Restoring Relationships for Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea
Aloha mai kākou,
While our blog has been quiet this year, we have been busy. I am happy to be writing this from my apartment in Mānoa, where I now live. Previously at the University of Utah, on August 1, I officially join the faculty at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in Ethnic Studies and Public Administration. Mahalo to the many, many friends and family who helped manifest this move home for me. I am thrilled to be back on Oʻahu after 20+ years, and to be able to continue my work on Nā Lei Poina ʻOle.
This weekend marks Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea, Sovereignty Restoration Day. If you are on island, I would love to see you and catch up at any or all of these three events we have planned. Tomorrow, Saturday July 26 we will be at Waialeʻe 8:30-1pm. Sunday July 27, we will have a booth at Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea Thomas Square, 9-5pm with a discussion panel at 10:30am. And Tuesday July 29, find us at UH Mānoa Hawaiian Studies for lunch and a share back presentation. You can find more details on each event on our social media pages, or below.
Me ke aloha
Maile
Ea: life, breath, and sovereignty.
Join us in uplifting the ea of Waialeʻe through mālama ʻāina and critical discussion. The ahupuaʻa of Waialeʻe is a Crown Land of Kauikeaouli, Kamehameha III, the Mōʻī who declared "Ua mau ke ea o ka ʻāina i ka pono (the sovereignty of the land endures because it is just)" upon the rightful restoration of sovereignty to the Hawaiian Kingdom following a brief British occupation in 1843. This date was thenceforth commemorated as Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea (Sovereignty Restoration Day).
Ea has been disrupted in Waialeʻe through the eradication of native species and food systems, the displacement of Kānaka ʻŌiwi communities, and also the operation of the Waialeʻe Industrial School For Boys, which opened in 1903, shortly after the illegal annexation of the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1898. The boys' school criminalized and incarcerated predominantly Kānaka ʻŌiwi youth for minor "offenses," leading to unjustified trauma and indoctrination, rather than care and healing.
In an effort to uplift the ea of Waialeʻe and all those affected by the boys' school, during lunch we will learn from our Indigenous cousins' experiences with native American boarding schools and their efforts to heal from these schools' impacts.
Panelists will include:
Maile Arvin (Kanaka Maoli, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa)
Derek Taira (Okinawan heritage, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa)
Farina King (Diné, University of Oklahoma)
Caitlin Keliiaa (Yerington Paiute and Washoe, University of California, Santa Cruz)
Sarah Whitt (Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, University of California, Irvine)
Kēhaulani Vaughn (Kanaka Maoli, University of California, Riverside)
Charles Sepulveda (Tongva and Acjachemen, University of California, Riverside)
As stewards of ʻāina, it is vital that we acknowledge, confront, and work to reconcile often uncomfortable histories which have taken place on these lands. We welcome you to join us in this journey to learn, grow, and ultimately heal from hurt that has been inflicted. E ea pū kākou a hoʻihoʻi i ke ea o Hawaiʻi! Let us all rise together to restore the life-giving breath of Hawaiʻi!
For more info and to RSVP, visit waialee.eventbrite.com
Sunday July 27
10:30am
Nā Lei Poina ʻOle booth at Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea at Thomas Square
Continuing ongoing conversations about the history of the Waialeʻe Industrial School for Boys, we plan to talk story with a group of Indigenous scholars visiting from the continent. Join us!
Guests include:
Kawela Farrant, (Kanaka Maoli, North Shore Community Land Trust)
Maile Arvin (Kanaka Maoli, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa)
Farina King (Diné, University of Oklahoma)
Caitlin Keliiaa (Yerington Paiute and Washoe, University of California, Santa Cruz)
Sarah Whitt (Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, University of California, Irvine)
Kēhaulani Vaughn (Kanaka Maoli, University of California, Riverside)
Charles Sepulveda (Tongva and Acjachemen, University of California, Riverside)
Discussant: Makamae Sniffen (Kanaka Maoli, graduate student, University of Wisconsin)
Meet us at Kamakakuokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies room 207 next Tuesday 12-2!
For the past year, a group of faculty from several institutions including UH Mānoa have been collaborating around shared interests in histories of Indigenous boarding and industrial schools. Such institutions took Indigenous children from their families for years at a time. In doing so, they played key and painful roles in colonization across many different contexts, including Hawaiʻi. Join us for lunch and a talk story where scholars will share about their research and reflect on their year of working together. Guests include:
Maile Arvin (Kanaka Maoli, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa)
Farina King (Diné, University of Oklahoma)
Caitlin Keliiaa (Yerington Paiute and Washoe, University of California, Santa Cruz)
Sarah Whitt (Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, University of California, Irvine)
Kēhaulani Vaughn (Kanaka Maoli, University of California, Riverside)
Charles Sepulveda (Tongva and Acjachemen, University of California, Riverside)