With one deadline passed and a second looming, a nonprofit organization is a few hundred thousands dollars away from owning a 47-acre swath of sacred and historical grounds in Keauhou.
Aloha Kuamoo Aina and the Trust for Public Land Hawaii have raised $3.9 million against a June 30 deadline to buy the $4.25 million Kuamoo battlefield and burial ground, also known as the Lekeleke Burial Grounds. That date has since been extended to Aug. 30 by the owner, Margaret Schauttauer.
“The landowner is extremely supportive, and has been a wonderful partner in this effort. However, she is well into her 90s and needs to settle her estate,” said Leslie Uptain, director of philanthropy for the land trust. “If we do not complete the effort by Aug. 30, there are no guarantees that we would be able to achieve another extension.”
The site marks the clash point and burial ground for the 1819 Battle of Kuamoo — a struggle over the kapu religious system, where Chief Kekuaokalani, nephew of King Kamehameha, fought to preserve the traditional system against his cousin, Liholiho, Kamehameha II, who had declared the old ways abandoned.
More than 300 Hawaiians died in the battle, including Kekuaokalani and his wife, Chiefess Manono, who uttered with dying breath the famous words “malama ko aloha,”or “keep your love.” The kapu system was abolished and missionaries arrived shortly after — a decisive turning point in Hawaiian history.
Manono was an ancestor of Keola Beamer and Kamana Beamer, who founded of AKA as a center for cultural and ecological peace.
“The historical and cultural values of Kuamoo are incalculable,” Keola Beamer said in a statement. “Let’s join hands to preserve Kuamoo, to become better human beings, to know and share the brilliant illumination of aloha.”
The educational nonprofit intends to foster place-based learning at the site and to safeguard the graves, heiau, homesites and other features, while preserving a portion of the Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail that traverses the makai portion of the lands.
The state Legacy Land Conservation Program granted $3 million for the purchase in December 2013 — the highest allocation to a single project by that organization. A dozen major contributors and numerous smaller donors have given $920,000 to the cause. The Trust for Public Land entered into a purchase agreement for the property in January 2014.
“We’re down to this last push, which will be a smaller, grassroots effort,” Uptain said.
As soon as the land is turned over to AKA, restoration efforts will repair stone walls and other sites that have fallen into disrepair. Restoration will also be done to help bring back native ecosystems degraded by decades of grazing, Uptain said.
In a letter of support for the purchase, Schauttauer cited an intense personal connection to history through her ancestral lines.
“This aina is literally a part of me,” she wrote. “Because of the historical events that have happened on its rugged lava terrain, Kuamoo must be protected from exploitation. It is too precious a part of Hawaii’s history. It is time to preserve this special aina, to share its importance for generations to come, and to generate a learning center based on Keola’s and the Beamer family’s special manao and aloha.”
To learn more or donate: www.ProtectKuamoo.org