Keeper of the Bay
A STORY OF CARING FOR KAHALUʻU
Cindi Punihaole
Here, the Reef Heroes project shares the story of a native Hawaiian's struggle to continue her family’s place-keeping heritage in the face of profound cultural change and human environmental stressors. Growing up following in the footsteps of her kūpuna (ancestors), Cindi Punihaole learned to live in harmony with nature. Now, she listens to the cries for help from the land and seeks to heal it.
As outside development, industrialization, and tourism have risen, Cindi has seen the islands’ ecological health decline and bears witness to native species’ struggle to survive. For years, she’s observed the physical manifestations of a societal shift from protection to exploitation. And for years, she’s fought to reverse this.
Cindi embodies the bay she protects. Gentle and inviting on the surface; brimming with life and spirit and generations of Hawaiian wisdom within. She is soft spoken but powerful; patient though tenacious; understated yet strong. Her slight figure is offset by her striking black hair and directly intelligent brown eyes. Full of aloha and quiet determination, Cindi Punihaole is a true “keeper” of the land.
PAST CENTURIES
For native Hawaiian families of centuries past, protecting ancestral land was more than a means of survival – it was a way of life. Land and ocean alike were spiritual entities to be revered and admired. Generation after generation passed forward the wisdom and skills needed to manage the islands’ natural resources. This balanced stewardship allowed humans to sustainably coexist within Hawai‘i’s vast and diverse ecosystems.
CINDI’S FAMILY IN MAKALAWENA (c. 1932)
The elders of Cindi’s great-great grandparents generation served as teachers of the land for families on the Kona Coast in the mid-1800s. These cultural leaders worked closely with the ‘ohana of Ka‘ūpūlehu, tending to fisheries and protecting natural resources. Their job was one of great honor, and they passed their knowledge down to their extended family. From her family, Cindi learned the practice of protecting land and ocean.
Born in the spring of 1950, Cindi Punihaole grew up on the beautiful Kona coast. Her elders taught her the customs and practices of caring for the land, ocean, and ancestral sites. She learned that the island sustained her family in the present and also connected them to their past. Her education was the product of generations of knowledge-sharing, passed down to her by familial and community mentors.
In addition to the many lessons taught by her parents and older siblings, Cindi also learned lessons from extended family. For instance, Cindi spent summers with her Auntie Annie Punihaole-Kealaula, a tiny yet capable woman who was considered one of the best fisherwomen of her time.
“She would take a canoe out and harvest a bounty of mackerel from the fishing ground and was also skilled in throwing a net and seeking out invertebrates and reef fish as food sources," says Cindi.
Auntie Annie ensured that both Cindi and her brothers learned to respect all of the island’s inhabitants, from the tiny coral polyps that bloomed in their local bay to the turtles that stopped to rest on shore.
Cindi remembers, “I was about 5 or 6-years-old and my two older brothers were fishing off a rock in front of Auntie Annie’s house, and before long they were luring a large puhi (eel) on the hook. They got it all the way up on the rocks where we were standing, and the eel was squirming and they were laughing. When my Auntie Annie heard all the ruckus and came to investigate, she was so upset that she told them that they were going to have to eat what they caught. Thank God I was little and did not have to eat it because it looked horrible. They never did that again and it was a learning lesson for all of us.”
CINDI WITH HER FATHER AND MOTHER
Cindi and her brothers collected dry wood to build fires, read by kukui lamps (kerosene lamps), learned to raise and kill animals for food, and were even responsible for planting food for the family to eat. “It was a difficult life, but now I am grateful that we were raised during those years and in that kind of environment,” says Cindi. “The earth was so fertile and everything that we planted grew large and healthy. It was important to know how to raise your own food, and how to live off the land. The land was such a big part of us, and we believed as a family and community that if you took care of place, it would take care of you.”
“As far back as I can remember, families always had an extension from the Mauka (mountain) lands to the Makai (ocean) lands,” says Cindi. “There was never a separation for us between the land and the people, the ocean, and the forest. Mauka and Makai were respected and taking care of the lands and the ocean was your survival.”
CINDI FISHING ON THE KONA COAST
Cindi's education was the product of generations of knowledge-sharing, passed down to her by familial and community mentors.
Growing up in a family of hunters and gatherers instilled in Cindi a profound respect for her community and the natural resources of the land.
As Cindi and her brothers grew up on the same land that her great, great grandparents once cared for, they would continue to learn her family’s most valuable lesson – “being respectful of place and people no matter who or where you are.”
Cindi left Hawai‘i shortly after high school to earn a degree from Stockton State College. She remained on the mainland for almost 30 years. but brought with her the deep ancestral knowledge captured beautifully by one of her father’s favorite sayings:
“Love your land like you love your sweetheart and it will always take care of you.”
