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Im sure most of us can agree that the bench warrant issued for Kaleikoa Kaeo for the act of speaking Hawaiian in the court was unfair. But the law does not care about what is fair or right and what is legal. It was legal to own a black person as a slave, and illegal to try and set them free. We know obviously this is not right, but that does not make it illegal. So lets look at the legality of the issue. Was the issuing of a bench warrant for speaking Hawaiian in the court legal? Absolutely not! Few of you read the reading and went through the powerpoint and put two and two together. Most of you did not. Article XV sect 4 says that "English and Hawaiian shall be the official languages of Hawaiʻi." So everywhere English is accepted Hawaiian must be accepted. So not only did the judge violate Kaleikoaʻs human rights to defend himself in the language he feels best able to do so, he violated his constitutional rights. The right to speak Hawaiian is protected by the state constitution.

Should the court provide translators? Who needed the translator? Kaleikoa responded to the judge correctly and respectfully every time. The judge is the one who needed the interpreter. If a state has two official languages and you are a judge should you not be proficient in both languages? And if you are not why should the tax payer bare the burden of your incompetence? A translator should have been present, but for the judge. And the judge should have to pay for it not us.

Can I write a check in Hawaiian? and does it have to be accepted? The answer is yes. But what if the bank cannot read it? That is their problem for not having a staff that can read the two official languages of the state and therefore it is their burden not mine.

The bench warrant was dropped by the judge in a matter of hours. Im sure he realized his violation of Kaleikoa's rights and violation of the constitution. He opened himself up to major lawsuits and needed to drop the bench warrant asap. But the message was clear. That even in the modern day, even with laws protecting our rights to speak our language. The oppressor is still trying to tell us when and where we can be and speak Hawaiian. And like Kaleikoa, I refuse to let anyone tell me what kine Hawaiian to be and when I can be Hawaiian.

E ola ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi! (live on Hawaiian language)

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The Kumulipo really informs us as to our standing in the universe. If the existence of the universe were a calendar we humans appear at 11:59 PM on 12/31. Making us the younger sibling to everything in the universe. Thus informing us of our role in the universe. As the younger sibling we are to love honor and serve everything around us. And if we really look at this from a practical survival standpoint, this makes sense to ensure the survival of your people. When you come from an island with extremely limited resources you do not have the luxury of being wasteful with your resources. If at the core of your spiritual and religious belief, you implant the idea of loving, honoring and serving your elders which include all of your natural resources around you, it helps to ensure that everyone treats those resources with reverence.

Now when we think about how this applies to us as humans overall, are we all not on an "island" with limited resources? We are on a small "island" named Earth in the vast ocean of space. However, I do not think there are any other inhabitable "islands" we can get to, at least not any time soon. So do we have the luxury to be as wasteful as we are with our natural resources? Unfortunately most humans do not think this way, and actually believe like the comic above, that they will some how not be affected by climate change. That it is somehow someone else's problem. Always remember that we do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors. Rather we borrow it from our grandchildren. If all humans saw the world the way Hawaiians did through the Kumulipo, we may have a more sustainable and healthy Earth.

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Wai is one of the most precious resource on Earth. Not only for Hawaiians but for all humanss. Hawaiians believed it was the most precious resource, so much so that the word waiwai (water water) is translated to weatlh or value. What do you think of the US military poisoning about 20% of the water supply of the island of Oʻahu? What do you think of their attempt to cover up the contamination? Knowing that it is virtually impossible to truly clean the water and restore the aquifer to the state it was before the spill, what punishment/ restitution should the military have to pay? The navy tried to justify their acts with the argument of national security. Does supposed national security excuse poisoning the drinking water of the people? Reply to at least one classmate's post within 48 hours of the post deadline.

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Aloha ʻĀina, what does it mean? It is the idea that we love the land like it is a family member. An ancestor that has provided everything we need. We learned in previous units that we Hawaiians are descendants of the land. That we do not own the land, if anything the land owns us. This idea of aloha ʻāina is embedded in our cosmogonies and sits at the core of our spiritual and religious beliefs.

Western culture see the land as something to profit from. Something to abuse over and over again in the name of the almighty dollar. And we can see that at the center of the Christian cosmogony and spiritual belief. Like Kaleikoa says in the video, Genesis says that man is to subdue the Earth and exert dominion over it. To a Hawaiian, this language is very disturbing. We do not subdue the ʻāina, we love, honor and serve the ʻāina. We do not exert our dominion over the ʻāina. How can you love something if you dominate it?

We can see here that at the core of our spiritual and religious beliefs, our two cultures view land ownership in completely opposite ways. We aloha ʻāina not only because our spiritual beliefs tell us to, we do it because we know it is the only way humans will be able to survive on Earth. Only one of these beliefs and actions are sustainable, and the one we choose to perpetuate as humans will decide if we will continue living on this planet, or slip slowly into extinction. Always remember you cannot spell sust(ʻāina)ble with out ʻāina.

