By Maile Luʻuwai, SCHHA Vice Chair
With courage and perseverance, Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole led the passage of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act during a time when racism and discrimination against Hawaiians was fueled and inflamed by a self-serving white minority and their cronies, permeating across our island nation for generations. This racism still exists today.
We still live in an environment where political connections and money influence those in power. These people have front row seats to decision-makers who, out political expediency and financial gain for themselves, their ʻohana, and their friends, bend to the will and greed of those with money and influence.
It is a club of exclusion, in which some Hawaiians are also members. In this environment, people are rewarded for staying quiet and towing the line because they are looking out for their own self-interests, or their friends’, or both.
As excluded Hawaiians, you may feel ignored and thrown crumbs. You may feel powerless.
ʻAʻole! You have a voice and the power to demand change and accountability. When well organized, even a small, resilient group has strong unified voice.
Sovereignty is empowering yourself and your community to assume kuleana. Your community is a puʻuhonua, a protected place and space. In our Panaʻewa Hawaiian Homestead community, sovereignty is shutting down a waste facility and spaceport planned adjacent to our homes. It is winning the battle to ensure that a highway is not built through the heart of our Hawaiian community. Sovereignty is standing up, protecting your community, and not backing down.
Sovereignty is ensuring that grant funds, programs, and services benefit your community members. Sovereignty is building a community hub that is owned and controlled by your community and where you define its parameters – not the state, county or some external nonprofit. Sovereignty is generating revenue that goes directly to your community for its benefit and not to an entity that skims off the profits and throws your community peanuts.
Sovereignty is “kākou.” As Hawaiians “we” is prioritized over me, mine, I.
The kaula (cord) that intertwines and binds sovereignty is that we the people of the ʻāina exert influence to ensure that our community’s interests come first.
If you have kūpuna who paved the way for your community, seek their guidance and support. In Panaʻewa, Bobby Yamada, Florence Pua, Mele Spencer, and Pat Kahawaiolaʻa laid a firm foundation for us, while the spirits of Panaʻewa kūpuna Howard Peʻa, Ann Nathaniel and Randy Ahuna continue to guide us forward.
Engage your ancestors and your naʻau. Organize, research, plan, prioritize and advocate. Build your puʻuhonua; a thriving and resilient community of compassion and fortitude. Sovereignty is your power.
Attorney Maile Luʻuwai is a community advocate, president of the Keaukaha Panaʻewa Farmers Association, and vice chair of the Sovereign Council of Hawaiian Homestead Associations
