he White House
Office of the Press Secretary
Presidential Proclamation-- King Kamehameha Day
Two hundred years ago, King Kamehameha the Great brought the Hawaiian Islands together under a unified government. His courage and leadership earned him a legacy as the "Napoleon of the Pacific," and today his humanity is preserved in Ke Kanawai Mamalahoe, or "the Law of the Splintered Paddle." This law protects civilians in times of war and remains enshrined in Hawaii's constitution as "a unique and living symbol of the State's concern for public safety."
On this bicentennial King Kamehameha Day, we celebrate the history and heritage of the Aloha State, which has immeasurably enriched our national life and culture. The Hawaiian narrative is one of both profound triumph and, sadly, deep injustice. It is the story of Native Hawaiians oppressed by crippling disease, aborted treaties, and the eventual conquest of their sovereign kingdom. These grim milestones remind us of an unjust time in our history, as well as the many pitfalls in our Nation's long and difficult journey to perfect itself. Yet, through the peaks and valleys of our American story, Hawaii's steadfast sense of community and mutual support shows the progress that results when we are united in a spirit of limitless possibility.
In the decades since their persecution, Native Hawaiians have remained resilient. They are part of the diverse people of Hawaii who, as children of pioneers and immigrants from around the world, carry on the unique cultures and traditions of their forebears. As Americans, we can all admire these traits, as well as the raw natural beauty of the islands themselves. Truly, the Aloha Spirit of Hawaii echoes the American Spirit, representing the opportunities we all have to grow and learn from one another as we carry our Nation toward a brighter day.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 11, 2010, as King Kamehameha Day. I call upon all Americans to celebrate the rich heritage of Hawaii with appropriate ceremonies and activities.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this tenth day of June, in the year of our Lord two thousand ten, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.
BARACK OBAMA
Replies
Two hundred years ago Kamehameha I brought grief to Koolaupoko women. As a descendant of these women, on any given day of the year--I do not celebrate this so called beloved person alongside my people. Kam I is a veteran of the US Armed Forces of America. And I have come to know Kam I wrath and Kam III sales of our beloved Aina to the missionaries. My Tutu man fed 'dog' to the missionaries at their Waimanalo Luau parties given and hosted by the Monarchy. I sometimes take people to my Tutu Kane's place where it is still intact since the days of Kam I.
I grew up in the protective bosom of the Koolaupoko women and hold that love for all women in Hawaii. Especially for women that continue to suffer under the hand of Kam I and his military supporters. I am not talking about military families--I am talking about those that go off to war and come home to continue their 'trained to kill' on their own families, community and society in general.
I visited New Orleans Museum and I got to stare into the 'dead' mask of Napoleon the great and believe you me--I had nothing to say about the French person. Ironically, two weeks later 911 happened, and Katrina came later! It is so ironic that the president of the United States would mention Ke Kanawai mamalahoe or 'the Law of the Splintered Paddle." I won't go there with my thoughts for I have spent 30 plus years beside the road with infants, mothers, and fishermen against the very system of the US authority. All that I experience is death and destruction by the state police and their American Citizens. Recently, my friend Neil Abercrombie wanted to stop feeding the 'houseless' I thought he was being absolutely 'stupid'. And Obama is truly acting the same! There is truly no safety in 'not feeding the homeless.' It's an American appropriations thing--not Na Kanaka doingness.
The women in Koolaupoko carry in silence the burden of this man’s' veteran cruelty until this very moment. As I am typing this note, in rebuttal of the Presidents need to celebrate Kam I in his glorification of the 'kill' I mourn the death of my nice Tiare Franco. By 22, she had four children and I have come to know people in general that loved her--but did not care to understand the 'suffering' of her pains that dates back to 200 years or more. Her body in this world birthed four children and the system failed to celebrate that beauty. Instead, like Kam I and his great supporters they celebrate the death of humanity, pain and suffering, and muscle rage!
This writing of the President of the US reeks with 'inclusion' rather than the native Hawaiian people. For we are not part of the 'diverse people of Hawaii'! We are the very spirit of our people of Long Ago that supersedes any other culture that visit the islands and wreck its landscapes with their greed and rage. My spirit is different from the American Spirit for my nationhood is not one in the same with the continental of US. My every day is bright and filled with beauty and care for humanity. Unlike the US and the Kam I supporters they both celebrate the death and destruction of humanity.
I do not read any part of this 'heartfelt' writing by the President of the US as meaningful or caring for humanity. It reflects the Aztec love affair of Iztaccihuatl and Popocatepetl or Kam I and the US. Like Iztaccihuatl the native Hawaiian women suffer greatly at the hands of Kam I or the Native Hawaiian Veterans of the US American Armed Forces. Kam I is a Native Hawaiian Veteran of the US. Armed Forces of America and although his following rulers objected to the ‘Civil War’ we still celebrate foolish that we are Kam I battle of Nuuanu. We are not Mexicans or any other diverse people and their nation. We are our Aina and we live each day in her fragile bosom and we do drink from the staff of life that trickles from Mauka to Makai.
