Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 16, Number 9, 1 September 1999 — Nā ēwe hānau o nā 'āina [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Nā ēwe hānau o nā 'āina

ĪHE PlP'lH World Indigenous People's Conference on Education (WIPCE) was convened at Hilo, Hawai'i from Aug. 1-7. Hawai'i maoh joined with indigenous people firom a reported 26 nations including the Chakma of India, the Sami of Norway, the Ainu of Japan and the Maoii of Aotearoa. Comments regarding the opening day were: that joining at Hho One to weleome the canoes was stirring; that the 'awa ceremony was performed with gracious hospitahty, the hundreds of participants moving efficiently though the serving ceremony; and that later, when the fehing of hunger appeared, so did food, also served graciously. The sponsors, contributors and volunteers ranged from kama o

ka 'āina to malihinī, fiom the trusts bearing ah'i to missionary names, from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs to the National Park Service. We were coordinated by conference co-chairs Pualani and Edward Kanahele and conference director Noe Noe Wong-Wilson. Kudos and thanks to them. "Ko luna pōhaku no ke ka'a i lalo, 'a'ole hiki i ko lalo pōhaku ke ka'a. "A stone that is high up ean roh down, but a stone that is down cannot roh up." When a chief is overthrown his fohowers move on, but the people who hve on the land from the days of their ancestors eonhnue to live on it." ('Olelo No'eau #1833) The above summarizes my comments at 'Akahi Nā Hui. Living at the plaee that has supported our 'ohana firom the wa mamao, we have seen chiefs eome and go. We have seen a nation emerge and be supplanted. We have seen pohtical parties wax and wane. Wehave seen keepers of pubhc and ah'i trusts eome and go. Regardless of the kāhih, flag, constitution or platform, we remain. We are

kupa o ka 'āina, citizens of the land. I attended eight other Nā Hui sessions. At one, Dine shared with us the paradigm of data eoheehon, analysis and applieationfor educational planning

done by and for the Dine. At another, Cree posed the question 'Trust Money, A Blessing or a Curse?" Tommy Kaulukukui led us in a discussion of the eomplexities and priorities of indige-

nous leadership. Ever prolific, from the poetry of mourning to the rigors of bicultural legal scholarship at Waikato University, the Maori engaged us. At the session "Nga Tohu O Te Ao Turoa: Hapu Understanding of Ecosystems," our discussion included the nohon that having the koko does not necessarily mean one has the 'ike. This was further examined at the session "How to Ēalanee Tikanga Maori wiih Commercial Objectives: Worrying about Corporate Warriors" This session, presented by a Maoii director of a company whieh manages iwi resources, focused on the challenges and frustrations of balancing commercial success with the maintenance of fundamental Tikanga Maoii (pono). These and the session on Treaty claims against the British Crown in Tauranga Moana underscored the similarity between circumstances in Aotearoa and Hawai'i. The Huaka'i Hele offered us a ehanee to go into the field and

visit places of learning and practice. As a kāko'o to Cynthia Torres mā at Hualālai Resort, it was pleasurē to spend the day weaving lau hala with a group of mostly Maon women at the hālau wa'a at Ka'ūpulehu, our home ahupua'a. In 1993 the WIPCE convened at Coollongata, New South Wales, Austrafia and drew up a statement on indigenous rights in education. Included in the statement is the recognition "that there exists a commonality of purpose and desire amongst the indigenous people of the world for education. If further recognizes that this eommonahty involves a shared belief that education must be scholarly and empowering whilst at the same time the process of education must be embedded in indigenous culture and wisdom." The scholarship and wisdom shared during the week exemplified the theme "Aia nā Hā'ina i Loko o Kākou" (The Answers Lie Within Us). Mahalonō kākou. ■

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