Punahoa Heritage Forest Background for HCUCC Readers

TONI BISSEN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, PŪ‘Ā FOUNDATION

Pū‘ā Foundation was asked by The Friend to write briefly about the Punahoa Heritage Forest (PHF).

To set context, an understanding of Hawai‘i’s land system is provided, taken in part from W.D. Alexander’s A Brief History of Land Titles in the Hawaiian Kingdom (1891) including the description of land by island (mokupuni), districts (moku), and divisions (ahupua‘a). In 1846 to organize the lands of Hawai‘i a governmental assessment process began. That process was referred to as the Mahele and was handled by the Land Commission. Land commission awards were applied for and assigned as part of the Mahele process.

The concept of the PHF was created and developed by Pū‘ā Foundation to be a place where people and nature thrive. Together with the lands from the UCC Hawai‘i Conference Foundation (HCF), PHF is currently made up of 1052 acres from Pū‘ā and 922 acres from the HCF. It forms an elongated shape, and is along Daniel K. Inouye Highway, a 20-minute drive from Hilo. PHF is within the mokupuni of Hawai‘i, moku of Hilo, and the ahupua‘a of Punahoa 2. The land commission award is listed as LCA 387, awarded to the ABCFM in 1855. The claim describes that the King and Ka‘ahumanu leased the Punahoa lands to the Sandwich Island Mission in 1827, and the Mission was in peaceable possession from that time to when the claim was filed. The ABCFM is the predecessor of the Hawai‘i UCC Conference and Foundation, and as a part of the 1993 apology, redress, and reconciliation initiative for the complicity of the 1893 overthrow of the Hawaiian government, 1300 acres of the Punahoa 2 lands were given to the Pū‘ā Foundation.

The vision for the PHF is for a forest of world renown that enables Hawaiians to know, care, and connect with their heritage. And the mission is to preserve and protect the natural state of the forest. To help it flourish as a place of gathering, rejuvenation and cultural expression for all Hawaiians and for those who embrace Hawaiian culture.

To learn more go to punahoaheritageforest.org