— Robert Ka‘iwa Punihaole Sr.
But, when Cindi returned home to live in 1998, she found a different Hawai’i. Heartbroken, she realized that the bountiful land that she was raised on was becoming a decimated shadow of what it once was.
THE PRESENT CENTURY
Like so many heroes of folklore, the turning point of Cindi’s story begins with an injustice – in this case, to her beloved land and sea. In the 30 years Cindi spent on the mainland, Hawai‘i saw a steep spike in development and tourism. Vacationers flocked to the islands in search of idyllic beaches, tropical shirts and beautiful hula dancers. Annual tourists, once numbering around 300,000 a year, have increased to more than 10 million annually. In turn, the island saw development of mega-resorts, apartment complexes, stores, and offices that have continued to fill the once natural land.
“Things were disappearing thanks to new development - so many things that we took for granted,” say Cindi. “The number of fish that we used to harvest in the coastal areas were no longer there, and the corals were damaged and deteriorating. Even some of the seeds that we collected for our leis to adorn our necks when I was a young girl... no longer existed.”
It wasn’t long after her return that the passionate daughter of the land decided to help restore the native environment her family once cultivated. She found help in the form of Kepā Maly, an ethnographer raised on Lāna‘i who had made it a mission to preserve Hawai‘i’s cultural resource and historic heritage. When Maly reached out to the Punihaoles in hopes of sharing their story, Cindi's family was initially reluctant- many native Hawaiians had felt exploited by writers and journalists in the past. But Kepā’s purpose felt different.
Cindy and Kepā Maly (c. 2015)
Before long, Cindi and Kepā were doing more than telling a story. These two conservationists founded a group of cultural advisors that began instructing developers on how to expand new communities in an environmentally friendly way. They have continued their relationship and mission to protect the land and culture to the present.
“It was hard to believe that we had multi-billion-dollar developers listening to our family about how to take care of place. Despite coming from two different worlds, we still were able to compromise and found a way to work together for the betterment of the community and development.”
— Cindi Punihaole
But it wasn’t long before Cindi realized that there was a problem in a broader sense. Around this same time, several other constituencies became concerned that the large number of visitors descending upon a local treasure dear to Cindi’s heart, Kahalu'u Bay, were literally “loving it to death”.
KAHALU’U BAY IN 1950, THE YEAR CINDI WAS BORN
Kahalu'u Bay was a sacred place to Cindi and the families who had cared for this place for centuries. The bountiful bay protected by the Menehune seawall provided food for the people who co-existed with it, like Cindi, who fondly remembers spearfishing outside the wall to feed her family.
KAHALU’U BAY IN 1993
Though popular with locals in the 1980s and early 1990s, Kahalu’u Bay was still largely “undiscovered” by daily flocks of tourists.
An advisory board was created from this joint concern that would ultimately give birth to what is now known as the Kahalu'u Bay Education Center (KBEC). Formed in 2011, this education/cultural center is part of The Kohala Center, a non-profit organization that turns ancestral knowledge and research into action.
“My goal for The Kahaluʻu Bay Education Center was to create a relationship with the County of Hawaiʻi and to establish an army of “aloha ambassador” volunteer educators and not enforcers. That was very, very important because I wanted visitors to feel relaxed and learn to take care of this special place. Many visitors arrived at the bay to snorkel and experience the thrill of swimming with the green sea turtles and beautiful fish. Our community cherished the bay for the food it offered us. We were fishermen. We didn't have time to go snorkeling. When we went to the beach, it was to gather food, and to care for place so your “icebox” would always be full! I think we can balance our resources where the bay can provide the visitor a rewarding snorkel experience and yet provide nourishment for the community. I truly believe that.”
— Cindi Punihaole
KBEC seeks to protect the fragile reef in Kahalu'u Bay through education, research, and advocacy. The staff and volunteers at KBEC work tirelessly every day to protect the marine animals in Kahalu'u Bay through their ReefTeach program which shows visitors how to snorkel Kahalu'u without damaging the reef or its inhabitants. Most of the coral reef damage caused by visitors is unintentional, resulting only from a lack of awareness. ReefTeach offers snorkelers simple steps that they can take to minimize their impact while enjoying the reef. Citizen Science, another KBEC initiative, employs a corps of volunteers to monitor the bay’s water quality and host beach cleanups. KBEC’s TidePool Investigation program educates visitors on the marine life present in Kahalu'u’s tidal areas, and various other programs focus on targeted research such as coral health surveys, 3D coral mapping, and submarine groundwater discharge thermal imaging. These scientific and educational programs raise awareness and appreciation of Kahalu'u Bay’s diverse ecosystem while their outreach and advocacy programs target a Comprehensive Restoration Plan to revive the reefs.
