HARRY KIM ASKS TMT TO DELAY CONSTRUCTION FOR TWO MORE MONTHS

Hawai`i Tribune-Herald - February 18, 2020

The current truce between the Thirty Meter Telescope and its opponents might be extended by another two months at the request of Hawai`i Island Mayor Harry Kim.

In late December, Kim approached leaders of the anti-TMT protest with an offer to reopen the Maunakea Access Road — which had at the time been closed and occupied by protesters for more than five months — and a promise from TMT officials that no attempts to build the observatory would take place until at least the end of February.

With the end of the month less than two weeks away, Kim said he has worked to try to extend the grace period, to give both sides an opportunity to find common ground and reach some kind of mutual agreement.

“Of course, my authority over the whole thing is really quite limited,” Kim said. “But I have asked TMT to extend the period by another two months.”


Kim said he is awaiting a response from TMT officials, adding that his proposal for a two-month extension was discussed at a meeting of the TMT board last week. 

Although the results of that meeting have not been disclosed to him, Kim said he believes he will get an official answer from TMT by the end of the week.


Noe Noe Wong-Wilson, one of the leaders of the protest, said she hopes the period can be extended, in order to give TMT officials more time to consider building elsewhere.


“I think it would be beneficial for all of us if it gets extended,” Wong-Wilson said. “The best case for us is for law enforcement to continue to stand down. … We’ll remain on the mountain, and it will give them time to reconsider what they’re doing.”


Wong-Wilson said the protesters — who call themselves protectors of Maunakea and oppose the construction of TMT because they consider the mountain sacred — have not been privy to any of the mayor’s discussions regarding the extension of the truce.


Without an official answer from TMT — a TMT spokesperson was unable to provide a statement on Monday — the truce will come to an end after Feb. 29, although neither Kim nor Wong-Wilson were confident about what that means.


“There’s no answer at this point for what happens after the 29th,” Kim said.

While Wong-Wilson said she does not expect TMT will attempt construction immediately on March 1, she said the protesters may begin to return to “high alert,” as they were during the five-month standoff last year.

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KE AUPUNI UPDATE - FEBRUARY 2020

Keeping in touch and updated on activities regarding the restoration of Ke Aupuni o Hawai`i, the Hawaiian Kingdom.  

Ua Mau Ke Ea O Ka `Aina I Ka Pono.

Dodged a Bullet… (or missile)
With the kūʻe for Mauna Kea, Hūnananiho and Kahuku still fresh in our spirit, we’ve been gearing up for another monumental battle… the proposed installation of a new US missile tracking system at either Kaena Point, Oʻahu or Kekaha, Kauai. A few days ago the US Defense Department abruptly announced they were dropping that project, ostensibly because they donʻt have the budget... But, hidden in the report was the term, “host nation issues” as a factor. Aha! What we are beginning to see is they donʻt want to mess with us. This is the powerful cumulative effect of Ku Kiaʻi Mauna and all the kūʻe, Aloha Āina actions over the decades. Weʻre gaining clout. Imua!

Reconciliation Commission? 
Speaking of cumulative effect... There is a resolution in the fake-state legislature calling for Governor Ige to form a “Blue Ribbon Reconciliation Commission” relating to “Native Hawaiian issues.”

Let’s not lose focus… The operating term is “Native Hawaiian,” not “Hawaiian National.” This proposed commission is yet another diversion (like Fed Wreck) to avoid the consequences for the wrongful taking of our nation, by diminshing the wronged party to Natinve Hawaiians. However, it is generally pointed the right direction... a crime was committed that needs to be remedied. Letʻs just make sure we keep pointing out the real crime.

The proposed fake-state “commission” will not address the real issue: the National Sovereignty of the Hawaiian Islands.

National Sovereignty is not a Fake-State of Hawaii issue. It is actually an international dispute between the United States and the Hawaiian Kingdom over the sovereignty of the Hawaiian Islands Archipelago. While an international settlement for the wrongful taking of the Hawaiian Islands would include remedy for the criminal maltreatment of Native Hawaiians, the over-arching issue is the blatant hi-jacking by the United States of the Hawaiian Kingdom’s international boundaries, its jurisdiction, and its internal and foreign operations.