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142. Mālama Honua: Christian vs Hawaiian Philosophy

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Like many of you I also agree with Keone Nunes. In fact I believe that the assignment of meaning by modern tattooist who have no training are the problem. I also believe that an individual receiving a tattoo and assigning their own meaning to Hawaiian or Polynesian motifs are the problem. I understand it is your body and you can do with what you want, but that does not mean the meanings you choose to assign to the tattoo are correct. If you tattoo a Japanese kanji on your body, but cant read Japanese does that mean you can assign any meaning you want to that kanji?

In this example no big deal because there are many Japanese speakers and it will not change the original meaning of the kanji. However in this case there are very few practitioners trained in the traditional way of tattooing and the meanings of the patterns. These practitioners are extremely outnumbered by modern tattooist who are assigning their own meanings to traditional patterns. What is the result of this? Well like in the reading the tattoos are cheapened, misused or lost when removed from the usual Hawaiian cultural context.

I have no problem with people getting psudo-polynesian tattoos and I do believe they are beautiful pieces of art. As long as they tattooist and the wearer of the tattoo know that its just art. There is no meaning, its just aesthetic.

I have many traditional tattoos and have received them for many reasons. I have tattoos that connect me to my identity as a Hawaiian by connecting me to my ancestors. I have tattoos for protection, because like Keone says, your ancestors are in a better place to protect you than anyone else. I also have tattoos that mark milestones and accomplishments in my life.

The lesson here should be, be careful of what you tattoo on your body. And try to make sure you are not inadvertently appropriating and cheapening another culture.

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America has done nothing for Hawaiʻi. Being part of America has set us back. Many of you admit that Hawaiʻi would be fine on its own without America but then still say we benefit. For those of you who think that America gave us electricity and cars so we should be grateful, howecome no one ever tells that to Japan, or England or any other country? Yes an American invented automobiles, however you do not need to be part of America to have automobiles. Some of you argue that the economy is a benefit. Whos benefiting from the current economy? Not the people, maybe politicians and big corporations are. Also why do you need money if you can grow what you need and had a sustainable agricultural system. For those of you who think it was inevitable. That no matte what we would have been taken over, where is the proof? What other county was occupied in the 1800s and the occupier is still there? This is a shallow argument to say that no matter what Hawaiians were destined to be taken over. And we should be glad to have American masters instead of Russian or Chinese or whatever masters. There simply is no proof that this would occur. Watch the video above to hear from experts in history and international law explain why we do not benefit from American occupation here in Hawaiʻi.

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Canaanland Moors Is Hawaii Lucky To Have Been Taken By The US

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Did you know on November 28 1843 the Hawaiian Kingdom became a recognized independent nation state? This requires 4 things, a territory, a population, a government and a treaty with another recognized country. The Hawaiian Kingdom becomes recognized in a treaty with England and France named the Anglo-Franco proclamation. In this treaty England and France recognizes Hawaiʻi as an independent nation state. Once a country becomes recognized there is only one way for that nation to cease existing and that is through a treaty of annexation.

Many believe that Hawaiʻi is the 50th state of America. To prove whether or not Hawaiʻi is independent or part of America is actually extremely simple. All you need is the treaty of annexation. Annexation is the act of one country becoming part of another and can only occur through a treaty, a legally binding agreement between two countries. Where is this treaty you may ask? It does not exist. The annexationist group in Hawaiʻi could not get the Americans to sign the treaty. The first attempt was shot down by President Grover Cleveland and the second attempt did not have enough votes. Therefore Hawaiʻi remains an independent nation.

But why are there American flags in Hawaiʻi? Why do the locals have US passports and pay US taxes? Well its simply all a lie. In 1898 the US government created several acts and resolutions to "annex" Hawaiʻi. However congressional acts and resolutions are domestic laws that have no affect on any country outside their borders. America could not annex Hawaiʻi in 1898 with a resolution like how they could not annex Canada today with a resolution. The Americans lied and cheated to continue their presence here in Hawaiʻi. ON February 25 2018,he UN office of the high commissioner for human rights sent a memorandum recognizing Hawaiʻi as a "sovereign nation-state in continuity; but a nation-state that is under a strange form of occupation by the United States resulting from an illegal military occupation and fraudulent annexation.”

Therefore Hawaiʻi has never and is now not a part of the United States of America. All peoples born here are not Americans, they are Hawaiian Kingdom subjects.

Because of this continued occupation of our sovereign kingdom. We see the destruction of our land by the military, the state of Hawaiʻi and the tourism industry. Our people are suffering with the high cost of living and poor healthcare. Especially of all the developed countries on Earth, America has the worst healthcare system. Our Native Hawaiians and locals cannot afford to live here anymore and are leaving. There are more Hawaiians living away from Hawaiʻi than in Hawaiʻi. We the people and the ʻāina are not doing well under this occupation.

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 6.1- What has America done for Hawaiʻi?

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Assignement 6.1 What has America done for Hawaiʻi?

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Assignement 6.1 What has America done for Hawaiʻi?