After reviewing the information available to me at the time, I approved funding for trolleys to allow kupuna to safely participate in the march, along with water, parking and food.

“OHA did provide other incidental expenses as we would customarily do for a march similar to this. OHA’s support was intended to protect the health and safety of those involved in the march and to ensure all voices were given an appropriate venue.”

Some participants in the Aloha Aina Unity March wore free T-shirts provided by OHA.

Cory Lum/Civil Beat

Calls to Tiare Lawrence, a lead organizer of the unity march, were not returned.

Trustee Colette Machado, who requested a breakdown of OHA’s expenses for the march, did not respond to Civil Beat’s inquiry.

Here’s what��the��$4,785.13 was used for:

• E Noa Corp Trolley,��$871.19
• Roberts Hawaii shuttles,��$896
• Parking at��Kapiolani Community College,��$300
• Signs (“shuttle stop,” “park here”),��$225.11
• Banners (“Aloha Aina” “free T-shirts”),��$368.54
• Hale Kealoha-Ai Pono (food to feed 10,000 people),��$1,500
• Water (for all participants),��$413.80
• Lei (for organizers, speakers and entertainers),��$210.49
• T-shirts (from storage),��no cost

‘E Kuilima Kakou’

While opposition to the TMT was on the minds of many marchers, the free T-shirts distributed by OHA at the event were construed��by some as pushing another controversial cause.

The red shirts read, “E����la,��E Alu,��E Kuilima Kakou,” which translates as��“rise, together, join hands.”

The shirts featured a triangle symbol that is also featured on a website for , a recently formed organization that is guiding efforts for an election and convention for Native Hawaiians that could lead to a degree of governmental self-determination.

“E��ala,��e��alu,��e��kuilima kakou” translates as��“rise, together, join hands.”

Cory Lum/Civil Beat

While Nai Aupuni’s website stresses that it “is separate and independent from OHA and the State of Hawaii,” the ��by OHA grants to a��nonprofit called the Akamai Foundation.

Civil Beat found no evidence linking the “kakou” T-shirts with Nai Aupuni. In his memo, Crabbe says nothing about Nai Aupuni or elections.

Neither��is there mention of Kanaiolowalu, a project of the Native Hawaiian Roll Commission, ��“to reunify Native Hawaiians in the self-recognition of our unrelinquished sovereignty.” The roll commission is ��under Act 195��to OHA’s offices.

The funds for the unity march came��after Crabbe��said he received an “urgent request” from march organizers to help them out.

An Aloha Aina marcher holds an upside-down state flag as a rented bus arrives at Saratoga Road in Waikiki.

Cory Lum/Civil Beat

Crabbe himself participated in the march, as did Kuhio Lewis, OHA’s community outreach manager, and other OHA employees. As Crabbe explained in his memo, staff assistance in��the march was conducted during non-work hours.

Lewis told Civil Beat that OHA’s contribution to the Aloha Aina Unity March was “minimal” compared with other groups like the Hawaii chapter of the Sierra Club and��: The Hawaiian-Environmental Alliance. Other supporters, according to the , included Babes Against Biotech, the����and��.

“In my personal opinion, the march was a big call to action,” Lewis said. “TMT is what’s hot, but the march was an opportunity for people to recognize all the other things that are going on in this state as well. Mauna Kea drew everybody out, but there is also GMOs and pesticides.”

Still, TMT was clearly at��the forefront of issues to be raised during��the march. Lewis helped organize publicity for the march, sending out��a media advisory Aug. 2 asking����loha Aina leaders to “call Mauna supporters to share aloha with astronomers at the��International Astronomical Union Conference.”

The advisory states, “As a result of the astronomers’ denial, Mauna a Wakea leaders will explain alternate plans including a large march through Waikiki at a press conference.”

The press conference was held Aug. 4 outside the Hawaii Convention Center.

OHA’s ‘Mission, Vision, and Brand’

In the memo, Crabbe says the��“aloha aina and collaborative focuses of the march are strongly aligned with OHA’s mission, vision, and brand.”

OHA’s mission, explained in its , includes ��and��improving . It also includes��facilitating a process for Hawaiians.

Governance��efforts have been elevated to a new level in recent weeks, with the U.S. Department of the Interior moving to propose rules to deal with a Native Hawaiian governing entity.

Walter Ritte, a longtime Hawaiian activist on Molokai who wants to remove the telescopes on top of Mauna Kea and who participated in the unity march, told Civil Beat that��he welcomed OHA’s participation but wished the agency had spent more than just $5,000.

“It’s about time,” said Ritte, a former OHA trustee.��“We’ve been asking OHA to support us��from day one. If they want to do it in��some small increments, that’s��their��choice, but it should be a bigger��amount. It’s our money. We are Hawaiians.”