Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 31, Number 9, 1 September 2014 — THE #HAWAIIAN PATRIOTS PROJECT: MA PAʻA I KA LEO [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

THE #HAWAIIAN PATRIOTS PROJECT: MA PAʻA I KA LEO

The recently released #HawaiianPatriots Project amplifies Hawaiian politieal voices of both present and past generations. In four short videos, accessible on kamakakoi.com, Kanaka Maoli students from the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa give voice to the words of some of our most courageous kūpuna aloha 'āina - Hawaiians loyal to their homeland and country. Four patriots are featured: George Jarrett Helm, Aliee Kamokila Campbell, James Keauiluna Kaulia and Pi'ilani, "ka wahine i molia i ke ola," of Kekaha, Kaua'i. A Politica| People Kanaka 'Oiwi are a political people. Yet, it was not so long ago that youth in Hawai'i schools were taught that Hawaiians did not resist the 1893 overthrow. Hawaiian researchers, community organizers, educators and families have worked hard to dispel those untruths. But the residue of those myths linger, like the salty outline of dried tears on one's face. One residual impact is that too many of us have been raised to not see ourselves

as active agents of political change. Think back to your own education. Most of us probably had to memorize the names of all the U.S. presidents. But how many of us were asked to memorize the name James Keauiluna Kaulia or other Hawaiian patriots who organized against U.S. annexation? How many of us were asked to read the story of Pi'ilani and Kaluaiko'olau, who courageously resisted capture by Provisional Government forces right after the overthrow? Few of us learned about Kamokila Campbell, even though she was perhaps the strongest Hawaiian voice against statehood in the mid-20th century. One of the intentions of the #HawaiianPatriots Project is to reconnect kānaka with these kūpuna aloha 'āina so as to increase our own capacity to make informed decisions about our people and 'āina. The more we know about how our kūpuna consciously engaged in polkieal action, the better equipped we will be to exercise meaningful autonomy as a lāhui. For example, wouldn't we have more clarity about our political status as a nation if all young Hawaiians could explain

how Kaulia's leadership directly eontributed to the successful defeat of a treaty of annexation between the U.S. and Hawai'i? And how mueh more grounded would we be in considering potential futures for self-governance if we committed his words to memory: He aupuni kuokoa ko kakou i na'i 'ia e na Kamehameha i moe aku la, a 0 ka pono kukulu Aupuni kuokoa a lakou i imi ai, oia ka kakou e hauoli ne 1 keia la, nolaila, he aha na pilikia i ulu ae i ko kakou noho kuokoa ana? (sic) O ke kuokoa a na makua Alii i imi ai i pono hooilina no ka lahui, oia ke ake ia nei e kanu ola ia, a'u e olelo ae ai ina e hoohuiia kakou me Amerika, oia ko kakou ae ana aku e kanu ola ia kakou ka lahui i loko o na popilikia he nui e ho'ea mai ana ma hope o ka hoohui ia ana.

We have an independent government that was formed by the Kamehamehas, who are now at rest. And the right that they sought, to build an independent government, is the reason for our happiness today. Therefore, what are the problems that grow out of our continuing independence? The independence that our beloved Ali'i sought as a rightful inheritance for the lāhui Hawai'i of whieh I speak, that is what they (the annexationists) desire to be buried alive; consenting for our nahon to be subsumed within America is like agreeing that we, the nation, be buried alive with the many hardships that would follow annexation. Wouldn't it add richness to present debates about federal and state recognition if we knew that Mrs. Campbell won a lawsuit in whieh the Hawai'i Supreme Court found that the government's use of puhlie monies to promote statehood was detrimental to those who desired other forms of government for Hawai'i? And how mueh more critically would we be

able to discuss the ways corporate interests are tied into questions of political recognition if we were to meditate on Kamokila's analysis: There has eome into the over-all picture, outside capital and independent hnaneial giants who also wave the magic wand....The Big Five will always represent power in money, eontrol of industry, and indirect control of politics until we, who are against such principles, rebel by taking action. Our kūpuna are always present, speaking to us and guiding us. It is our kuleana to tune in and pay attention. As Angela Davis, African Ameriean feminist and prison abolitionist, said, "Histories inhabit us, and we inhabit them even when we are not aware of our relationship to history." Cultivating New Voices In learning about kānaka aloha 'āina of times past, we ean see that increasing our capacity as a politieal people includes strengthening SEE #HAWAIIANPATRIOTS ON PAGE 20

BYNOELANI GOODYEARKA'ŌPUA, PH.D.

