The first Kanaka to occupy Kahoʻolawe. The wahine ikaika who blocked H-3 development in Halawa. The Beltrans in Mokuleia. Who would you like to hear talk about their involvement in Hawaiian land struggle over the last few generations? Whoʻs stories should all young Kanaka know about?
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All of the above. It is important to remember how we came to the place we are at today, and the struggles of our people from the time of the overthrow, annexation and statehood to present day. We need to acknowledge and honor all our heroes and warriors along the way. If not for George Helm and Billy Mitchell, and the PKO, Kahoolawe would still be the Target Island for the military. As a Hawaiian Studies graduate from UHM, it was important to learn about our history during the time of the U.S. takeover because the propaganda was entrenched in our educational system and it still is in the DOE. We needed to learn the history of our kupuna that went hidden in the national archives and Hawaiian Language Newspapers of that time. The change in mindset has been gradual but it has happened over the last 40 years and we continue to educate and change the minds of another generation. We must never forget the work and sacrifice of all our brothers and sisters as we prepare for the next generation to take up the battle.
This seems like such an important discussion to have. I had a class last semester called "English in Hawaii," and one of the professors brought up George Helm, and hardly anyone in the class knew who he was. I was a little upset about that too until I realized that I didn't really know anything either. All my study revolves around the nineteenth century and the Hawaiian-language newspapers, which have a lot of moolelo aloha aina, but I hardly see anything about contemporary people.
I was also wondering what you guys considered "contemporary" though. I thought Kaluaikoolau ma would be interesting to talk about. I know they're from kind've a while ago and that they didn't really head up into the mountains in protest of land issues, but they became such a huge symbol of resistance for hawaiians of the time, that they were in mele and article upon article, and there was even a serial legend about Koolau running in the paper while they were still up in the mountains. He was still popping up in interviews with kupunai in the '50s. Anyway, not sure if this is the kind of stuff people want to talk about here; I don't want to take the discussion in the wrong direction:) Maybe they're from too far back.
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I was also wondering what you guys considered "contemporary" though. I thought Kaluaikoolau ma would be interesting to talk about. I know they're from kind've a while ago and that they didn't really head up into the mountains in protest of land issues, but they became such a huge symbol of resistance for hawaiians of the time, that they were in mele and article upon article, and there was even a serial legend about Koolau running in the paper while they were still up in the mountains. He was still popping up in interviews with kupunai in the '50s. Anyway, not sure if this is the kind of stuff people want to talk about here; I don't want to take the discussion in the wrong direction:) Maybe they're from too far back.