Randie-Leith Lunn
Name Randie-Leith Lunn
Age 36
Town/Moku Koʻolaupoko, Koʻolauloa
Island Oʻahu
Social Media Handle @hanohanohuliamahi
Nominated by Max Mukai
Leadership Category Mālama ʻĀina - Enviornmental Sustainability
Share with us a little about yourself and what you do.
Aloha mai kākou! My name is Randie-Leith Kuʻualoha Hanohano Lunn. I am a kanaka of Oʻahu and descendent of Pāpaʻakoko. Pāpaʻakoko is an ahupuaʻa located in Koʻolauloa, near Hauʻula and is ʻāina kupuna given to my kupuna after fighting in the battle of Nuʻuanu with Kamehameha. My kupuna kāne, Kauhola, received a Royal Patent 5590 for the ahupuaʻa as a Konohiki and it is my mission to carry on the kuleana of pono resource management on this ʻāina. In 2020, in response to desecration that has taken place on Pāpaʻakoko, I co-founded a family farm organization called Hanohano Huliāmahi, along with my siblings, parents and extended ʻohana. Hanohano Huliāmahi realizes the answer to true sustainability in Pāpaʻakoko lies within the ahupua’a blueprint that native Hawaiians anchored their lives around for centuries. Therefore, it is our mission to revitalize Pāpaʻakoko by implementing a dynamic, regenerative agricultural system from mauka to makai beginning with the restoration of nine overgrown loʻi for kalo production. Windward Oʻahu currently has under 75 acres of commercial kalo in production. In the next three years, with nine loʻi restored and fully operating, Hanohano Huliāmahi plans to contribute at least a 13% increase in kalo production from East Oahu.
Why is the work that you do important to you? The community?
Pāpaʻakoko was passed down from my kupuna Kauhola to Queen Emma, then to my aunty, Grace Kahōʻāliʻi who was raised by Emma. Grace then conveyed it to my great grandmother, Stella Kalikookalani Piʻianaiʻa Hanohano. Pāpaʻakokoʻs name has pilina to the moʻolelo of Kamapuaʻa. My Tutu Kane x 5, named Kalawaiʻanui was a hidden aliʻi who fled Hawaiʻi Island to Pāpaʻakoko. Queen Emma plotted to have my kupuna kane rescue our cousin Peter Kaeo and bring him to Pāpaʻakoko from Kalaupapa. Pāpaʻakoko was a puʻuhonua, the location of Pupuka Heiau, and a place of abundant kalo and iʻa. These are a few of many stories that have not been well nurtured over recent years. So, we can see when our pilina to people and place is weak or severed, social, environmental, economic, and spiritual degradation takes place. This is what has happened in Pāpaʻakoko, which endured tremendous pilikia and poor management, like illegal commercial dumping and other hewa activities (drugs, sex abuse, violence, homelessness, chop-shop). Today, Hanohano Huliāmahi is working as a family, including extended friends and community, to overcome these problems we sometimes see in our lāhui. The ahupuaʻa is a system of systems and though our work of reestablishing it, we have experienced tremendous healing on the land and as people. I can testify that developing cultural kipuka, especially on Oʻahu, is of great value to our lāhui. It will strengthen who we are as kanaka. It will give us pride in the brilliant legacy of our kupuna and inspire us to build a better future for our keiki.
Share with us the qualities of leadership you admire and how you express those in your life.
There are many good leadership qualities I strive to live by like hard work, compassion, organization, patience, righteousness, positivity and wisdom. The greatest leadership quality I admire is lawelawe or servant leadership. I try my best to express this by leading by example. I cannot expect others to follow me just because I tell them too or boss them around. I donʻt really think about myself as a leader, in that I didnʻt plan to be one. I just focus on how I can improve and be a good example of service and aloha to those around me. The people I respect most in life are humble and lead with love. In this way, I hope I inspire my kids, my ʻohana and the community to be the best kanaka they can be as we build a stronger future for our people. "If I have courage, it is because I have faith in the teachings of my ancestors." - Papa Mau. Seeking out the stories of my kupuna and learning lessons through the history they have left, strengthens my Hawaiian identity. The five core values that guide our work come from our genealogy and are defined by the ethics of our kupuna. These values are:
1. Kalikookalani- Innovative Growth. Our kupuna wahine x 6, Kalikookalani (Bud of Heaven), inspires us to plant seeds of change; hoʻoulu people and place; hoʻomau for future generations.
2. Kealiʻimaikaʻi- ʻŌiwi Leadership. Kealiʻimaikaʻi (The Good Chief) was a great example of servant leadership, kaiāulu and pono practices.
3. Kauhola (To Open or Unfold)- Authentic Education. Through Kauholaʻs life he kept an open mind as times changed and he had the courage to trail-blaze.
4. Kalawaiʻanui (The Great Fisherman)- Expert Sustainability. My tutu Kalawaiʻanui inspires me just as all great waterman and navigators through the manaʻo: He waʻa he moku, he moku he waʻa.
Lastly, 5. Kahōʻāliʻi- Reverent Duty.
Who has inspired you to do the work that you are doing?
I am a direct descendant of Kahōʻāliʻi Kalaninuikaleleau and his son Kahōʻāliʻi Kamaʻaloakuaokamehameha. They have taught me what it means to carry a kuleana kaumaha and to follow kānāwai. This is not always easy to keep a high standard in the world today. I am grateful for my kupuna who I love very much. I know they are with me and even though I sometimes feel inadequate my kupuna and Ke Akua help me to be grounded as well as elevate me to rise to the occasion and continue the work. Waiwai (Community Abundance)Identity (Knowing who we are to chart where we are going)
What is one word that describes something you are excited about for the lāhui?
Waiwai (Community Abundance)
What is one word that describes a pressing issue that is facing our lāhui?
Identity (Knowing who we are to chart where we are going)