#HAWAIIANPATRIOTS

Continued from page 19 our speaking abilities. George Helm, for instance, became a great leader in part because he was able to touch people through the power of his oration and his music. Poliīieal engagement requires being able to move people with words. People are better equipped to actively participate in and influenee decisions impacting their lives when they ean articulate their positions clearly and persuasively. We need to consciously nurture those capacities in our youth. I remember being a young person who did not feel confident about my own voice. When I attended the University of Hawai'i-Mānoa, I was exposed to powerful orators in Hawaiian studies, people like Haunani-Kay Trask, Lilikalā Kame'eleihiwa, Jon Osorio and Kanalu Young. I recall Professor Trask exorting us with two simple words when we were hesitant to talk in class: "Speak, students!" she would say. He mana ko ka leo. Years later when I became a teacher, I too wanted to prepare students to be more confident public speakers. This aim brought

me back to a story Professor Trask shared about her childhood. Her father was an attorney, and he would make Haunani-Kay and her siblings learn the closing arguments he prepared for his cases. She recalled standing in front of him and reciting his words from memory. I thought: "Wow! Now I know why she's such a powerful speaker!" She was trained since youth in a formof modern Hawaiian political oratory. In many ways, this story was the seed of a classroom assignment that formed the basis of the #HawaiianPatriots Project. When I teach Native Hawaiian politics, a course offered out of the UH-Mānoa Political Scienee Department, I ask students to memorize and perform excerpts from political speeches given by a Kanaka 'Ōiwi of their ehoiee. The assignment is called "Mai Pa'a i ka Leo," and it is founded on the idea that in order to learn about Native Hawaiian politics, students have to become familiar with the voices of kānaka who engage in political work. Students also learn that political work and speech not only happen in government but in all kinds of settings, wherever power is involved. Some students have chosen to breathe new life

into the stately words of ali'i such as Queen Lili'uokalani or Princess Ka'iulani. Others re-presented the words of contemporary Hawaiian artists, like famed musician Israel Kamakawiwo'ole or spoken word powerhouse Jamaica Osorio. Additionally, students write short biographical descriptions of the original orator and explain the historical context in whieh the words were originally uttered. Believing that people beyond the university ean benefit from reflecting on the bold words and deeds of kānaka aloha 'āina like George Helm or Kamokila Campbell, the iniīial assignment grew into a community education project through a partnership that drew on OHA staff's technical and creative expertise in producing digital media. Over the summer of 2014, four students from my Native Hawaiian politics course worked with OHA's Community Engagement team and me to co-create the short videos and accompanying web content that form the basis of the #HawaiianPatriots Project. The speeches are the central focus of eaeh page, honoring the mana that lives on in the words of the original orators. The present-day recitation of their historical words is a eall

to the kūpuna - a kāhea asking for their wisdom and guidance as we seek to advance our people. Eaeh of the student performers in the #HawaiianPatriots videos are themselves young kānaka aloha 'āina. Throughout the semester we spent together, I witnessed eaeh of them not only memorize words of aloha 'āina but also truly embody them. A ealm and steady presenee in class, Pulama Long spoke powerfully to her peers about the proposed Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) on Mauna Kea, after she and many other students attended the UH Board of Regents meeting to testify against the TMT. Jacob Aki offered oli to open an otherwise silent march against increased development in Ko'olauloa, whieh many community members believe will gentrify and disrupt the existing community. An early education teacher, Anuhea Chong-Sriwong-

tong led our UH class through an elaborate future scenario she created with two other students, in whieh our entire building became an underground community in the wake of projected climate change and sea level rise. Kawelakai Farrant pounded kalo and fed his classmates as a way to illustrate the importance of building food sovereignty in our islands, and he began making efforts to initiate a ku'i 'ai club on campus while also working for a nonprofit whose mission is to reduce waste through the reuse and recycling of building materials. Mai pa'a i ka leo. Don't hold back the voice. We should pay close attention to the courageous words and actions of the kūpuna aloha 'āina who eame before us, asking humbly that they not hold back insights that ean help us thrive as a lāhui for generations to eome. And with that wisdom to guide us, we should not hold back our own voices in determining the future of our nation. Both George Helm and Pi'ilani expressed the ways deep love for their land, their 'ohana and their 'āina moved them to action. And they both denounced in no uncertain terms those who plundered and desecrated Hawaiian lands and communities for selfish political interests. "This continued disregard for our seriousness," Helm wrote, "forces me to protest." What do the words of these kūpuna aloha 'āina move you to do? ■

Noeīani Goodyear-Ka'ōpua, Ph.D., is a professor of politieal science at the University of Hawai 'i-Mānoa.

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