Kaho'olawe

I can read hundreds of books and listen to hundreds of people tell me about Kaho'olawe and never understand. Even after being there for a brief time, I haven't even scratched the surface of its intricate significance in the eyes of its people. I feel honored and blessed to have been permitted to visit such a unique and special place.

This project all along has been about the Hawaiian people and their relationship with Kaho'olawe. But being who I am, the sum of all my research can only be told through my eyes. My eyes are young and small. I can see, feel, try to relate, convince myself I understand, and then do my best to make some sort of judgment. All of it really reflects who I am as a person rather than anything else. This is true for everyone. This blog will conclude my summer research. In the fall I will come back to it. But after this I wont be adding anything more for some time. I think the best way to conclude this research is to tell of my own experience on island.

There were so many experiences that I will never forget. It started with me sitting on the shore of a little beach squishing the sand between my toes. I looked at this sand and made the connection that it would have looked a lot like the soft, clean sand of Makena if it weren't for the decades of erosion that caused the topsoil to bleed into the ocean every time the rain fell. This was depressing and instilled a feeling of loss and hopelessness in me.

What I noticed about Kaho'olawe is that it seemed to magnify every emotion in every person. There was sadness, love, joy, and peace. There was also bitterness and un-forgiveness. I felt it wherever I went, hanging on whoever I was around. This was a bit overwhelming at times.

But after sometime, something strong and true overcame any imbalance of emotion that I may have felt. And that was a sense of love and responsibility as a family that the people brought. They cared so deeply for the place as well as the people. All 61 of us were connected through this strong sense of Ohana. It was amazing to see these people passionately reach out to one another and to the land. As I walked along the shore I saw a young woman fast asleep laying on the sand, embracing it as if it were her child. I saw a baby cover herself in the thick red dirt like a blanket. These people love Kaho'olawe as they do their family members. There is no distinction between auntie, uncle, tuttu and the land. They are all connected. And they all have a responsibility to one another that runs deeper and stronger than life as we know it.

The Protect Kaho'olawe Ohana's strategy to healing and restoring the land seems to be to love it as if it were an injured child. When someone is ill, the worst thing you can do is isolate them. Being alone and sick can cause one to fall deeper into despair. Instead, if you reach out to the person, cook them dinner, clean their house, and care for them in every way that is needed, they will feel loved and will be more likely to become well. So too is what the PKO is doing for Kaho'olawe. They are bringing their children, sharing meals, talking story together, all the while including Kaho'olawe. They are bringing life with every access. Seeing this made me realize how imperative it is to strive to reconcile ourselves, no matter who we are or what we are, to the earth. This after all is what God has asked us to do since the beginning.

For The PKO, this relationship is very limited. They are only allowed maybe six days a month to be with the island. It makes it difficult to commit to too much. Hopefully somehow there will be more families and more time to spend on island in the future. I was told that if you look at Kaho'olawe on a map it is the shape of a male fetus, laying there naked in the ocean. Molokini is its umbilical cord, and Maui is its mother. Native Hawaiians are reaching out to this child to care for it and keep it alive.

This was a very impacting experience that I will remember. This is only my view. Being on island and speaking to different people has showed to me that there is still so much hurt and pain attached to the abuse of Kaho'olawe and its people. I believe it is important to recognize and value this pain. But more importantly we must love and nurture the land so that we can receive mutual blessings. In this we honor each other as well as the Creator.

Returning

I had a great time in Oahu. I read three books. Currently I am reading, Hawaiian Antiquities by David Malo. This is such a thorough book about ancient Hawaii. What is really amazing are all of the Hawaiian names for everything. There is a name for every day of the month that refers to the moon. There are hundreds of names for different depths of the ocean. For example, "...kau-au where the shoal water ended; and outside of the kua-au was a belt called kai-au, ho-au, kai-o-kilo-hee, this swimming deep or sea for spearing squid, or kai-ee-nalu, that is, a surf-swimming region....Outside of this was a belt called kai-uli, blue sea squid-fishing sea kai-lu-hee, or the sea-of-flying fish..." And it goes on and on. The Hawaiian language wasn't written down until the 1800s. As you can see, its structure has already changed since the time this book was first published in 1902. Reading David Malo's Hawaiian Antiquities has been very helpful to my research. What strikes me the most is just how in tuned to the natural world native Hawaiians historically were. They studied and memorised every aspect of their environment

I also did a few interviews, one with Kylee Omo and Derek Mar, and one with David Blevins. Derek and Kylee have been devoted to Kaho'olawe since their first experience with the island. In the interview Derek focused on the the responsibility that he felt to restoring and perpetuating healing to the land. Kylee spoke of how the island is a reflection of an individual's life. Its story is a story of mistreatment and abuse, but also a story of regeneration and healing. She says that everyone can relate to that story on a personal level. This interview was so enjoyable and refreshing. I also interviewed David Blevins. He was born and raised in Molokai and only went to the island one time as a teenager. His story is unique because he comes from perhaps the least developed of all the Hawaiian islands. What struck him the most when he went to Kaho'olawe was how healthy and plentiful the marine life was, and in contrast how desolate the island's surface appeared. He, unlike any other interviewees didn't have a "connection" with the land. His love is for the people of Molokai. His interview was important because like Derek and Kylee pointed out at the end of their interview, not everyone has that connection. It is good to get many perspectives.

I also had time to catch up with some really good friends. On top of that I got to spend Independence day with my cousins. It was so much fun getting together with them and watching the fireworks. The house is always filled with happy little children and ono grinds (really good food).

I love These Islands

E mau ko kakou lahui, e ho'omau.
E mau ko kakou 'olelo, e ho'omau.
E mau ka hana pono o ka 'aina
I mau ka ea o ka 'aina i ka pono.
I ka pono--o ka 'aina!!

Ho'oulu ka pono o ka 'aina, e ho'oulu.
Ho'oula ka nani o ka 'aina, e ho'ola.
Ho'ola la, Ho'oulu la, a ho'olaha
I mau ka ea o ka 'aina i ka pono.
I ka pono--ka 'aina!!

Let's strive to keep our nation alive, let's strive.
Let's strive to keep our language alive, let's strive.
Let's strive to preserve the good of the islands
So that righteousness may continue to be with us.
All that's good--in the islands!!

Build the greatness of Hawai'i, build them.
Restore the goodness of the islands, restore them.
Restore!! Build, and sustain them throughout the world
So that righteousness will fill the land once again.
Every good--in the islands!!
-Alvin Kaleolani Isaacs, Sr