Hawaii Nei

Throughout my childhood, I've attended many programs that taught me more about my community and ways we could mālama our community. When I was 12 years old, I attended a Kamehameha Summer Program that allowed me to learn about wa'as (canoes). I had a great experience learning about a wa'a named Makali'i. In middle school, I attended another KS Summer program that taught me more about how to read the stars, wind, current, etc. During my high school years, my school would work with the Polynesian Voyage Academy (PVA). They taught me about how we maintain our wa'as in dry dock so our wa'as continue to ride smooth in the water. I also had opportunities to go on other wa'as such as Hokule'a, Hikianalia, and Kanehunamoku. In the summer of 2014, 15 students total from the islands, including myself, and some of the PVA crew members sailed on a boat named Makani Olu to the Northwestern Hawaiian islands, Nihoa and Mokumanamana. After a very meaningful and spiritua...

Mehana Vaughan shared a lot of intergenerational skills and knowledge, how they mālama their community by making sure they mālama their kuleana, and their ways of protecting, cultivating, and nurturing their community. A lot of the stories being told brought back a lot of flashbacks from my childhood to my high school days to today. These stories are the reason why I chose what to write for my Paper 1. One mo'olelo that stuck out to me the most was 'Lawa Pono: Take Only What You Need'. With many industries today, people don't think about what they're taking and how much they're taking or how it could affect other people. Everything around us is considered a living thing. If we keep abusing the land and the ocean, our future will be left with nothing. 

  Growing up away from my biological family, my grandma and hānai mom pushed for me to attend different programs and schools that would teach me more about my Hawaiian community. From participating in marches, dancing hula, mālama ʻāina, mālama loko i’a, learning about wa’as, etc. During one of my programs, Hālau Holomoana, I had an amazing opportunity to sail to the Northwestern Hawaiian islands where I had a very spiritual experience that completely changed my life. My community relates to Kaiāulu because each person has their own kuleana to mālama our community for our people today and for future generations.

One of many issues that has affected my community is that our land is being bought or sold to foreigners, rather than the government pushing to help our community. With that being said, another thing that's affecting my community are the prices of things such as groceries, rent, electric, gas, car payments, etc. It has gotten extremely bad this past decade forcing a lot of family members to leave their home and move to the continent where it is more affordable or what people call "priced out of paradise". This past Friday, was the day that Hawai'i was illegally overthrown by the United States. To this day, my community stands up for what we believe in, participates in marches, continues to perpetuate our culture, educate others about our community and figure out what else we can do so our voices can be heard.

In my life, I have two beloved elders that hold a special place in my heart. My grandma, who passed away in '06, and my hanai mom, who is my grandma's partner. Growing up in a LGBTQ household, it was very different. As a child, I watched people make comments about them being together and how it was not safe for me. Their relationship was like any other; there were ups and there were downs. That didn't stop them from loving me unconditionally and teaching me. They put me in many different sports, had me attend meetings with them, taught me how to swim, do lomilomi (massage), work in a lo'i, go on marches, share testimonies with the legislation, and how to interact with everyone. Today, my hanai mom, who retired from UH Manoa, does ho'oponopono (counseling) sessions with those that need it, as well as, teach it to students who are willing to learn. She taught me about the many different ways of doing ho'oponopono and how it impacts a person's life. To this day...