Mauna Kea Oral History Appendix - Office of Mauna Kea Management

KM: You know that they take care or what, like this. If there was, if they wanted to do a little
video talking story with küpuna, I know you did some already.
TB: Yes.
KM: Would you be interested in maybe, talking
TB: Yes.
KM: We try. How is Uncle Sonny Kaniho, is he okay
TB: Yes, he’s alright, I saw him the other night.
KM: Oh good. I’m going to try and call him again, too. You know the last time I spoke with him
was a little before Danny passed away. Oh, that was minamina.
TB: Hmm.
[driving the Waimea-Kona Road to Waimea]
KM: …The big stone wall is makai of here, yeah
TB: Yes, yes.
KM: I guess that marks sort of, the paddock like that
TB: Yes.
KM: Evidently, that stone wall was built a long time ago
TB: Yes.
KM: If I remember some of the…and you’ll see it in the testimonies that I’m pulling together,
1860s like that. Some of your küpuna were saying, that stone wall was built in the time of
Kamehameha I. I guess used to be William Beckley out here, Davis mä, taking care of
the pipi and what out here
TB: Yes.
KM: Do I remember correctly, in the ‘60s, did you do some of the grading work when they put
the first road up to Mauna Kea
TB: Yes.
KM: You were telling me that, yeah
TB: Yes.
KM: When you did the grading up there like that uncle, you folks didn’t see any iwi or anything
right
TB: No. The Board of Ag was very strict, you couldn’t fool around with the caves. They had
marked where the road going. They went mark the trees, a clear way. You couldn’t do as
you pleased.
KM: Yes. You folks didn’t take out trees like that
TB: No.
KM: You know, up on the mauka lands like way up high, near the pu‘u top
TB: Yes.
KM: You folks didn’t find burials or something, when you were dozing right
TB: No, no.
KM: No one ever spoke to you about a heiau or the canoe makers or something up there
TB: No.
Mauna Kea– “Ka Piko Kaulana o ka ‘Äina”
Kumu Pono Associates LLC
A Collection of Oral History Interviews (HiMK67-050606) A:308