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  • supporting hawaiian sovereignty?

    Hi,

    In January, my partner and I are traveling to Maui and Molokai on a low-impact vacation (mostly camping). Here in Denver, Colorado, we support indigenous liberation struggles, such as the American Indian Movement. While we're in Maui and Molokai, we'd like to pay our respects to local Hawaiian social and political organizations seeking freedom. Any recommendations? Any activities or actions planned in January/February?

    I recently read that about a year ago or so there were protests on Molokai against the cruise ships invading and further exocitizing. Any update?

    in solidarity,

    Mark Schneider
    Denver, CO
    dogbuckeye@yahoo.com

  • #2
    Re: supporting hawaiian sovereignty?

    Originally posted by dogbuckeye
    Hi,

    In January, my partner and I are traveling to Maui and Molokai on a low-impact vacation (mostly camping). Here in Denver, Colorado, we support indigenous liberation struggles, such as the American Indian Movement. While we're in Maui and Molokai, we'd like to pay our respects to local Hawaiian social and political organizations seeking freedom. Any recommendations? Any activities or actions planned in January/February?

    I recently read that about a year ago or so there were protests on Molokai against the cruise ships invading and further exocitizing. Any update?

    in solidarity,

    Mark Schneider
    Denver, CO
    dogbuckeye@yahoo.com
    You need to be very very careful as a malihini (newcomer) not to rock the boat. Even though Hawaii and its people are perceived to be warm and welcoming, charging full speed ahead (as most nonlocals tend to do) will probably not get you very far nor will you be very welcome. The political climate in Hawai'i is a little cloudy right now. Yes, there is a move in Congress to officially recognize the kanaka maoli (the original people of Hawai'i) and award them the same kinds of rights that some Native American tribes have (read about the Akaka Bill), but there is no unity among the kanaka maoli in this regard. Some recognize the Office of Hawaiian Affairs as the arbiter in their struggle for recognition while remaining part of the US (the ones who favor the Akaka bill), and then you have other groups who want to become an entirely sovereign nation.

    The best thing you can do is just listen to and respect everyone while you are visiting. And most of all, respect the land. This is particularly true on Moloka'i, which is a whole lot less cosmopolitan than the rest of Hawai'i, which is part of its "charm". But the residents do look askance at anyone who acts differently and they only tolerate tourists. In fact, many residents would prefer to be left alone. They live very self contained lives, there's a lot of unemployment (there's no industry per se) but for the most part, the residents seem pretty content. They have a saying there: Leave your money and leave.

    They could have welcomed the cruise ships into their harbor and created many new jobs and a lot of much-needed income, but they protested and managed to get the cruise lines to back off. Tourism is kind of a sore topic for them, even though some do make a living being tour guides.

    I imagine you will be camping at Papohaku Beach? There aren't that many nice camping areas on Moloka'i, but Papohaku Beach is spectacular. If you visit a heiau (there's a huge one on Moloka'i called Iliiliopae but you need permission to visit because it's on private property), don't bring any offerings and simply relish the quiet and say a silent prayer.

    You'll probably be bummed out by Mau'i. It's gotten very commercialized. While not quite as bad as Honolulu, it's well on its way to becoming another LA.

    Miulang
    Last edited by Miulang; December 30, 2004, 01:45 PM.
    "Americans believe in three freedoms. Freedom of speech; freedom of religion; and the freedom to deny the other two to folks they don`t like.” --Mark Twain

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    • #3
      Re: supporting hawaiian sovereignty?

      Originally posted by Miulang
      They have a saying there: Leave your money and leave.

      here's just a lil assortment of other things that "some" say:

      "We'll take your money and you take your leave.
      and stay away from our heiau. Too sacred for the profane."


      "Tourists; the other white meat."

      "If it's tourist season, why can't we shoot them?!"


      sorry, eh, but dass da way 'tis.

      oh. anodda tourist experience...

      On the way to the Aloha Tower, walking through Chinatown, a tourist is fascinated with all the Chinese restaurants, shops, signs and banners. He turns a corner and sees a building with the sign, "Hans Olaffsen's Laundry."

      "Hans Olaffsen?", he muses. "How in hell does that fit in here?" So he walks into the shop and sees an old Chinese gentleman behind the counter.

      The tourist asks, "How did this place get a name like 'Hans Olaffsen's Laundry?'" The old man answers, "azz da owner's name."

      The tourist asks, "Well, who and where is the owner?" "I steh right heah, brah," replies the old man.

      "You? How did you ever get a name like Hans Olaffsen?"

      "dass seempo," says the old man. "Many, many year ago when firs' time wen steh coming to this island, was stand in line Documentation Centah. Man in front was big bumboocha haole Swede. da wahine wen spok heem and spik, 'What your name?' He say, 'Hans Olaffsen.' Then she look at me and go, 'What your name?'"

      "I say Sam Ting."




      ****** but all seriousness aside, I gotta tellya:

      as "sovereignty" means freedom from external control, they will rightfully be suspicious and unaccepting about an external element, (tourist/mainlander/haole) coming over and interjecting into the "fray".

      hell; it is known that some kama'aina haole even have a tough time as it is, helping toward the cause of the Kanaka maoli. Why would a f.o.b tourist find it any easier?
      Last edited by kimo55; December 30, 2004, 02:30 PM.

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      • #4
        Re: supporting hawaiian sovereignty?

