Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 3, Number 5, 1 May 1986 — Aimlessly Adrift [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Aimlessly Adrift

By Hayden Burgess Trustee, Oahu

Recently while in Canada, I was asked to address meetings of chiefs from the two national lndian organizations, the Assembly of First Nations and the Native Council of Canada. I condense in this article, considering the limitation of space, the basic theme of my remarks. "The eommon bond

whieh our peoples and many other indigenous peoples of the world share is our very spiritual approach to the world order. We see spiritual development as the supreme end of human existence. As our societies strive for this spirituality , we eaeh develop a unique style of expressing our spiritual concepts. We develop songs, languages, artwork, dances and many more reflections of our indigenous approaches to spirituality. The customs and traditions of our peoples are woven into a tapestry called Hawaiian culture or Dene culture or Cree culture, etc. whieh are representations of our social and historical expressions of our spirituality. Culture, therefore, is the language of our spiritual development. As we carry out our activities as indigenous leaders, whether it be advocating for rights of indigenous peoples at the United Nations' Human Rights Commission, or fighting for the protection of water rights, or supporting more language schools in our communities, etc., we must be mindful that these activities should all be aimed at the same goal: To create the conditions in whieh our people ean have the opportunity to abide by our own cultural practice; ean express spirituality in our own way. Understand that our cultures are under attack. Those who deny spirituality and equate the world order only in terms of materialism are constantly bombarding our peoples. In many lands, our languages are lost, our religions are criminal, our identity with our indigeous forefathers are ridiculed. We, as indigenous peoples, must be clear. If we are to survive as a people, we must practice and save our cultures. We are spiritually based peoples. Should we allow our eultures to be destroyed, we will lose the essence of our identity.

A Hawaiian without cultural values is like a boat in the Pacific, without sail or paddle, aimlessly adrift. 1 am sure the situation is the same for all indigenous people. As indigenous leaders, we must use every effort to preserve, practice and foster culture by every means within our powers." In sharing these thoughts with the readers of Ka Wai Ola O OHA, I am especially hopeful that readers with an opinion on this matter would express them to me. On another note, I recently filed a report with OHA regarding my recent international work. If you're interested in getting a copy, please eall OHA. Finally, I share with you what a brother from Kaneohe recently shared with me: If you plan for a year, plant kalo. If you plan for 10 years, plant koa. But if you plan for 100 years, teach the children. Mahalo to H.N.K. Kauhi.