I have had the opportunity to have someone from over my Kohala Mountain here on Maoliworld bring up a "who's got koko" more by pointing out he comes from a pure blood hawaiian line. I guess he was trying to make a point that what I do for the North Kohala district means nothing to him or that I don't have any experience in protecting sacred sites. LOL.So what does being pure hawaiian prove but getting on a list of Hawaiian Homes? Does it prove anything else when you start conversation and say "well I got more koko than you and my words have more validity than you and you're a nobody?" Yet he doesn't provide "who he is" and feels he doesn't need to prove it. But he's from South Kohala, says his father from Molokai and mother from Kohala. So he doesn't believe who I am and what my family has done for Kohala so I have referrred him to Papa Akau in Kawaihae, former Ali'i 'Aimoku of Pu'u Kohola heiau in South Kohala. Papa is not feeling well right now but he is still on our board of directors seat for Maika'i Kamakani 'O Kohala. He knows my family and so I don't need to prove my koko.I gotta laugh at the belligerence and classism category, this person had made a comment of what is aloha yet he is disrespectful with a big pohaku on his shoulders. In my opinion, what matters is the heart and spirit behind the koko, not how much koko you have on paper...anyone else?
The Cherokee was also educated with their own government/laws, written and spoken words before the white man showed up; they took everything except was was useless for them to continue as a nation....another SAD story.
Esp. the Cherokee, one of the so called "civilized tribes" whose BQ requirements tries to encompass many (meaning a lower BQ) are pretty adament (sp?) abt their BQ restrictions. And yes, unforrunately, you can't be a cherokee or mvskogee or choctaw or chickasaw or seminole unless your ancestor was listed on the Dawes Rolls. Which is even more stupid. Again, these tribes didn't create this system, rather it was imposed on them.
Mahalo Kamatose for bringing up Native American issues. Yes I was surprised to know about the procedures on getting our boys registered on the Cherokee list before age 12 so that they can take part of scholarships for school once they enter college as well as other benefits. Getting that roll number as part of their "database system" is likened to the blood quantum we have here in hawaii for hawaiian homes. As I was doing this inquiring I came upon that exact question in my mind as you state: So if a NA family decided to not go on a reservation and do what they could to stay off of one, their descendants will never be "recognized" by their own tribe. IT SUCKS!
It reminds me of how the American view has left Native Americans as well. My mother's side is Cherokee and Irish. You can't register to be part of a tribe unless your families name is on a registered scroll from times like the Trail of Tears. So if a NA family decided to not go on a reservation and do what they could to stay off of one, their descendants will never be "recognized" by their own tribe. It's very similar to this BQ idea and sadly it's worked well for America. People are split because of this insane idea.
People tend to forget that King Kalakaua wanted to strengthen Hawaiians by bringing in more of our "cousins".
Ah yes, the dreaded blood quantum. Can anyone, esp. those who stongly believe in BQ stop to think & explain why Japanese, Samoans, Brazilians, Italians, Australians or Morrocons don't have blood quantum? I'm sure they won't have an answer. And Foster pretty much said that it (BQ) is an American system. Do any Oiwi stop to think how our ancestors never talked about "koko" as the way they do today? Most importantly has anyone think about why "'oiwi" is used?
Koko has always been considered haumia. But the iwi was important. Hence the importance in words such as iwi kupuna, kulaiwi & 'oiwi. Can anyone remind us of the things our ancestors did when it came to usurping aliis? There is evidence of items made, such as the kahili that has the iwi of Kalanikupule or the iwi of La'amaomao in the ipu & others that I can't think of at the moment involving the use of iwi. Iwi, iwi, iwi! Yet people use the word KOKO & BLOOD as if that is important & that is what makes us pure.
A Maori told me many years ago of how ridiculous BQ was & how the body doesn't section off blood into percentages. If we bleed, it's just blood. No such thing as our mother's side of the blood bleeding out more than our father's side or our maternal grandmother's side of the blood coming out more than the paternal grandmother's side. It doesn't work that way.
BQ was designed to give the idea that those of us whose culture stressed strong ties & lineage to the land could, or in some people's eyes, WOULD die out based on this made up BQ system that isn't applied to other nationalities.
What's worse is how some believe that this is how you have a connection to the land & some (both kanaka & non-kanaka) can say that Hawaiians can never agree on anything. If I were a greedy Haole, I'd be lol-ing because the foreign tool created to divide a people has been working & making others worldwide how effective BQ is.