        Ass one good one, Kimo!
        "Americans believe in three freedoms. Freedom of speech; freedom of religion; and the freedom to deny the other two to folks they don`t like.” --Mark Twain

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        • #5
          Re: supporting hawaiian sovereignty?

          Thanks so much for being so clear and honest with your advice. Got it.

          - Mark
          Denver

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          • #6
            Re: supporting hawaiian sovereignty?

            Originally posted by dogbuckeye
            Thanks so much for being so clear and honest with your advice. Got it.

            - Mark
            Denver

            no but really, seriously. no offense meant. I am cognizant of much of your efforts in this milieu, Mark. The quantity and quality of your writings (and efforts) are exemplary.... but all the above actually holds true irrespective of a mainlander's resume.

            aloha.
            Last edited by kimo55; December 30, 2004, 06:41 PM.

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            • #7
              Re: supporting hawaiian sovereignty?

              Remember when going to Molokai, Kaunakakai (where the airport is) is the dividing line between east and west Molokai much like the Mason Dixon line! On the east is the Haole's (foreigners) and on the west is the Kanaka Maoli (locals). But if you go to the eastern tip of Molokai where Haleiwa Valley is, don't go hiking without permission from the landowner or you may get shot. And da buggah ain't aiming for your kneecaps!

              For those activists or supporters of Sovereignty, the Hawaiians have already been stabbed in the back by the White man. They simply don't trust them anymore regardless of their sympathies. The best way to show support for the Hawaiian Sovereignty movement is to acknowledge their plight and stay out of their way. Hawaiians are a proud people and don't feel they need the help of outsiders.

              I'm 100% Japanese born and raised in Hawaii and support the Hawaiian's protests but you won't see me marching in their protest marches simply because I don't belong in that crowd. To march with them tells them that I feel their frustrations and can understand their anger.

              Unless you have been victimized directly, how can you understand the pain and anguish the true victim went thru. I can't and for that I don't pretend to or even try to understand their frustrations. All I can do is to support them from a distance and honor their desire to be left alone and that's what you as supporters of a different skin should do also.

              It's good that you feel the need to support the plight of the Hawaiians. It's not good if you tell them you understand their frustration as an outsider because you haven't had your ancestral lands taken away from you illegally. All you can do is to stand back and show your support from a respectable distance. Every person needs their space, and for the Hawaiians that space is the state of Hawaii and you're trampling on it simply by being there in good faith or not.
              Life is what you make of it...so please read the instructions carefully.

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              • #8
                Re: supporting hawaiian sovereignty?

                What Craig said.

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                • #9
                  Re: supporting hawaiian sovereignty?

                  Originally posted by Glen Miyashiro
                  What Craig said.

                  What Glen said.

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                  • #10
                    Re: supporting hawaiian sovereignty?

                    I am metis...I am Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potowatomie. I have cousins on Walpole Island Rez and Little Travers Bay Rez.

                    I wouldn't even go unless invited...it's a little thing called respect.

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                    • #11
                      Re: supporting hawaiian sovereignty?

                      Originally posted by Peshkwe
                      I am metis...I am Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potowatomie. I have cousins on Walpole Island Rez and Little Travers Bay Rez.

                      I wouldn't even go unless invited...it's a little thing called respect.
                      What Peschkwe said.

                      Miulang
                      "Americans believe in three freedoms. Freedom of speech; freedom of religion; and the freedom to deny the other two to folks they don`t like.” --Mark Twain

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                      • #12
                        Re: supporting hawaiian sovereignty?

                        And there you go...show respect and be respected for respecting their plight...nuff said.
                        Life is what you make of it...so please read the instructions carefully.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: supporting hawaiian sovereignty?

                          being shot around anonymously via e-mail lately..

                          How Hawaiians feel about the overthrow


                          Let's pretend I visit your house: You offer me food and rest. I decide to stay. I order you and your family around, use your things and rearrange the rooms. I take down your photos and religious symbols, replace them with my own and make you speak my language. One day, I dig up your garden and replace it with crops that I can sell. You and your family must now buy all your food from me. Later, I invite my father and his buddies over. They bring guns. We take your keys. I forge a deed and declare my father to be owner of the house. I bring more people. Some work for me. Some pay me to stay in your house. I seize your savings and spend it on my friends. You and your family sleep on the porch.


                          Finally, you protest. Being reasonable, I let you stay in a corner of the house and give you a small allowance, but only if you behave. I tell you, "Sorry, I was wrong for taking the house." But when you demand your house back, I tell you to be realistic.


                          "You are a part of this family now, whether you like it or not," I say. "Besides, this is for your own good. For all that I have done for you, why aren't you grateful?"
                          Last edited by kimo55; March 27, 2005, 08:39 AM.

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                          • #14
                            Re: supporting hawaiian sovereignty?

                            Well look on the bright side Kimo...nah no matter what happens a wrong cannot be justified and one day justice has to be served, keep the vigil!
                            Life is what you make of it...so please read the instructions carefully.

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                            • #15
                              Re: supporting hawaiian sovereignty?

                              and another intriguing site...

                              http://freehawaii.org

                              "Most Americans still think Hawaii actually wanted to become part of their country, never knowing that we're a conquered Nation and deeply resent our loss of Sovereignty."

                              Hawaii has NEVER legally become a territory of the US, let alone a State. Make it Right! Restore us to the status of independent and sovereign Nation. Free Hawaii - NOW!

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