The state of Hawaii

We Kanaka Lahui have been here in these islands for nearly two-thousand years.

Before there was an America, we had sailed the ocean blue to come here as a people; to come to the most remote spot on this planet. And when we arrived here we found one of the most beautiful places — if not the most beautiful place — on earth.

And it is here that we grew a great civilization. One where there were no homeless people; one where there were no people who slept hungry; one where there were no children left out in the rain. But the reality for us today, as a people — this is the condition in which many of our people suffer. And so the main purpose for me today is to remind us that we have not always lived this way.

This is a condition that has been imposed on our people; this is a condition that has shackled our people; this is a condition which oppresses our people every day.

But have no fear. There is not a place on the planet that is as militarized; as missionized; as commodified as this place. And yet our keiki still sing and dance the songs of our people. The strongest swimmers swim in the roughest seas. Never forget that, because if that’s the best they got, we’ve already got ‘em licked.

It is said that there were 800,000 to a million Hawaiians at one time that lived in these islands—self-sufficient and sustainable. By the overthrow of 1893 we were down to only 40,000. Only 1 in 20 survived. Only 5 percent of our people made it through to 1893. Our lives are not cheap. But from that 5 percent, we are still here and we are still growing.

We come from a people that were very innovative; were able to adapt; understood scientific principles and technology. If you understand that, you will realize that it’s easy to go to where you came from before, versus trying to go on a new journey. So for many of us, it is really about reawakening this understanding: ho‘ala.

I was born and raised on the island of Maui. I’m a proud graduate of a great, missionary-named school, Henry Perrine Baldwin High School. But my family — we have been there from time immemorial. I continue to live there and I hope my children will continue to live on there and raise their children. We’re not going anywhere. We will endure; we will onipa‘a. So I say to the governor and those who wield power over us now to remember: We, as a people, are in it for the long haul. We’ve been here for two thousand years and we will be here for two thousand more.

With that, let me jump in to the so-called State of the State address. What was so astounding about the speech? Let me ask you, what did the governor say about Native Hawaiians in his address? He said nothing; did not mention one word. We have been erased from the politics of the State; we have been thrown to the side; we have been ignored.

And there are two reasons for that. The first, of course, is that they already see the situation and condition of we Hawaiians as settled. The governor looks at the Hawaiian registry; looks at the $200 million so-called settlement with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and believes that those things have ended the question of Hawaiian self-determination.

The second, I believe, is true fear. He is fearful of addressing the Hawaiian concerns because he knows and the state knows and the power-wielders know that the core to the resistance to what is going on in Hawai‘i is the Hawaiian voice. This voice is the voice which will challenge—which is challenging—the powers that be in their efforts. Efforts not just to wipe out the so-called Hawaiian question, but to continue to profit from our so-called demise.

So although they may think of us as something from antiquity; as artifacts of Hawai‘i’s history; that somehow they have moved on, we are here to remind them that we are here. We are giving them public notice that we are organizing; that we are reawakening; that we will fight; that we will struggle; that we will resist; and that we will be, in fact, victorious.

We also must analyze and understand some basic facts about our situation. The Hawaiian people are under a system of domination. We are a dominated people. They are dominators. Whenever we analyze the situation, we cannot forget that the main purpose of the dominators is to keep the domination going. Their main goal is for the dominated to buy-in to their own domination. That is the game. But we are here to say that although we recognize that we are dominated, we are not here to ask for a longer leash; we are not here to ask for a cleaner cage; we are here to say that we will be free. We are here to say that we are fighting for the righteousness of Ka Ea O Ka ‘Āina.

The word Ea is a powerful word. It is the life, the sovereignty, the independence, the power to rule and govern and to manage. Our kupuna gave us these great instructions to care for the land. You see, many people get caught up, when they think about our political rights, with the idea that it’s about a settlement of money; or it’s about entitlements; or it’s about the right to develop—it’s in some kind of constitutional government; it’s in some kind of name-list. But the Ea O Ka ‘Āina is the lesson. Whenever we fight and organize for the protection of the ‘āina — that which feeds and sustains us — we provide humanity to our own selves. That is our political voice. Every time we defend the ‘āina, we take a step forward.

Ka Ea O Ka ‘Āina is the challenge for all of us here today. And look at all the various organizations that are here. It’s really about the people retaking control of this Ea O Ka ‘Āina and not being foolishly led into discussions or ideas which take us away from what’s really most important. As we know from the mele ‘Ai Pohaku, “eat the wondrous rocks, the food of the land.”

What will make us as Lahui Kanaka live on for another two-thousand years is not a bigger bankroll; it’s not a longer list of names. It’s control of the Ea O Ka ‘Āina; it’s being on the land; it’s providing shelter and food to our people. That’s the direction we must always remember to head toward and not be led down paths which only confuse us and only support the continued domination of our people.

