 Aloha and welcome to Hawaii Together on the Think Tech Hawaii Broadcast Network. I'm Kili Iakina and although I'm a trustee of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and President of the Grassroot Institute, the views that you hear me or my guest express on today's program are solely our own as private citizens and don't represent any institutions. Now with that said, we can actually have some fun and talk about some lively conversation. I don't know if you know where the kings of ancient Hawaii went to play. They went to play in their playground, which is the Waianae Coast. It's a beautiful stretch on the west side of Oahu that goes on the north side from a little town called Makaha down to Waianae proper down to a place depending upon how you pronounce it that is called Ma'ili or Ma'ili and then all the way down to Nanakuli. Just historic sites with rich, rich history. The population of the Waianae Coast was great at one time where people fished and grew agriculture and played together. It was really the bread basket for the island of Oahu. Now the island has grown and the area known as Waianae Coast has faced many challenges and that's why I'm so grateful for our guest today. She's somebody who is leading people in revisioning what Waianae has been and can be and it's something beautiful and wonderful. My own roots are in Waianae. That's where I grew up as a man. It's where I had my first job. That's where I had my first home. It's where I began to understand what it was to serve the community. For many, many years I was a youth minister with Youth for Christ and started programs like Campus Life and went to the schools. I used to go on to the edge of Nanakuli High School every morning and pray and there was a girl on that campus who hopefully by the grace of God has become someone who is a real blessing for everyone in Hawaii and beyond. And it's our opportunity today to meet her. I first met her, I think I first met her when she was active in representing the beneficiaries of the Office of Waian Affairs as a voice that said to our OHA trustees, this is the way that it has to be done. These things are right. These things are not right and I'm standing up on behalf of beneficiaries and week after week I've seen her come to the OHA trustee board almost as if she was the ninth trustee. And as I've listened to her, I've heard her heart and her mana'o, her mind. She loves the Hawaiian people and at least among many things we share a love for Waianae and a dream about everything Waianae can be for the Hawaiian people and all people. So would you welcome my dear sister, Jermaine Byers. Jermaine, aloha. Thank you, trustee Akina. Welcome to the program. Call me Kili. Oh, no, I can't. You're so humble. That's part of your great nature. Thanks for having me on the show. Jermaine, you know, you come from the Waianae Coast, Nanakuli. What do you love about Nanakuli? Ohana. Ohana family. Family. I love my friends. I love the coastline. We have the most beautiful beaches. Lots of memories of going to the beach and camping and swimming. And it's just wonderful. Absolutely. And you talk about camping. That's actually your birth. Yes. Down there at Kahe Park where we now have a power plant. There was a park many, many years ago. Not that many years ago. Tell us a story of how Jermaine came into the world. Well, my mom had contractions. It was back in the 60s. My age just showed. And then hospitals were, there was none in the Waianae Coast. So they had to take the long trek from the Waianae Coast to get into town to go to a hospital. Yes. And they left Nanakuli and they were on Farrington Highway and my mom just had to give birth to me. They pulled into Kahe Park and then my mom gave birth to me with my grandmother. And then from there they bundled me up and they took me to the hospital to make sure that everything was okay. And I believe everything is okay. Well, you know, I think that a lot of people when they think of the Waianae Coast, especially parts that are densely populated with native Hawaiians. And by the way, the Waianae Coast is the most concentrated and densely populated native Hawaiian population in the world. A lot of times people have a great many misconceptions. And part of the reason is they've just not been out there. And part of the reason is that as Waianae has changed with some of the challenges it faces, it gets a bad rap often. You know, what are some of those misconceptions that you come across and what's the truth? Well, there's a lot of misconceptions. Some of them are true that there is some types of crime, but crime is everywhere. Of course, there's drug issues and drug issues are everywhere. They're even on the other kawaii kai and kane ohe. You know, I feel the most safest when I'm at home in Nanakuli. And along the West Coast, I have never felt unsafe. So there's a misconception that every person that you meet, there's a lot of general statements that everyone or people that you meet at the beach or in the stores, you know, they'll do something to you negatively. And that's not true. You know, one of the things I found germane in the many years I lived on the coast and I used to live in Makaha and in Waianae proper, it really doesn't matter what the color of your skin is. It really doesn't matter what your ethnic background is. It's a place where people respond to you based on your heart. So