Date: Thu, 09 Jun 2011 14:43:02 -0700
From: Roberto Rodriguez <xcolumn@gmail.com>
Sacred War and Arizona’s Final “Reduccion”
Column of the Americas
For Immediate Release:
Sacred War and Arizona’s Final “Reduccion”
By Roberto Dr.Cintli Rodriguez
In Arizona, we are just days away from a momentous ruling: it is expected
that on the basis of an illegitimate audit, State Schools Superintendent
John Huppenthal – who ran on the promise of eliminating “La Raza,” – will
rule Tucson’s Mexican American Studies (MAS) program to be outside of “the
law.” The way HB 2281 was designed, the only remedy is elimination.
[pagans.jpg]
Incidentally, supporters of the program do not recognize HB 2281 as a
legitimate law. In part, this is because this is nothing more than a long
line of “laws” meant to ensure our dehumanization. And this is not a new
story. A read of Pagans in the Promised Land (Newcomb, S. 2008) gives us
this understanding – that what’s happening in Arizona is not simply a
civilizational war, but rather a so-called sacred war – the same war that
brought us the Inquisition, pitting civilized Christians v. uncivilized
heathens. In the Americas, it is part of the deep story about how Europeans
(Christians) – via the mind-boggling divine “doctrine of discovery” –
claim[ed] the continent and de-rooted its peoples.
[Doctrine.jpg]
In Arizona, it is also about who is legal and who is not and about whose
knowledge is legitimate and whose is not.
This cosmic drama has actually been playing out since Biblical times. This
imported drama is how we can also come to understand the meaning of
Arizona’s final or Ultima Reduccion – the unfinished business of
colonization. Spain’s continent-wide policy of reducciones of the
1500s-1800s, was about spiritually killing Indians while creating Christians
in their place (American Indians will recognize this as the 19TH and 20TH
century boarding school policies: kill the Indian, save the man). The belief
was that Europeans were Christian and Indigenous peoples were pagan and
thus, Christians had the right to claim the land and the peoples’ souls. A
reduccion was also the process by which everything Indigenous was demonized,
including the astronomical, mathematical and scientific knowledge contained
within the ancient calendars. It also demonized the songs, dances, music,
ceremonies, medicine and even the food (amaranth).
The entire 300-year colonization era was one huge reduccion and one huge
Auto de Fe. The most infamous Auto de Fe in history was recorded in 1562 at
Mani, Yucatan, where Bishop Diego De Landa staged a massive 3-day book
burning – proclaiming the ancient codices of the Maya: “Things of the
Devil.”
[Landa%2BMexfiles.jpg]
Mexfiles.net
While those policies are officially over, they actually live on. On Dec. 30,
2010, then State Schools Superintendent Tom Horne issued his own 10-page
Auto de Fe, declaring Tucson’s MAS program in violation of the 2010
anti-Ethnic Studies HB 2281. He had long charged that Ethnic Studies should
be grounded in Greco-Roman values – the foundation of Western Civilization,
and nothing else. On that day, he declared MAS outside of civilization and
also, outside of the West. On that day, he metaphorically commenced his own
book burning, commencing yet another Inquisition, declaring that books such
as Rodolfo Acuña’s Occupied America and Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the
Oppressed promoted hate, segregation and the overthrow of the U.S.
government. He also cited hip-hop groups Aztlan Underground and El Vuh for
the same.
[AztlanUG-Sub-versesCD.jpg]
His declaration actually hearkens back to that “sacred war” brought over by
Columbus. On Jan. 3, 2011, Horne read his own Requerimiento; a “legal”
finding compelling the district to comply or else. The original 1519
Requerimiento was read in Latin to Indigenous peoples, declaring that if
there were no Christians on this land, the land now belonged to the Spanish
Crown. If they did not comply, the crown’s representatives would wage
merciless war upon them.
On April 26 and then on May 3, the Tucson school board attempted to comply
with the state’s wishes by telling the heathens what was good for them (MAS
classes were to henceforth become electives) – since peoples less than human
can’t think for themselves nor do they possess equal rights. On the 26th,
students prevented the school board from meeting by chaining themselves to
the board chairs. In response, on May 3, the board authorized a massive show
of force (more than 100 police officers, including SWAT units, metal
detectors, a helicopter and a bomb squad) to remind us how imposed laws are
enforced: through brute force. Seven participants, attempting to speak were
arrested, and many youths and elders were roughed up.
[Four%2BAZ%2Bmen.png]
When Huppenthal issues his finding – his own Auto de Fe or his own
Requerimiento – it will not deter MAS supporters because we too are involved
in our own cosmic drama. It comes down to us from the ancient Codex
Chimalpopoca (The Legend of the Suns) and the Popul Vuh; it is about how
human beings and maiz were created. That knowledge is thousands of years
old, it is Indigenous to this continent, it is taught at MAS and freely
shared with the world. It is from here that we derive In Lak Ech (You are my
other me) and Panche Be (To seek the root of the truth) – concepts that
teach us to respect not just all human beings, but all life. It is how we
know that we are not heathen, that we are all human and all deserving of our
full human rights. It is also why we will not be complicit in our own
[final] reduccion.
If the state wants a solution, it will have to speak to us as co-equals and
as full human beings.
Rodriguez is a professor at the University and can be reached at:
XColumn@gmail.com
Column of the Americas
PO BOX 3812
Tucson, AZ 85722
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