The National Sovereignty of the Hawaiian Islands is an international matter, not a domestic one. It is a matter that concerns, involves and affects the entire international community. If the Fake State of Hawaii wants to raise the issue of reconciliation, we can use that to add to our Free Hawaii campaign at the international level.

The only thing the “State of Hawaii” can do by way of “reconciliation” is to acknowledge, repent and make amends and restitution for the abuses is perpetrated as the collaborator-puppet-government-enforcer of the dictates of the occupier.

We have them on the defensive... letʻs keep up the pressure.

----------

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Celebrate 2020… “The Year of the Hawaiian Kingdom”
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Hawaiʻi loa kū like kākou! All Hawaiʻi stand together!

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Your KŌKUA large or small is greatly appreciated and will help greatly to move this work forward.

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---------
Malama pono,
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Hawaiian National

FAKE STATE ATTEMPTS TO GET CONTROL OF MAUNA KEA

Honolulu Star-Advertiser - February 14, 2020 - By Lee Cataluna

Some Hawaii legislators, with the full support of Gov. David Ige, are trying to form a commission to address issues of reconciliation with Native Hawaiians, but really, folks, it’s not all about a last-ditch effort to get TMT built on Mauna Kea.

But of course it is all about trying to get TMT built on Mauna Kea. It was spelled out in the initial draft of the bill as the commission’s “first task,” though that problematic truth was quickly dropped from the wording.

House Concurrent Resolution 37 envisions a commission of handpicked Hawaiian friends of Ige (not sure who that would be besides Bill Aila) trying to figure out what it’s going to take to make the Protect Mauna Kea ohana quiet down and step aside.

Hmm, let’s see, what do they want? Money? Scholarships? Land swap of acreage that should already be in Hawaiian hands? Promises of a cultural- educational-spiritual center? Agree to just about anything except the primary demand of the movement, which has been to protect Mauna Kea from further development projects and, especially, from the construction of that huge telescope. The standoff at Mauna Kea may be a symbol of many things, but it is, first, all about Mauna Kea.

But this proposed committee on reconciliation … isn’t that already OHA’s job?

When the Office of Hawaiian Affairs was created in 1978, part of the responsibility of the new state agency was to serve as the “receptacle for reparations” and a model for self-determination, born from grassroots leadership and 1970s Hawaiian activism.

But the trouble with OHA — well, there’s been a lot of trouble with OHA, but in this particular instance, the trouble with OHA as far as TMT and the Ige administration are concerned— is that OHA sided with the masses of people gathered at the base of the mountain. The autonomous state agency got too autonomous for the administration’s liking.

The OHA board of trustees unanimously approved a resolution in July authorizing OHA staff to advocate for the protesters. OHA gave tens of thousands of dollars to provide things like portable toilets, rubbish collection, lighting and legal observers at the base camp at Mauna Kea.

Last fall the state Attorney General’s Office issued a subpoena to OHA for information on the financial support of the Protect Mauna Kea movement, going after the state agency for following its mission of self-deter­mination and advocacy for Hawaiians.

No wonder, then, the call for a new Blue Ribbon Commission for Hawaiian Reconciliation handpicked by Ige that can be better controlled by the state. 

It should be noted that there is a difference between “reparations” and “reconciliation.” Reparations have to do with making amends for a wrong that has been done by paying money to or otherwise compensating those who have been wronged. Reconciliation has to do with the restoration of friendly relations between parties. Reparation is something that can be measured. Friendly feelings are something that can be faked. This idea seems like a desperate attempt to get control of a movement that has a power greater than state government.

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TEACHING TOURISTS THE REAL HAWAI`I

New York Times - February 4, 2020

Demonstrators waving Hawaiian flags march outside Iolani Palace, marking the anniversary of the overthrow of Hawaii by the government of the United States.Credit...Marco Garcia for The New York Times

Locals in O`ahu know that the best way to get from Waikiki’s crowded beaches to the cool North Shore is to drive along the island’s eastern coast. The road is framed by mountains, ocean and greenery so lush and beautiful, it’s hard to focus the eye on one place for too long, for fear of missing the next scenic attraction.

