COURTESY OF UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST Hawaiian inmates are fighting for the right to practice native Hawaiian rites at the Diamondback Correctional Facility in Watonga, Okla. Aiding them during a visit last fall to the facility are Hawaiian minister Kekapa Lee, left, the Rev. Rosemary McCombs-Maxey and R. Kamaiki Anakalea, pastor of Waihee Protestant Church on Maui.

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Makahiki allowed
for Hawaii inmates
on mainland

Hawaiian inmates at an Oklahoma prison practiced last night for their Sunday Makahiki celebration, an event their supporters hail as a victory for religious freedom.

About 100 men will mark the ancient Hawaiian tradition, ending the season of peace and honoring Lono, the god of agriculture, peace and fertility. Chanting, hula, a cleansing ritual written for the men by kumu John Keola Lake, and an awa-drinking ceremony are on the agenda, as well as a feast with laulau, fish and poi.

A linchpin of the inmates' support has been the United Church of Christ, descendant of the first missionaries who brought Christianity to Hawaii and which has taken heat from other churches for supporting a "pagan" religious practice.

The event at the Diamondback Correctional Facility at Watonga, Okla., will be staged with the approval of the Hawaii Department of Public Safety, said spokesman Mike Gaede. Two years ago the Correctional Corp. of America, which operates the prison, refused any such activity after being informed by a former Public Safety administrator that there is no such thing as a Hawaiian religion.

A 2003 lawsuit filed by 33 inmates challenged the constitutionality of that decision. It is pending before federal District Judge David Ezra. Attorneys for the state, the prison corporation and the inmates have met to discuss a possible settlement in the case.

"The men are getting to practice their tradition and learn more about their religion," said the Rev. Rosemary McCombs-Maxey, a leader of the Hawaii inmates' Oklahoma advocates.

She said she became involved for two reasons: as a clergywoman answering Hawaiian prisoners' appeal for a sponsor and as a member of the American Indian Muscogee nation.

The Oklahoma prison has 778 prisoners from Hawaii, according to Gaede. However, he did not know how many of them were native Hawaiian.

Last night, McCombs-Maxey and another minister were "made welcome in a kind and gracious way" by the prison staff, permitted to attend the Makahiki rehearsal and cleared to attend future weekly meetings of the Native Hawaiian Religion and Culture Club.

But that came after two years of roadblocks, as papers filed by Oklahoma clergy members were lost or delayed in the system and prison staff changed.

"It was like a shell game," she said. "We could not find out why we were not being let in. We were told the Hawaiian religion is not bona fide, so we don't have to let you in. I guess we were being a nuisance.

"A former chaplain said it was pagan. He was critical of us for not bringing in the Christian gospel," McCombs-Maxey said. "We said our brand of Christian says to be respectful of their faith; we always honor the men in their religious tradition. That is where healing comes from."

Kaleihau Kamauu, one of the inmate plaintiffs, said: "It is an effort by us guys inside taking responsibility for ourselves, making what moves we can to reconnect with our identity. It's because of the lack of spiritual foundation that we land in areas that we end up in prison, jails and mental institutions. This is a recovery, a healing thing."

Kamauu, who has since been returned to Hawaii as his 11-year sentence for robbery nears an end, said the Diamondback inmates were allowed a small observance last year under an order from the judge. Ezra permitted a weekly meeting during the three-month Makahiki period, he said. The crowd at meetings where "the brothers shared their manao" grew from 10 to about 80 men, he said.

The United Church of Christ denomination put its support of native religious practice on the record last month. The board of directors of the Hawaii conference passed a resolution supporting native Hawaiian practice in prison, and a similar proposal will be presented at the July national General Synod in Atlanta.

"The question is raised here as well as in Oklahoma: Why would a Christian church support a non-Christian religion? The crux is freedom of religion and the justice issue," said the Rev. Kekapa Lee, head of the Association of Hawaiian Evangelical Churches within the denomination. "There are people being denied the right to express their spirituality. These are not strangers; they are our families, people we know.

"This is one segment of the community asking for support," Lee said. "To help in ways to bring wholeness to the prisoners, to reconcile, to prepare to re-enter society -- this is part of our witness as UCC."

McCombs-Maxey, who teaches university classes in her Muscogee language, said she is impressed with the inmates' plans that go beyond the Sunday Makahiki. The weekly meeting of the Native Hawaiian Religion and Culture Club plans to begin a study of the Kumulipo, the Hawaiian creation chant.

"They are cut off from all the resources they would have back in Hawaii, and they are willing to start with what they have," she said.

"I was encouraged to see substance. Like all native people, we know we have ancient traditions, and some have been lost. We are not sure how to get back to our roots."