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STATEMENT OF BUDDY KEALA, KAILUA-KONA, HI 



Mr. Keala. I am Graydon Keala, a native Hawaiian born in Hon- 

 olulu and raised on the island of Kauai from year one. I learned 

 traditional Hawaiian fishing methods from my grandfather and a 

 Hawaiian fishing family on Kauai. When I finally decided upon 

 aquaculture as a career, I was educated in western techniques at 

 the University of Hawaii that served to confirm and strengthen the 

 wisdom of traditional Hawaiian fishing methods. In addition to 

 aquaculture, I have a certificate in Environmental Studies and Ma- 

 rine Options Program — Hawaiian Fishponds. I consider my univer- 

 sity education to De supplemental to the education I received in the 

 traditional Hawaiian way of observation and practice, and feel priv- 

 ileged to continue to learn from the kupuna. 



Thank you for inviting me to speak to you today. It is an honor 

 to be here. My first involvement in the understanding of your com- 

 mittee and tne kinds of issues it represents came by way of S. 

 1526, the Indian Fish and Wildlife Resource Management Act of 

 1993. I was invited to provide input to the development of this 

 measure by Senator Inouye's office. 



The Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act would 

 be a key element not only to promote these issues but would also 

 to empower Native Americans' organizations and communities to 

 play a more proactive role in determining its process and provide 

 management and oversight of the resource. 



In a generic sense, most indigenous people have an inherent con- 

 nection with their environment. In many cases, there is an under- 

 lying spiritual reverence and even familial ties associated with 

 these elements. The symbiotic relationship and the harmonious 

 union of Native peoples with their surroundings were develop into 

 a type of stewardship over hundreds and sometimes thousands of 

 years. 



I firmly believe that in the present time with dwindling re- 

 sources, pollution and environmental destruction the contribution 

 of sustaining ourselves would involve successful concepts that 

 worked for our forefathers. By blending the old with the new, we 

 should incorporate what is available and applicable today from the 

 technological side with appropriate customary knowledge and prac- 

 tices. 



Religion played an integral part in the day-to-day life of the Ha- 

 waiian. Religious protocol is involved in all aspects of everyday life 

 from a prayer to greet the morning sun to opening up a new fish- 

 pond. Special fishes and animals are ceremonially blessed and of- 

 fered to different gods. 



Traditional water codes provides for the streams to always be 

 flowing and pristine from its source to where it embraced the ocean 

 in a fishpond. The interdependence of the system also provided eco- 

 nomic arrangement of trade between upland produce and materials 

 with coastal supplies and food. 



Today, you can still find traditional knowledge and practices in 

 rural, grassroots, predominantly native Hawaiian communities. 

 These communities have made a conscious effort to promote tradi- 

 tional and cultural knowledge, and to provide a needed backdrop 

 for future generations of Hawaiians. It is said by many Hawaiians 

 that our purpose is to maintain and enhance what resources are 