On a recent trip along the route, something else stood out: the upside down Hawaiian flags flying at almost every stop.

The flag, which has the union jack in the bottom left corner, instead of the usual top left, hung in storefronts in Waikiki and was printed on T-shirts in Waimanalo, it was stuck on the bumpers of passing cars in Kailua and flying from the backs of trucks in Kahuku and other towns on the North Shore.

The flag has become a symbol of solidarity among Hawaiians who oppose the construction of a large new telescope on Mauna Kea, on the island of Hawai`i. Mauna Kea, at 32,000 feet from seafloor to summit, and with 13,796 feet above sea level, is one of the best places in the northern hemisphere, if not the world, to observe the cosmos, experts say. The telescope’s proponents say that it will bring hundreds of jobs to the island and advance humanity’s study of space.

But it has faced fierce resistance from some native Hawaiians for whom Mauna Kea is sacred ground and a place of roots, and their allies. Opponents of the telescope say they are tired of having their land taken for purposes that benefit others and for the often elusive promise of jobs that fail to deliver in terms of numbers or a living wage.

Kyle Kajihiro, left, and Terrilee Keko'olani, who offer alternative, educational tours of Oahu, outside Iolani Palace.Credit...Marco Garcia for The New York Times

“The struggle at Mauna Kea right now is one of the biggest issues that has realigned many cultural political relationships in Hawai`i,” said Kyle Kajihiro, an activist and lecturer at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. “It’s really quite an amazing emergence of Hawaiian activism of cultural awareness.”

The battle over the telescope has revealed fissures that have long existed in Hawai`i, a place that is all but synonymous with tourism — the most-popular destination for honeymoons in the United States and a bucket-list perennial. The fight has inspired actions around the islands, all relating to how land is used and who benefits from it.

Continue reading the main story

The spirit of protest is most visible in O`ahu, where in Kahuku demonstrators have spent the last several months fighting the construction of eight wind turbines, each standing at 568 feet — taller than the tallest skyscraper in Honolulu. Protesters say the turbines will have adverse long term health effects on the population. The company building them says there is no evidence to support those claims and promises to bring jobs to the area. More than 160 people have been arrested there.

In southeast O`ahu, in September, 28 people were arrested trying to block the building of a park and recreation center in Waimanalo, a largely agricultural town. The developers behind the center say it will bring jobs and create a new community space, but opponents fear it will be a magnet for tourists and will destroy the forest and beach used by locals.

In Honolulu, in May, Hilton employees protested, demanding a better contract and job protections. In July, hotel employees went on strike to protest what they said were low wages and the firing of 45 workers by Diamond Resorts, an operator of multiple properties in the United States and Europe. The company said it would turn one of its hotels into a timeshare resort, which requires fewer workers than a traditional hotel.

“We value our dedicated team members at The Modern Honolulu and we were pleased to reach a contract agreement that includes a significant pay increase,” a spokesman for Diamond said. “We are continuing our planned efforts to convert the property into a world-class vacation ownership resort.”

Most people in Hawai`i, especially in the tourism industry work more than one job to barely get by, said Bryant de Venecia, communications organizer for the workers’ union, Unite Here Local 5, which represents resort workers.

“Mauna Kea has lit a fire for Hawaiians who are tired of watching their land, resources and work be used at the expense of their well-being,” he said.

Hawai`i is the most expensive state to live in, according to the 2018 Annual Average Cost of Living Index by the Council for Community and Economic Research. Groceries, for example, cost more than 60 percent the national average.  Continue reading the main sto 

“People are tired of being decorative — Hawaiians as well as people who live in Hawai`i,” said Maile Meyer, who owns Nā Mea Hawai’i, a bookstore in Honolulu that sells products from smaller local makers. “You’re seeing a phenomenon of natives gathering again and completely finding our way back to each other as part of the solution.