regardless, even if you're a native Hawaiian and you're out there in a Hawaiian community, you act a certain way, you're going to get treated a certain way. But if you're not a native Hawaiian and you act from the heart, I think people pick up on that a lot. Well, three of my grandparents are native Hawaiian, 100%. But you know, one of my tutus are actually 100% German. And so I'm German, Hawaiian descent. And my grandfather, who is German, was actually an engineer for the railroad. And he was the engineer for the railroad going around the island. Well, you know, the Waianae Coast is such a remarkable place. While we said earlier, it is the most native Hawaiian population and the most densely populated place on the planet, it's also tremendously integrated with other racial backgrounds. It's almost as if most of us Hawaiians out there are mostly something else, too. Yes. So you're proud of your German heritage. I am. I'm not going to separate myself, defragment myself because of my German heritage. I love my tutu. His garden was filled. It was like a garden of Eden. Every fruit that I could think of, things like even star fruit, you know. He had bai vi and olives and, of course, lots of different varieties of mango trees. He said if they could not provide food for your body or for your healing, like medicinal, laau, laau paau, they didn't belong in his garden. So he had all kinds of stuff when I was growing up. And that's what fond memories that I have of my tutu. Sure. You know, one of the misconceptions about the Waianae Coast and about the Hawaiian people in general is that we all have the same political leaning, that we're all fighting for our independence and separation from the United States of America. What are your thoughts about that? Is that the case for the Waianae Coast? Do most Hawaiians want to have a separation from the United States? Well, when we had the Department of Interior in 2014, I believe. The hearings they held? About 99% of the people said no. To no to what? No to the self-determination where the Department of Interior or state agency or federal government getting involved with self-determination. You know, when they say that we're fighting, we never can get along, we can't have a conversation, I find it interesting, especially in the era where we have the president that we do. You know, America is called the United States of America. Oh, by the way. You find it united? Well, it's very diverse at the very least. Yes, there's different political parties. There's, of course, the Democrats and the Republicans. And, you know, they lock hands all the time. So I can't understand why they're forgiving of their type of political arena. The United States of America, emphasis on United. And then they found upon the native Hawaiians and them trying to find their footing after the apology bill, after all these incidents have been in our history. And then they're saying that we don't seem to know how to get it together. Well, you can just pick up a newspaper today and you can see that there's already problems in the United States with our own attorney general and the president. So I find it very not justified and unfair. What do you think is the key to the advancement of the native Hawaiian people? Well, it's not a simple question, so it's not going to be a simple answer. Sure, give me some of the elements that would be there. If you saw native Hawaiian people advancing and particular people on the Wai'anae coast. Well, the Office of the Hawaiian Affairs have been supporting one agenda. And they've only been supporting 1% of the native Hawaiian population. And what agenda is that? Well, they're not self-determination, you know, nation to nation. I've studied the information. Let me just, for a moment, stop so we get our terminology right. Okay. You're using self-determination in a very technical sense. Because overall, I think that there's no disagreement. All people should be able to determine their future themselves. They should be able to achieve and fulfill their dreams and so forth. But when you say, as you say, that the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, in your opinion, has pursued a single agenda, you're talking about self-determinism as a certain form, right? And what is that? Correct, so federal recognition. Okay, the federal recognition to have native Hawaiians identified almost like a Native American Indian tribe as a separate federally recognized country. Correct. Okay, so now what you're saying then is that that's a narrow vision that most Native Hawaiians don't embrace that? Well, the solution is that the Office of Hawaiian Affairs can fund in millions of dollars through other organizations, like Alawui, to allow the people to have conversations amongst themselves, the Native Hawaiian people. Well, that's an interesting thing then. And so you're saying that it's not wrong to have that conversation and that it could be a legitimate pursuit for federal recognition, but it shouldn't take place within the Office of Hawaiian Affairs as a function of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. Am I hearing you correctly? That's correct. And why would that be? Well, what does that say about what the Office of Hawaiian Affairs should be doing? Well, they're a state agency. Okay. So they should be, you know, not trying to get involved with this type of issue. So I understand they want