KAHALU’U BAY TODAY
Over 400,000 visitors impact this small 4.2 acre bay every year. Consider that this number actually exceeds the annual number of visitors to all the Hawaiian Islands combined in the 1960s.
The precious sea life that once thrived in this bay is suffering or dead. Up to 95% of some species of corals have died, and many of those surviving look sickened or stressed. Fish are more scarce and many species commonly seen in years past are no longer present. While today’s visitors may still delight in seeing the fish that remain, those of us old enough to remember what this bay once was, the life it held, comprehend the tragic loss.
Cindi has watched in dismay as 400-year-old coral heads have died and understands all too well that they will not regrow in her lifetime, or for many generations, or ever.
And so she works, she fights, she organizes, she pleads, she teaches, she enlists— she does everything within her power to protect the life remaining.
What we call Pono Practices, involves taking care of place on a broader scope. I think for us, because I am of the water and of the land, I not only think about the coastal area, but I think about the uplands too. I would like to see more programs like we have in Kahalu'u Bay all over the island so that our once healthy environment can be brought to life again.
— Cindi Punihaole
FUTURE CENTURIES
As Cindi and her team continue to try and manage the hundreds of thousands of annual visitors at Kahalu'u Bay, they are already planning their next step to create a model for sustainable environments everywhere. Through the creation and implementation programs that balance biodiversity with economic realities, Cindi hopes that people can live and vacation in a place without causing it irreparable harm.
CINDI TEACHING VISITORS
Cindi was instrumental in educating the public and providing testimony leading up to Hawai‘i passing a first-in-the-world law in 2018 banning the harmful sunscreen chemicals oxybenzone and octinoxate. In addition to damaging the coral reefs, these chemicals are also known to be endocrine disruptors in people and are implicated in a myriad of human diseases and disorders. Cindi has implemented programs teaching visitors how to best protect themselves from the strong tropical sun while keeping themselves and the reefs safe from endocrine disrupting ingredients. She is currently working on helping people understand the damaging effects of avobenzone and octocrylene as the State of Hawai‘i considers a bill banning these two petrochemicals.
Cindi, a born educator, is also doing her part to create a new legacy of keepers that will learn about the importance of caring for the land and sea the way that her father taught her. What Cindi lovingly refers to as the 'Healthy Lands, Healthy People' program involves the newest kūpuna becoming a mentor for the next generation, teaching them how to care for the land that they love.
That's why I always say to honor your past to enrich your future. It is about creating Kahalu'u Bay as a sacred place through partnering the past with the future. Much like the program that I hosted with Cornell students and advisors, who visited Kahaluʻu recently, where I shared some of the important reef etiquette with them. It is all about leaving a place that is healthy and viable for our future.
— Cindi Punihaole
Contacts:
To help Cindi in her fight to protect this sacred bay, please support the Kahalu'u Bay Education Center.
REFERENCES AND RESOURCES
CONTRIBUTORS INCLUDE: Christine Zalewski, Ph.D, Ellen Richardson, and Georgia Kossoff
PHOTO CREDITS:
— Banner photo courtesy of Christine Zalewski with Dear Ocean
— Family Photo of Annie Punihaole Una and family members with canoe at the Kūki‘o (Kikaua) Canoe landing (ca. 1932). Photograph courtesy of the Kukui‘ohiwai Collection. (in Appendix A: Oral History Interviews Nā Kūki‘o ma ka ‘Āina Kaha — A Collection Of Traditional And Historical Accounts Of Kūki‘o At Kekaha, North Kona. Maly, Dec. 5, 2000)
— Cindi with her parents courtesy of Cindi Punihaole
— Cindi with fishing nets courtesy of Cindi Punihaole
— Robert Ka‘iwa Punihaole Sr. courtesy of Cindi Punihaole
— Cindi and Kepā Maly (c. 2015) courtesy of Cindi Punihaole
— Kahalu’u Bay (1950) shared by Cindi Punihaole courtesy of Paul Horner
— Kahalu’u Bay (1993) courtesy of Cindi Punihaole
— Sepia photograph of Cindi Punihaole courtesy of Christine Zalewski
— Kahalu’u Bay (present) courtesy of KBEC and Dear Ocean
— Cindi Teaching Visitors courtesy of Cindi Punihaole
— The Land is Your Teacher graphic quote by Dear Ocean
REFERENCES:
https://kohalacenter.org/kbec
https://e360.yale.edu/features/forest-defenders-a-panamanian-tribe-regains-control-of-its-lands
https://kohalacenter.org/spawning-guide/culture-and-history/pono-practices
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2009/Aug/16/ln/hawaii908160306.html
https://www.hilt.org/advisory-board
https://kohalacenter.org/kbec/etiquette