Ka‘ū News Briefs, Friday, March 4, 2022

HAWAIIAN CULTURAL PRACTICES are shared in a new video series produced, created and hosted by Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park rangers, available to individuals, homes and classrooms anywhere.
    The short documentary films are both "talk story" and tutorial and enable a friendly connection to traditional Hawaiian lifestyle practices. Viewers are introduced to three skilled local practitioners who delve into the rituals of kuʻi kalo (making poi), weave lei lāʻī (ti leaf lei), and create an ipu heke ʻole (single gourd drums) in beautiful settings on the island of Hawaiʻi.
    The video series, titled ʻIke Hana Noʻeau (Experience the Skillful Work), evolved from the in-person cultural demonstrations hosted by Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park at Kīlauea Visitor Center. The in-person programs are on hold, but the park's mission to share authentic Hawaiian culture is stronger than ever. The video host, Park Ranger Sean Miday, is a kānaka (native Hawaiian) who kicks off his boots and rolls up his sleeves to learn important traditions along with the viewer.
    The premiere video, Kui Kalo, debuted March 2 and features Kamehameha Schools senior Hayden Konanui-Tucker who demonstrates how to ku'i kalo (pound poi) in sacred Waipiʻo Valley. Poi is described as the staple food of the Hawaiian people, the film showing kuʻi kalo, the process of pounding cooked kalo corms to make poi. For many Native Hawaiians, this process is a way to connect with their older brother Hāloanakalaukapalili who in a cosmology story fed Hawaiians and continues to provide food today. 
    In the second episode slated to debut in early April, Ranger Sean visits Keokea Beach in Kohala and learns to weave lei lāʻī hula adornments with Cheryl Cabrera. And in May, gourd master Kalim Smith shows Sean how to grow and shape ʻipu heke ʻole, a single gourd drum instrument vital to hula.
    All three videos will be shared for free on the park website, go.nps.gov/ike and YouTube page. Big Island Television, which airs in more than 6,000 hotel rooms on the island of Hawaiʻi and on Spectrum channel 130, will also broadcast the ʻIke Hana Noʻeau videos to a wide audience starting March 5 with Kuʻi Kalo.
    "The target audience for the ʻIke Hana Noʻeau videos is a mix of visitors, kānaka maoli wanting to learn or reconnect to their culture, local residents, educators and students. The park is excited to reach this broad audience by collaborating with the tourism industry, local broadcasters and other partners," said Park Superintendent Rhonda Loh. "We hope everyone will watch, learn and treasure these videos as much as we do," Loh said.
    The videos were produced by the Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park 'Ike Hana Noʻeau team which consists of Park Rangers Keoni Kaholoʻaʻā, Sean Miday, Daniel Anekelea Hübner, and Lanihuli Kanahele. The hui (team) members are kānaka maoli (native Hawaiians) who are passionate about the perpetuation and sharing of their culture through the use of media, says a statement from the park. Each video is around 20 minutes in duration, and all are accessible with audio description, closed captions and ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi translation.
    The park's non-profit partners, the Friends of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park and the Hawaiʻi Pacific Parks Association, helped support and fund the ʻIke Hana Noʻeau video project.

ALL STATE FACILITIES ACROSS HAWAI'I WILL REOPEN TO THE PUBLIC starting Monday, March 7. The announcement was made Friday by the Department of Accounting and General Services, as new COVID-19 case counts and hospitalizations continue to decline across the state. However, entering the facilities will still require photo ID cards and proof of vaccination or documentation of a negative COVID-19 test result received within 72 hours of entering.
    State comptroller Curt Otaguro said, "State operations continued throughout the pandemic, and departments and agencies serviced the public by appointment or through a managed process. Starting Monday, individuals may enter state facilities to conduct their business, after showing required documentation."
    At the Hawai'i State Capitol in Honolulu, visitors will be able to enter from one of two entry points -- the basement rotunda entrance and the first-floor rotunda, street level. Security guards will operate a new screening process at each entry point, where visitors will be asked for their photo ID cards and proof of vaccination or documentation of a negative COVID-19 test result received within 72 hours of entering the Capitol. Visitors who meet the requirements will receive a daily sticker that must be worn at all times while at the State Capitol. Face masks are also required at this time.
    Gov. David Ige said, "We're very pleased to be able to welcome the public back to the State Capitol, and to hold in-person meetings again. We appreciate the public's cooperation and patience over the past two years. The state remained vigilant in its fight against COVID-19, and I am proud to say that our collective efforts in maintaining health and safety protocols resulted in one of the lowest hospitalization and death rates in the country."