governance, but they need to be fair. If they're going to pay for or bankroll a specific initiative, that's being unfair to the people, especially when they're paying for an initiative that's supported by Alawui, which is about 1% of the Native Hawaiian population, versus the Alawui, which is about 99%. So one of the things I hear you saying is that the Office of Hawaiian Affairs has a duty to the broad, diversified mass of Native Hawaiians as beneficiaries. And what are those things that the Office of Hawaiian Affairs should be doing on behalf of the beneficiaries? Well, they should do what some have campaigned to do, which is bread and butter issues. And those would be? Housing, education, jobs, health care. In fact, you know, Jermaine, back in 2015, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs paid for a scientific study by the firm called SMS Research. And it had a couple of striking results. It showed that the Native Hawaiians ranked the Office of Hawaiian Affairs the lowest in reputation amongst all of the Native Hawaiian organizations. And it also had something that could have been the reason for that. It said that the Native Hawaiian population, by and large, is like what you're saying, did not want OHA to be pursuing issues of governance and self-determination and federal recognition. Instead, they wanted OHA to spend its money on jobs, health care, education, housing, what you call bread and butter needs. So it's as if that scientific survey reflects and validates what you're saying. Yes. And actually, you know, that's what we need in our community. We need someone to assist us with these issues and take us from being a beneficiary to a benefactor. Quickly, before we get to the end of this first segment, you have become well-known now as a voice, an activist. That may not be the word you want to use, but you choose a word called advocate. Somebody who advocates for Native Hawaiians, who advocates for the beneficiaries of the Hawaiian resources, like OHA and so forth. How did you start doing this? Well, what moved you to drive and sometimes catch the bus all the way from Nanakuli to go into town and attend OHA meetings and voice the concerns of Native Hawaiians? Well, it started off with the issue of Austin trustee Rwana Akana. So there's an issue, and we're going to go straight to a break in just about 40 seconds. Okay. So what was your heart, the monologue that drove you to get out in public? Well, it was that. It was just seeing the unfair, correct, because, you know, in the past, they wouldn't make that an issue when it was another trustee. But you've continued on dozens of issues to come back to the board. Yes. What keeps you coming? Because I still see errors in their ways. I still see injustices in the process. And so I feel that an audit is needed, and that's something that I'm so grateful that they've approved, the board has approved, but just seeing issue after issue as they have come up. Well, that's a great segue to our break, and we're going to come back and start at that point. We're going to talk about some of the challenges that the Native Hawaiian people are facing on why and I and overall and why you raise your voice. My guest today is an advocate for Native Hawaiians. She's a community leader amongst Native Hawaiians who stands up for what she believes is right and what is good for all of them. And her name is Jermaine Myers. We'll talk more with her right after this break. I'm Kili Iakena on Hawaii Together on the Think Tech Hawaii broadcast network. Don't go away. This is Think Tech Hawaii, Raising Public Awareness. Aloha. I'm Carol Mon Lee, Think Tech Hawaii's Volunteer Chief Operating Officer and Occasional Host, and this is Minky. For the first time, Think Tech Hawaii is participating in an online web-based fundraising campaign to raise $40,000. Dear thanks, Think Tech will run only during the month of November and you can help. Please donate what you can so Think Tech Hawaii can continue to raise public awareness and promote civic engagement through free programming. I've already made my donation and look forward to yours. Please send in your tax-deductible contribution by going to this website, www.thanksforthinktech.causevox.com. On behalf of the community enriched by Think Tech Hawaii's 30-plus weekly shows, thank you, Mahalo, and Shishir for your generosity. Aloha mai kakou. Welcome back to Hawaii Together on the Think Tech Hawaii broadcast network. I'm Kili Iakena. One of my most beloved sayings is ehana kakou. It sounds like a pule kakou, which everybody knows. Whenever we gather together in public settings, even governmental settings, we're free to pray and we say a pule kakou. Let's pule. Let's pray kakou means do it together. And when I say a pule kakou, I mean it includes everyone. It doesn't exclude someone. And that's true also of another saying that I've been fond of using called ehana kakou. Ehana kakou is let's work together. Think about the terrible alternative. If we don't work together, we won't solve our problems. We won't have the housing, the jobs, the education, the healthcare, the greatness of Hawaii that is still possible just won't be there unless we ehana kakou. And one of the things I like about Jermaine is she picked up on the fact that I had been using that in my various settings as an oha trustee or as the president of the Grassroot Institute. And again, today