Farms: Ed Wendt - NHLC Community Advocate of the Year 2012

Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation awards Ed Wendt its 2012 Community Advocate of the Year Award for his tireless struggle on behalf of himself and Wailuahui/Ke`anae kalo farmers an, gatherers, and fishers seeking to enforce their constitutional rights to pursue their Hawaiian traditions and customs dpeendent on free-flowing streams. This award recognizes Ed's decades-long struggle against the 4th largest landowner in Hawai`i, Alexander and Baldwin (A&B), which is the largest private diverter of water in the United States. With permission of the State of Hawai`i, A&B, through its subsidiary East Maui Irrigation Company, has diverted over 100 East Maui streams collected on 33,000 acres of conservation lands, which is part of the lands stolen from the former Hawaiian Kingdom during the illegal 1893 Overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom. A&B uses this water to irrigate 27,000 acres of sugar cane fields managed by another A&B subsidiary, Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar plantation, the last of dozens of plantations that once operated in Hawai`i. Ed is Presiident of Na Moku Aupuni O Ko`olau Hui, the community organization he helped found in the 1990'sto opposte the continuing diversions of water that was sapping the culture and spirit of his community.