Posted by Chris DuPonte on January 07, 1999 at 09:39:13:
Uncle Charlie,
I wanted to say mahalo nui loa for all of the stories and all that you have done for our po'e. Though I don't have a drop of koko in me I was born and raised in Hawai'i Aloha and so was all of my ohana before me. Though my name is DuPonte I was hanai'ed by my stepfather R.K.Kapuniai since I was a year and a half old. I now live in the mainland (Ga.) but my heart is still there in the islands.
I have downloaded many of the stories whereas I can share them with our youth clubs here. I do hope you don't mind my doing so. I am not fluent Hawaiian but I am studying the language since one of my goals is to make sure all of my keike's and grandchildren will at least be able to hold on to a so important part of their heritage. I, unlike many also believe that pidgin is a major part of our heritage and I am writing some short stories using both pidgin and hawaiian (with translation) for our youth. I want you to personally know that many of your teachings and writings are what prompted me into doing so.
One of the areas I am really concerned about is the area that we so often say A'ole kamana'o, paa kou waha. This concerns me since we don't have that many that are fluent in the language or culture of our po'e. I now believe if one can contribute to the conservation of our culture without derailing our plight 'a'ole maopopo ia 'u why 'ua hewa.
Please enlighten me in this area.
Me ka 'oia 'i 'o,
Chris DuPonte