Demonstrators gather to block a road at the base of Mauna Kea, on the island of Hawa`ii, to protest the construction of a giant telescope.Credit...Caleb Jones/Associated Press

Jobs Aren’t Enough

A common thread between these protests is that they are being led by locals. They say that since Europeans first arrived in the 18th century, Hawaiian land has been taken and misused by non-Hawaiians, and often to the detriment of Hawaiians and their traditions. The endeavors that have sparked these recent protests all promise jobs, just as tourism and defense have in the past.

But perhaps for the first time in recent Hawaiian history, natives and locals are saying the quality of these jobs is not good enough.

“We’re having to move away from quantity to quality,” said Laurien Baird Hokuli`i Helfrich-Nuss, the founder of Conscious Concepts, a company that works with local organizations on sustainable tourism initiatives. “Now that local people are getting more agency, they are learning more, going into a more curious space of saying ‘It’s great that this company is providing jobs, but what kind of jobs are they? Are they good jobs? Are they paying a livable wage?”

Tourism is the biggest driver of Hawai`i’s economy, accounting for 21 percent of jobs. Nearly 10 million people visited the state in 2018 and in 2019, guest arrivals were expected to surpass that number, hitting a record high. And although more people are visiting Hawai`i, they are spending less there.
   Continue reading the main sto 
Locals say that resorts are often owned and run by non-Hawaiians, with Hawaiian people employed in the lower-paying service jobs, and that development often benefits outsiders at the expense of native and local well-being.

“There historically hasn’t been enough consideration for how tourism and tourists can contribute to making life sustainable and really livable for the locals who serve them here,” Mr. de Venecia said.

More Than A “Play Land”

The feeling of escape — of fleeing to a nearby paradise with stunning beaches and luxurious resorts — has long been Hawai`i’s appeal to the traveling public. While the hottest trends in travel now are the search for authenticity and ways to experience local life, many people who visit Hawaii are looking to get away from daily life. They come to sit on the beach and drink a matai without thinking about much else. Their interaction with local culture is often limited to watching a hula show at the hotel luau.

“We realized a lot of folks who would visit us who would normally have more consciousness about history and social justice concerns seem to turn off that part of their brain when they think about Hawai`i,” Mr. Kajihiro, the activist and lecturer, said, adding that people treat the islands as a “play land.”

But this decision to turn off their brains is hurting Hawai`i and Hawaiians, he said. While working for the American Friends Service Committee, the Quaker peace and justice organization, Mr. Kajihiro and his colleague Terrilee Keko`olani studied the environmental and social effects of colonization, militarization and overdevelopment of Hawai`i. They learned that tourism was one of the industries with some of the most damaging effects on O`ahu, he said, citing overcrowding, a higher cost of living and higher prices for goods.

The pair began offering alternative tours of the island, which they call DeTours, in 2004 and have seen increased interest in recent years. Their work was included in the recently published Duke University Press book “DeTours: A Decolonial Guide to Hawai`i,” a collection of essays, interviews and family histories about ethical and contextualized tourism in the islands.

The tours are given to groups of people who want to learn about Hawai`i from the perspective of local Hawaiians. They include a deep history on the ways military life is hidden across the island. During a typical tour, guests go to `Iolani Palace, the Hawaiian royal residence, then to Chinatown and some of the old neighborhoods where new immigrants to Hawai`i traditionally settled. The next stop is usually Fort Shafter, the headquarters of the United States Army Pacific; then Camp Smith, but the main part of the tour is Ke Awalau o Pu`uloa — Pearl Harbor.Continue reading the main sto   

During a DeTours of Pearl Harbor, Mr. Kajihiro pauses in the “Oa`hu court” between the Pearl Harbor galleries and the museum and asks guests to look at the placards in the hallway. At the placard that says, “The Hawaiian Kingdom was overthrown in 1893,” he explains that this one sentence has been controversial with the United States government because it acknowledges the government-backed overthrow of Queen Lili`uokolani, which unsettles American claims to Hawai`i. In the museum’s Attack Gallery, Mr. Kajihiro points to a small image of the Hono`uli`uli internment camp where Japanese people were held during World War II and uses it as a jumping-off point for a conversation about immigration and civil rights.

