With purchase of Kuamo‘o, call to preserve land is met

The land is rough, scrubby, uncomfortably hot during most days and difficult to access.

Yet it calls to people.

It called to Keola Beamer, who now finds himself leading the effort to care for the area after taking on one of the biggest challenges of his life.

“I never worked so hard to keep a promise,” he said.

It called to his mother, the late Nona Beamer, an educator, composer, community leader and cultural icon, who continued to make pilgrimages to the remote burial cairns even in the last years of her life.

“We would go out in the late afternoons. Mom would walk to the burial sites. And you know, it’s hard to walk on the a‘a lava, but she’d do it, even in her 80s, to go visit the iwi and to chant and bring maile. I recall her voice in the evening — strong and deep, powerful and sad.”

It called to Margaret Schattauer, the 88-year-old landowner who inherited the property from her Hawaiian ancestors and who wanted to make sure it would be safe long after she was gone.

“Because of the historical events that have happened on its rugged lava terrain, Kuamo‘o must be protected from exploitation,” Schattauer wrote about the land. “It is too precious a part of Hawaii’s history.”

On the last day of 2015, The Trust for Public Land and the nonprofit Aloha Kuamo‘o Aina announced the successful acquisition of 47 acres along the south Kona coast. The area will be preserved and protected from future development.

The land is considered of great historical significance because of the Battle of Kuamo‘o that occurred in December 1819, the year of the death of Kamehameha I.

Kamehameha II, Liholiho, wanted to abolish the kapu system. His cousin, High Chief Kekuaokalani, held a more conservative view and wanted to hold on to the ways of the old religion. Liholiho’s forces were armed with cannons and muskets. Kekuaokalani’s army had traditional weaponry — wooden spears.

Kekuaokalani’s wife, Princess Manono, watched the fighting and saw her husband felled by a shot. She ran to him on the battlefield, picked up his spear and took his place in battle. She, too, was brought down by the opposing force. With her dying breath, she spoke the words, “Malama ko aloha” — a plea to both sides that no matter what conflicts arise in Hawaii, they should hold fast to their love for one another.

“I think my mother was really touched by the fact that it was cousins fighting each other. Hawaiians against Hawaiians. That was heart-rending to her,” Beamer said.

A few years ago, Lea Hong, Hawaii director of The Trust for Public Land, was approached by an attorney whose client owned the special property.

“The landowner wanted to preserve the land but she couldn’t just give it away. She needed to take care of her family as well,” Hong said.

The historic property was a tough sell to organizations that might have taken on such a responsibility. Though Kamehameha Schools owned land at Lekeleke near the Kuamo‘o land, the trust wasn’t interested because the undeveloped land had no income- generating component. The property also didn’t fit the Office of Hawaiian Affairs’ strategic plan for the same reason. But Neil Hannahs, who was head of the Land Assets Division at KS, thought of his high school friend, Keola, and of Auntie Nona Beamer’s connection to Kuamo‘o. Hannahs got Beamer, Hong and Shattauer together.

“Mrs. Shattauer fell in love with Keola and with his connection to the land,” Hong said.

“It was almost a soul-level connection I felt with her,” Beamer said. “Sometimes, you find friendships that seem so natural, like you’ve known each other forever.”

Beamer made a promise to Margaret Shattauer. He told her he would find a way to preserve Kuamo‘o.

He wasn’t sure how that was going to happen, though. “I’m just a guitar player,” he said. But he felt it was his duty to be a part of a larger force. “Part of the Hawaiian belief is that the ancestors still support us somehow. They live not in our world, but in an aumakua level of our existence. We feel the guidance of unseen hands.”

His nephew, Kamana Beamer, is a professor with a Ph.D. in cultural geography. Together, they formed the nonprofit Aloha Kuamo‘o Aina to act as a steward. Then they set out to find the money to purchase the land.

Asking for donations for a remote patch of lava was difficult.

“The turning point was Hulu had a dream,” Hong said.

OHA trustee Hulu Lindsey describes it more as a “hoailona” — a divine message or sign. She was chairwoman of the OHA land committee that heard the request from Aloha Kuamo‘o Aina. At first, she didn’t think OHA should be involved in the purchase of the land.

“The Board of Trustees had been discussing cutting back on expending money on more legacy lands,” Lindsey said.

But then, at a family gathering, she overheard a conversation between her daughter, Napua Greig, and Hokulani Holt, both of whom are kumu hula.

They were talking about the Battle of Kuamo‘o and of how Manono had died by her husband’s side. Greig talked about why she had chosen a Manono chant to perform at the 2014 Merrie Monarch Hula Festival.

“Of the thousands of chants that she could’ve chosen to do, she chose this one,” Lindsey said. “I knew then and there with tears in my eyes, that it was my kuleana to convince my colleagues to participate in the purchase of this sacred land. The Board of Trustees approved $500,000 as our participation.”

“Once Hulu had a vision of a restored Kuamo‘o, a place of healing, then everything changed,” Beamer said.

As it turned out, a wide range of donors helped save Kuamo‘o. The State Legacy Lands Fund gave $3 million to the campaign. Other support came from the Corners Fund for Traditional Cultures of the Combined Jewish Philanthropies, Pam Omidyar, Big Island Toyota, KTA Superstores and members of the Keauhou Canoe Club who paddle past the area every day during training season.

Leslie Uptain, director of philanthropy for The Trust for Public Land, marveled at the diversity of supporters who felt called to preserve the land. One of the most significant donations came not in funding, but in the use of a vessel to bring people to Kuamo‘o.

“Keoni Nakai owns a sailing canoe, Wa‘a Kini Kini, out of Keauhou. He said, ‘Eh, I can help,’” Uptain said. “He offered his sailing canoe free of charge to take out potential donors to see the land from offshore. He made many trips.”

Schattauer sold the land at a substantial discount and made a donation for the land to be preserved in perpetuity.

Though the purchase is complete, the fundraising isn’t over. Aloha Kuamo‘o Aina is looking for donations to help restore the landscape, remove invasive species, reintroduce native plants and clear some of the historic trails.

The vision for Kuamo‘o is still taking shape, and Beamer says it will be for future generations to listen to the call of the land, listen to each other and help steward its future.

“I’m coming up to 65 years old. This is more about my brother’s son, Kamana, and future generations.”

Though they’re discussing ways to make Kuamo‘o more accessible, there won’t be any building on the land.

“We have an archaeological study completed,” Beamer said. “We know exactly where everything is. We know what to stay away from, what not to do.”

The hope is to create a place of cultural learning, and of healing and reconciliation; to make Manono’s dying wish a reality for future generations.

Beamer said, “We will let the land inform us about the idea of malama ko aloha, to learn how to work together, to overcome conflict, ho‘oponopono, make Hawaii a better place.”

Reach Lee Cataluna at 529-4315 or lcataluna@staradvertiser.com.