It was such an honor to be in the intimate classroom setting
and have Mr. Poka Laenui passionately speak to us about how societies are
constructed while showing us how this relates, in essence, to the Hawaii
Sovereignty Movement. His reading of
Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s eloquent speech about how religion relates to society
was so fitting for the introduction of his presentation. This inspired me to research more about
Tutu’s humanitarian efforts in South Africa and other parts of the world
throughout history. Tutu’s words made me
want to learn more about his political views surrounding modern world issues
such as poverty, minority rights, and environmental concerns. In the last year, I have been blessed to be
presented with many powerful leaders that share the same belief system as me. Studying these figures helps me to further
justify my belief system and become a better student and leader, myself.
I am so blessed to have the opportunity to pursue my
education in Hawaii. I remember my first
month living in Hawaii. So many strange
things happened to me that are unexplainable.
Not until the last year have I been able to understand these
incidences. I remember running through
the forest in Kaneohe near the Pali Golf Course. Growing up in the middle of the nowhere in
the Colorado Rocky Mountains, I have always had an inviting and intimate
relationship with nature. But when I was
running in Kaneohe, I didn’t feel welcomed by the soil, the trees, and the
ferns. The birds would just ignore me. This was completely foreign to me. The only thing I could do was tell them, “I am
here to learn to do good for the world…to help you. I am not here to be dishonest or to live a
frivolous life. Please, please welcome
me. Let me see the beauty of Hawaii so I
can be happy.” Soon, I felt welcomed,
thank God. But there were still some
places I would go that would literally make me vomit. Three years later, I found out that these
places were where graves were dug up by huge companies and put in shoeboxes for
storage.
Immersing myself as
much as possible in the traditions of the Hawaiian people, especially Hula, has
allowed my relationship with the earth to grow tremendously. Carefully observing the relationship that
people of Hawaiian descent have with the Western world has fascinated me as
much as it has saddened me. I have always
found myself drawing a parallel between the situation in Hawaii and what has
happened with the indigenous culture that I am most familiar with, the Lakota
Nation. There are parallels everywhere
ranging from the Christianization of the locals, to the new, cheap, unhealthy
diet of salt and sugars, to the sedentary lifestyle, to the poverty, to the
environmental destruction, to the racism, to the alcoholism, to the
Westernization, to the materialism. Because
the story of the Hawaiian people has been kept from them, many cannot help but
assimilate with the Western world. Fortunately,
their ways are making a comeback, and people are adopting them back into their
lives with great pride.
Although I still have much to learn about the history
involved with the overthrow of Queen Lili`uokalani, the US military occupation
of the islands, the annexation of Hawaii, and the US government’s role in the
islands since then, I know that what was done was wrong and that something
needs to be done about it. What should be
done and how this should be carried out has always baffled me. Poka Laenui has so far, presented the most reasonable
steps to attain justice and bring the Hawaiian people a peace of mind.
Laenui’s model of the formal system in Hawaii and the rest
of the US which specifically emphasizes domination, individualism, and
exclusion (DIE) revealed so much truth so simply. Things were really put into perspective when
he revealed to us the informal system in Hawaii which upholds `olu`olu (being
comfortable with), Lokani (community), and Aloha (inclusion with a sense of
humanity and compassion). The acronym
for `Olu`olu, Lokani, and Aloha is OLA, which means life in Hawaiian. Somehow, both of these systems exist
simultaneously. Yet this does not negate
the unfortunate fact that the DIE model has become dominant in these beautiful
islands.
In order to change from the DIE to the OLA model, we must
first recognize DIE and all that it entails.
The transition from DIE to OLA is one of the main objectives that the
people behind the Hawaiian sovereignty movement are fighting for. First Hawaii must go through the process of
decolonization before any true contentment and reparation can begin. Laenui’s steps toward appropriate
decolonization certainly made a lot of sense.
The first step is recovery and
rediscover. If, in this case, the
true Hawaiian culture is not recovered and rediscovered, the years of
colonization and its ways that have become engrained in society will just
continue. The second stage is the mourning phase; this society is more
than justified to mourn for the story of their people that has been kept from
them. But society must move on to the dreaming phase and explode the system
from the inside by revealing the truth.
Great consideration has to be given to identifying the deep values we
want to live by in Hawaii. Consensus then must be achieved. All of these steps will prepare the society
for appropriate action. I truly hope that one day, all races can
come together and bring Hawaii the justice it deserves.
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