We should also realize that there is an illusion of dependency — this idea that Governor Abercrombie knows what’s best for the Lahui Kanaka; that he knows fairly and judiciously how we should look at the land. This illusion is something that, by truth, will be dissolved; that by organizing, and more purposefully, by unity amongst the different voices here today, will be dismantled.

You see Aloha ‘Āina is subversive to the power structures as they stand today. Those that talk about their second and third BMW, that hide in gated communities, that talk about a second Jacuzzi — Aloha ‘Āina challenges them. Because you cannot have gated communities and talk about Aloha ‘Āina; you cannot have the military poisoning our people’s land and talk about Aloha ‘Āina; you cannot talk about imposing monuments and structures of the colonial settler on our most sacred mountains and talk about Aloha ‘Āina.

On Maui we’ve been struggling over the question of the ATST — the Advanced Technology Solar Telescope. I met with the head of the National Science Foundation and I told him directly, “The great Mahatma Gandhi said that one of the seven sins is science without humanity.” And I asked him, “Where is the humanity in this telescope?” And his response was this: “This is for pure, selfish research.” That is the truth. I would honestly not be opposed to building upon these sacred mountains, if I knew, as a kanaka, that doing so would save lives; or provide shelter to a people. I can suffer for the betterment of mankind. Ua kapu ke ola na Kāne: Life is sacred to Kāne. Life is the most sacred ideology of our people. But for pure, selfish research, you’re going to take our most sacred mountains? That’s a slap in the face. But the question is, what are we going to do about it? That’s the point. How are we going to resist it?

As you heard in the governor’s address, [the Thirty Meter Telescope] is a $1.2 billion project. The profiteers are coming in; the fat-cats are getting their wallets ready. Their motivation is the profiteering off of our demise. But we Lahui Kanaka have a secret weapon. The secret weapon is the ideology of Aloha ‘Āina. The secret weapon is that we Lahui Kanaka have no choice; we can only resist and fight back. We don’t have any other options. Because we understand if we don’t fight back now, if we don’t resist now, if we don’t struggle now, we will be gone in 20 years; we will be assimilated in 20 years; we will become artifacts in 20 years.

This secret weapon and the lessons from our kupuna will lead us to struggle into the future. It will provide us the means by which we will be able to organize and mobilize and do whatever is necessary to protect Ka Ea O Ka ‘Āina.

The governor and the state recognize that they are in a conflict of interests whenever they talk about Hawaiian issues. How can the State of Hawai‘i and the governor’s office negotiate with a state agency, via the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, to sell our interests as the Lahui Kanaka with the so-called settlement? This can only happen if you foolishly believe that this is the only option.

The Hawaiian people do not have an economic problem. We have a political problem. Kamehameha schools alone is worth between $6-10 billion. The Office of Hawaiian Affairs has hundreds of millions of dollars. And then you add to this, of course, our lands; nearly 2 million acres of land in these islands that belong to our people. These are Hawaiian kingdom, crown and government lands. They belong to our people. We need to plan how we will take back these resources for us, under our control. We can no longer look to the state government to have the best interests of our people in mind. And there will be a transition of power — it has already begun.

One of the lessons of the great Elijah Mohammed is about organizing. And his great pupil, Malcom X, said, “The greatest mistake in organizing a sleeping people, is forgetting that you must first wake them to their own humanity and heritage. Only then will you get action.” Elijah Mohammed said, “If you train people to drink out of a dirty glass of water, and their whole lives they’ve been drinking out of a dirty glass of water, they may not realize they’re drinking out of a dirty glass of water.” So part of our role here—all of us here, kakou — is to showcase, first of all, that the glass is dirty and to say, “Here is a clean glass of water from which you may drink.” We must show our people the clean glass of water; the better way; a way for all of us to enjoy the future of these islands.

Self-determination depends on the self, not on Governor Abercrombie. It’s our kuleana to take back. The organizing of our people is for us to do. Some people tell me, “Kaleikoa, I’m tired of waiting.” And I say in response, “I’m tired of you waiting.” This is not about waiting. This is about doing; this is about organizing; this is about teaching; this is about sharing; this is about stepping forward as a people. We’re not stepping back, we’re moving forward.

One of the key elements for me here is the spirit and understanding of lokahi—the unity. Whether we’re kanaka or non-kanaka, the only way that we can challenge and defeat the profiteers is if we work together. The only way we can move forward for a better Hawai‘i is if we listen to one another. The only way only way that we can reclaim the future and destiny of our people is if we share with one another. We may not believe in everything that is shared, but we have to understand this lesson: Our disunity guarantees their future. However, our unity will bring about the future that we all want.

E iho ana o luna, e pii ana o lalo, e hui ana na moku, e ku ana ka paia. Ua mau ke ea o ka ‘āina i ka pono.

E ola kakou.