Friendly Gesture From Hawaii

Hawaii

Letter to Other Polynesians

£ HONOLULU friend of the “PIM”

Mrs. George Mellen, has sent to us, for publication, the following letter, written by a part-Hawaiian, and directed to friends in Polynesia.

The United States Administration in Hawaii has established what are

called “Homestead Villages” for

Hawaiian and part-Hawaiian natives,

and American worpen who are pre pared to help the Hawaiians with their various social and residential

problems are given semi-official

status, and the title of “Mother Adviser.” Mrs. Mellen is Mother- Adviser to Papakolea Homestead Vil lage. When she found that Mrs.

Akiona was interested in Polynesians elsewhere, she encouraged her to write this letter.

Mrs. Akiona would be delighted to receive letters from other Poly nesians. Her address is: Mrs. Emma

Akiona, Papakolea Homestead Village,

Honolulu, Hawaii.

DEAR Polynesians of the Pacific Islands— Aloha Kakou a nui loa.

I am Mrs. Emma Maluikeaohemakuaole Akiona, of Papakolea Homestead, Hawaii.

I am writing this for your magazine be cause our good friend, Mother Mellen, asked me to. She said that other people, like we are, living on all the islands of the Pacific Ocean, would like to read about our Hawaiian village of Papakolea.

It is back of Punchbowl, our backyard is Mt. Tantalus, so you can imagine how high we are. We have the best view. On our left is Kaimiki, the famous Diamond Head and Waikiki Beach, a little view of the waterfront; bn our right is the Hawaiian airfield, Pearl Harbour and the Waianae Range.

The people of Papakolea must be pure Hawaiian, or 50 per cent. Hawaiian. Some have every other mixture, but everybody seems like Hawaiian. We like it that way.

We have a club-house, where we have our meetings and sometimes movies or dances. In the daytime it is used for a nursery school.

Before the war most of the women sold leis down at the docks, when the ships came in. During the war they were work ing at Pearl Harbour. Since the war is over they have gone back to selling leis.

We have been very lucky to have good haole (white) friends to help us in our legislature, for improvement on our homestead.

Lots of our boys have travelled all over the Pacific during the war, and we like to hear them tell us about the people.

Plenty of Samoans and Maoris have come here. I would like to see their islands, too. But if we don’t get" to see you, maybe some day you will come to see us.

Closing with the fondest aloha.

Mrs. Emma Akiona.

Sept. 26, 1946.

PS.—I am Hawaiian-Chinese, and so is my husband. We have two sons and an adopted daughter. My mother is old fashioned Hawaiian kind, and can’t speak much English, but she can read messages in the clouds.

Everybody has plenty of babies in Papakolea, and kept getting more during the war. But Hawaiians love babies, and if they don’t have plenty they adopt some.

E.A.