we're giving our personal views, not no official views of institutions. She picked up on it and has come to our oha board meetings and concluded her testimonies frequently. In fact, almost always by looking at all of us as trustees and saying with a smile, ehana kakou. In fact, she usually does it this way and I'll just paraphrase, hey, you guys better get your act together. Until next time, ehana kakou. And at one point I've seen some of my wonderful colleagues on the board respond back to her ehana kakou. So welcome back, Jermaine. This is a lot of fun, isn't it? Ehana kakou. It's appropriate. Let us work together. Ehana kakou. So why do you pick up on that? Why do you say ehana kakou? Well, when you explained what it meant, I thought it's appropriate, ehana kakou. And I think that's something that empowers us to do everything we need. Yes. Now we've been talking lovingly about why and I and we love why and I so much. Our roots are there, but there are challenges. There are real issues, there have been problems that have been neglected for generations. What's one problem that the why and I face today that we really have to learn to solve? Well, we need a second access road. Okay. For those who don't know, why and I is a long strip along the west coast of Oahu. And while it's virtually as long as the entire width of the island, in fact a little more, the population there is held hostage to one little bottlenecked road at that exit on Farrington Highway. Yes. And you know, that traffic is the worst traffic. You know how I knew the Honolulu Rail was not about solving traffic? Oh. Because if you wanted to solve Hawaii's traffic problems, you'd be talking about Ndana Kuli. Yes. But the alternative is we might have had the rail out to Ndana Kuli. You know. But so, you know, how important is that access road? What problems exist because the access to and from why and I is so restricted? Well, two critical things that happen because of the one access road that we have Farrington Highway is that emergency vehicles can't get to the coastline if there's a bottleneck. If there's an issue, for example, when there was that break in the waterline. That's right. So, you know, of course, now they're saying that the ocean is going to start rising, you know, if there was flooding or things of that nature, how do emergency responses get out to the coastline, especially with our electrical wires running on the coastline? So, you make our population on the why and I coast very vulnerable because they can't be reached. They're isolated almost like Hawaii's Puerto Rico, in a sense. Yes. If something should happen out there, there's only one way in. Yes. So, that's a great big issue and then, you know, with emergency response and then of course with people going to work, also even just to get to the school to drop off a child. There's a one I shared with the trustees that less than two miles of road on Farrington Highway took a 2-2 to take her cakey to school, 55 minutes. That's right. Now, that's a problem that causes so many other problems. For example, people just give up on going to town and getting jobs. People have all kinds of personal issues because they can't get to their children in time and so forth. What's another problem, another challenge facing the why and I coast? Well, we have infrastructure issues. Okay. Okay, so. And by infrastructure, you're referring to what kinds of structures? Well, of course, we need new homes built in on Homestead land. Right. One of the things that. And all the utilities that go to the emperor. And all the utilities that go to them. Of course, we don't have that much commercial development. So, of course, we have to exit the coastline in order to pursue work opportunities. And then. I mean, that's a big one too, jobs. Yes. Now, what does that do to the youth population, especially during the summers? Well, they, of course, have to be only like three jobs. You can get at a gas station out there and maybe a dozen more in the grocery stores and you've got thousands of youth who, who hit the summer months without school or other times or it's inconvenient even during the school year to have any jobs. What do you see happening? Well, of course, they've had to go to Kapolei and they have to venture out to Waipahu or other areas as close to the coastline. Or as I saw so often and worked with directly as the campus life director, they get involved in very unproductive behaviors. Yes. Everything from arson, setting fires to burglary to hanky-panky, as we used to call it as well. Yes. So, we have those issues, but of course, my focus on infrastructure would be the world. And then, of course, making sure that our water, both the ocean and our fresh water, never gets contaminated. The ocean water can get contaminated with runoff, the drainage, the canals, having things that don't belong in there, that washes up to the ocean. Of course, we have the homeless population. I don't know where they dispose of their waste. And a lot of that homeless population is there because they have been pushed from the, I remember it started when Cuyil Park Terrace and other places had displaced some homeless and just kept, it has grown. Now that's the final refuge, so to speak, for many, many homeless people, particularly native Hawaiians. Yes. I mean, I used to feed the homeless at IHS, go with my church. And then for a year, we were going