Mahalo for sharing Foster and Pomaikaiokalani. The Classisms are very hurtful, as if a spear through the heart as how I took it...then to be reminded by Pomaikaiokalani that yeah you are correct, they intermarried...EXHALE...my wounded heart is healed. It's like when I hear "da haoles did this" and I correct people and say, hey wait a minute when you talk that way you disrespect our ali'i who did not marry hawaiian bloodties. Or King Kamehameha I's best friend who was haole. I must remember our bloods are all the same color RED makes us no different then the next. We do all need to unite koko or non koko I agree Foster...SMILE
Pure Hawaiian? What is a Pure Hawaiian? A Samoan and Tahitian who got here before Capt. Cook and has children? There is no such thing as a Pure Hawaiian in Blood. It is more important to be Hawaiian in Spirit then in Blood. Kamehameha 1 to Queen Liliuokalani all were Alii because of their Spirit in them, not because their Blood. If their Blood was so important to the Alii they would not have married, alone have children outside of the Bloods. Blood is an American Tool that continues to divid our people, our nation the Hawaiian Kingdom. My Grandmother loved all of us no matter what Bloods ran in our bodies. I'm honored to be called a Kupuna by someone who is not of the Blood but of the Spirit of being a Hawaiian. Long Live The Hawaiian Kingdom, o Pomai
Pololoe. So much fires to put these days. This kind of attitude is just one more unnecessary distraction. Instead of this shredding another human being apart...as seems to be the case on other discussions here on maoliworld, we can kako`o one another with compassion. nurture the part of ourselve which lacks sustenance for the soul. Not hard to first be kind and generous with ourselves....then we see more clear and we can fight these fires with the right focus.
This notion of having more-koko makes one more-Hawaiian is sooooo AMERICAN. Read the comments in the various public venues on each island. It's really cranked up here on Maui.
I know one thing for sure, the invasion of our islands is not over. NO WAY! It's in the attitude and disrespect being dished out to all of us. Not just kanaka maoli...yeah, we get the brunt and first few volleys, but it's our local culture that is slowly and subtley being eroded by this high-makamaka attitude!
Not only na kanaka maoli need to unite...locals need to unite WITH na kanaka maoli to protect our lands and our lifestyle. When the philipino, japanese, pake, portugese, purto rican, haole, korean, etc. etc. etc. came to these islands to work and raise their families...Hawaiians welcomed them. It was the greedy crooks, like the Wall Street Crooks of today that changed so many of the peoples attitude....auwe, now today we blaming and fighting each other.
Comments
People tend to forget that King Kalakaua wanted to strengthen Hawaiians by bringing in more of our "cousins".
Koko has always been considered haumia. But the iwi was important. Hence the importance in words such as iwi kupuna, kulaiwi & 'oiwi. Can anyone remind us of the things our ancestors did when it came to usurping aliis? There is evidence of items made, such as the kahili that has the iwi of Kalanikupule or the iwi of La'amaomao in the ipu & others that I can't think of at the moment involving the use of iwi. Iwi, iwi, iwi! Yet people use the word KOKO & BLOOD as if that is important & that is what makes us pure.
A Maori told me many years ago of how ridiculous BQ was & how the body doesn't section off blood into percentages. If we bleed, it's just blood. No such thing as our mother's side of the blood bleeding out more than our father's side or our maternal grandmother's side of the blood coming out more than the paternal grandmother's side. It doesn't work that way.
BQ was designed to give the idea that those of us whose culture stressed strong ties & lineage to the land could, or in some people's eyes, WOULD die out based on this made up BQ system that isn't applied to other nationalities.
What's worse is how some believe that this is how you have a connection to the land & some (both kanaka & non-kanaka) can say that Hawaiians can never agree on anything. If I were a greedy Haole, I'd be lol-ing because the foreign tool created to divide a people has been working & making others worldwide how effective BQ is.
This notion of having more-koko makes one more-Hawaiian is sooooo AMERICAN. Read the comments in the various public venues on each island. It's really cranked up here on Maui.
I know one thing for sure, the invasion of our islands is not over. NO WAY! It's in the attitude and disrespect being dished out to all of us. Not just kanaka maoli...yeah, we get the brunt and first few volleys, but it's our local culture that is slowly and subtley being eroded by this high-makamaka attitude!
Not only na kanaka maoli need to unite...locals need to unite WITH na kanaka maoli to protect our lands and our lifestyle. When the philipino, japanese, pake, portugese, purto rican, haole, korean, etc. etc. etc. came to these islands to work and raise their families...Hawaiians welcomed them. It was the greedy crooks, like the Wall Street Crooks of today that changed so many of the peoples attitude....auwe, now today we blaming and fighting each other.