HR287.DOC

WHEREAS, the richness and vitality of our State is due in large part to the efforts of civic minded individuals who give so much of their time, energy, and talents to meet community and cultural needs and to fulfill a vision for the well-being of society, a value epitomized by LEIMOMI MO'OKINI LUM who has preserved, enriched and promoted the cultural and religious traditions of our "old Hawai`i" against overwhelming odds; and

WHEREAS, in 1962, the United States Department of the Interior designed the Mo`okini Luakini Hei`au as a registered national historic landmark, the seventy-ninth in the nation and the first in the State of Hawai`i, this Hei`au has been in the Mo`okini family since 480 A.D., and in 1977, LEIMOMI MO'OKINI LUM was chosen as Kahuna Nui, the spiritual and physical guardian and caretaker of the Hei`au and as Kahuna Nui, she has faithfully carried on the family tradition of caring for this Hei`au; and

WHEREAS, in 1992, Act 166, Session Laws of Hawai`i, which sought to preserve and protect the cluster of historical sites in North Kohala by creating the North Kohala State Monument was passed, and this monument encompasses the triangle of the Mo`okini Hei`au, the Kukuipahu Hei`au and certain historic sites, and also the Hei`au at Mahukona making up the triangular locations of the Ku, Kane, and Lono temples established by the early Mo`okini ancestors; and

WHEREAS, LEIMOMI MO'OKINI LUM recognized the threat of losing the Kamehameha birth site because of landowner's development plans, and was instrumental in convincing the U.S. Department of the Interior to include this irreplaceable artifact into the Mo`okini Registered National Historic Landmark, and the lands between the Kamehameha birth site and Mo`okini Luakini Hei`au were also placed in the Registered National Historic Landmark District, to prevent any development of the land; and

WHEREAS, some 32 years have elapsed since LEIMOMI MO'OKINI LUM, upon becoming the next generation's Kahuna Nui, lifted the sacred kapu or restriction that reserved the Hei`au for royalty and human sacrifices, thereby, making it safe for everyone to enter and leave the sacred site and within this time frame this precious land was dedicated to the "Children of the Land; and

WHEREAS, LEIMOMI MO'OKINI LUM, founded and organized the program "Na Mano O Hawai`i Nei", and formulated and implemented Children's Day, and in 1994, the land cradling the Mo`okini Luakini Hei`au and the Kamehameha Birth Site were rededicated to include the "Children of the World"; and

WHEREAS, in 2009, LEIMOMI MO'OKINI LUM began the construction of the Mo’okini Educational Complex, a permanent site to continue her educational work with the children on preserving the culture of Hawaii; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2009, that this body hereby commends and congratulates LEIMOMI MO'OKINI LUM and others of her bloodline for their outstanding service in protecting and perpetuating Hawai`i's ancient cultural heritage, and extends to the Mo`okini Ohana its warmest aloha and best wishes for continued success in all their future endeavors.

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	287
TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009
STATE OF HAWAII