every week to Alamoana Beach Park to feed the homeless. Of course, they shut down the park and nobody can stay overnight. So, they pushed the homeless out and they went to Kakaako. But a lot of them come out to the country feeling that it's much more safe out of the city and out of harm's way as far as for to be relocated. But then they ended up on the beach on the coastline and, you know, they're struggling with that. And so, those are the issues that we have to deal with. Quite recently, you attended a meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Office of Wine Affairs that was held in Maile or Ma'ili, depending upon how we pronounce it. And many community members came. One of the things I was most struck with was how when we were on their turf, so to speak, how well-behaved and hospitable all of the representatives of different political and social views were. It was very enriching the time. But what I heard over and over again is we had problems with our water, problems with the lack of agriculture, problems with the lack of jobs, problems, as you pointed out, with infrastructure, problems with educational access. And all of these things, these were authentic needs that were being raised. So my question to you is this, with all these needs, looking beyond the particular solutions, why do these needs persist? Why are they not being addressed? Why have they grown worse? What's missing? What has been missing from Wine I Coast to solve these problems? Well, of course, money. Money is a definite thing, whether we're talking about investment capital or government funding and so forth. Money is important. Yes. But if I go deeper, why isn't the money there? Why do these problems persist? Well, I can't speak for our legislators. I do know that the governor appoints who's going to manage the Department of Hawaiian Homelands as well as the commissioners. They're also confirmed by the legislature, but yet they don't provide the department with sufficient funding. Well, now when you mention these agencies, when you mention the legislature, when you mention the branches of government, including the governor, as you've talked earlier about OHA, and you mention Hawaiian agencies like the Department of Hawaiian Homelands, the fact is, there's no lack, no lack of these kinds of resources and leaders. That's what I'm getting at. I'm getting at with all of these supposed stakeholders who should be carrying the ball. Why haven't we solved the problems that the Wine I Coast is facing through all these decades? I'll tell you this. If you lived in Hawaii Kai on Kalaniana Ole Highway and a stoplight goes out or something or there's a need of a crosswalk and so forth, it gets done. But larger infrastructure issues as well as deeper economic and social issues seem to wane in Wine I. Yes. This is not an insult to Wine I at all. I'm actually with you struggling trying to get to the root. What is the root cause so that we can solve that cause? Well, first of all, I don't want to alienate the people in Hawaii Kai. I have a lot of friends out there. Sure. Blessings for them that they do get acknowledged and they get their needs met. Well said. Yes. Well said. Thank you. I just, I hope that our legislature, I found that I was very disappointed or very disoriented, I should say, when they found money to support a rail. And it was to, from us on the West Coast. You've got a great story here, but can you believe it? We've reached the end of the program. Oh, okay. So I'm going to jump right ahead to the conclusion. Okay. Which is, as you and I have talked before, there's a need for leadership. Yes. Leaders and funding. Yes. And it is this vision of a great Wine I that you're running with. What would you like to see in your future, if anything, in terms of continued involvement? We mentioned this, you're not here officially to represent the neighborhood board. No. You've gotten involved in neighborhood board. You're involved in Oha and so forth. How do you see your role in continuing to contribute leadership to Wine I solutions? Well, to continue to advocate for leaders, new leaders to be, of course, nurtured. And, and those are the primary things. Advocating and trying to bring out a voice and people, legislators to see the needs of the Wine I goals and to hopefully somebody will look and see that, you know, we are worthy to be addressed. Our needs are worthy to be addressed. Indeed. Yeah. Well, Jermaine, thank you so much for being on the program and you are truly a great leader in the making and you lead well already. And I'm going to keep my eye on you. Thank you. And I think my viewers are also going to keep their eye on Jermaine. I think that it's because of people like Jermaine that leaders in official capacities, whether they're legislators or Oha trustees are held to account because she holds them to account. But more than that, Jermaine has a vision of a great Wine I that returns to the roots of greatness that has always been if we can bring in the resources, the leadership and all that it takes. It's been a pleasure talking with her today. I'm Tili Akina interviewing Jermaine Myers about a beautiful place. Why and I and our vision for a greater wine I and the greatness of all people in Hawaii, including the Hawaiian people. Thank you for being here today. This is Hawaii together on the think tech Hawaii broadcast network until next time. Aloha.