Pū‘ā Foundation and Friends Bless Punahoa Heritage Forest

On Tuesday, April 11, Pūʻā Foundation and friends gathered for a blessing of the Punahoa Heritage Forest. The Pūʻā Foundation has been working to protect and preserve this important forest land it was given in 1996 as part of the Hawai‘i Conference's apology and redress. The Foundation explains "the vision is for a forest of world-renown that enables Hawaiians to know, care, and connect with their heritage." To learn more please visit: punahoaheritageforest.org.

Representatives of the Pūʻā Foundation were joined by friends from the State Council of Hawaiian Congregational Churches, the Hawai‘i Conference, the Hawai‘i Conference Foundation, the County of Hawai‘i, University of Hawai‘i Mānoa, University of Hawai‘i Hilo, the Nature Conservancy, and many more for pule, oli, himeni, and the gift of hula as this special forest land was dedication to this project.

An article by Ku‘uwehi Hiraishi for Hawai‘i Public Radio examined the history of the Pū‘ā Foundation and how the organization was created out of the United Church of Christ (UCC)’s apology, redress, and reconciliation initiative in 1993. It also highlighted the Foundation’s new initiative to use a portion of the Punahoa Heritage Forest as a gathering place for Native Hawaiians and as a place to heal.