“People already come here with so many images and ideas about what Hawai`i is that it’s really hard for them to see something different, so that’s why we started calling our work ‘DeTours,” Mr. Kajihiro said. “To swerve off the path that most people are going to see or understand and consume and shake it up by raising some more critical perspectives and introducing a lot of historical facts that are not so pleasant.”

  New Type Of Tourism

The DeTours team is part of a movement looking to change what tourism means in Hawai`i. Ms. Nuss, of Conscious Concepts, is originally from O`ahu and returned in 2009 after working in hospitality in the Caribbean, New York, Miami and other places on the United States mainland. 

“I came home seeing something happening in Hawai`i that I didn’t see when I left,” she said. “My generation was stepping into their leadership roles and doing it differently, reconnecting for a movement back to the land.”

But she quickly realized that what many companies were doing didn’t align with her vision for supporting tourism while ensuring the well-being of overworked Hawaiians.

In 2015, Ms. Nuss created her company to find ways to support Hawaiian businesses function sustainably while also remaining a key part of the most important sector in O`ahu — tourism. Ms. Nuss has worked with farms, artists and nonprofit organizations to change their offerings so they can appeal to tourists, while still benefiting Hawaiians. A farm hoping to attract tourists to volunteer might turn to her to figure out the best ways to reach them. She described her work with as “consciously creating experiences for travelers and opportunities for locals.”

“I had a realization about how our tourism industry is presently run, which is coming from the commodification of culture,” she said. “I realized what was happening in my communities and the value systems that were driving it were contradictory to the form of tourism that I was being a part of.

”Continue reading the main stTo give tourists a more authentic experience of “the real Hawai`i,” the artists Roxy and Matt Ortiz, invite them into their studio in the Kaka`ako district of Honolulu. The couple is known for their elaborate murals of fanciful tree houses, which they create under the name Wooden Wave.

“When people come see us work, it gives them a totally different way to experience Hawai`i,” Ms. Ortiz said. “And it’s a fun way for us to give tourists a different experience than they usually see in those brochures.”

In these studio visits, guests can see the couple’s work in progress, but also learn about ahupua`a, the ancient system of land division, in which the island was separated into slices, each slice running from the top of the local mountain to the shore. During the visit, Mr. Ortiz explains that each ahupua’a included forest area up high and a cultivated area below, and depending on the politics and economy of each ahupua`a, its size was different from another.

Mr. Ortiz said that even the slightest opportunity for tourists to think about how water and land have always worked together and why they hold importance to Hawaiians can encourage them to be more thoughtful when interacting with locals and the land and sea while visiting.

“When people have some of the history and context they can appreciate the art more and they can experience the island in a more meaningful way,” he said.

Visitors can stay at Kahumana Organic Farm to get outside the luxury resort experience.Credit...Marco Garcia for The New York Times

Another way tourists can learn about the land and engage with locals is by visiting a local farm like Kahumana Farm in Waianae on the west side of O`ahu.Continue reading the main stor 

In November, Chloe Anderson, a therapist and teacher in California, visited the farm and stayed for four of her six days on O`ahu. There she shared a room with others, did yoga, learned about the produce grown and cooked on the farm and generally felt like she got a more meaningful experience than she would have at a luxury resort, removed from daily Hawaiian life.

“We had like three or four different activities we would do every day,” she said. “But so many things were based off the farm and at the farm. We still had the experience of being a tourist in Hawai`i and going on hikes and beach excursions, but also of experiencing something more.”

Some business owners are committed to staying in the tourism sector, and are trying to be as environmentally friendly as possible.

Shane Hiroshi Gibler pilots the Royal Hawaiian Catamaran, for a sunset cruise off Honolulu. Credit...Marco Garcia for The New York Times

“I don’t think it’s reasonable to expect that people just won’t work in the main industry there is and I don’t think Hawaiians want to stop tourism altogether, but we are all working to find ways of doing it responsibly and thoughtfully,” said Shane Hiroshi Gibler, who co-owns Royal Hawaiian Catamaran, which is based in Honolulu and offers snorkel tours, sunset cruises and private charters.

On Mr. Gibler’s boat, guests are asked not to bring any plastic and recycling is available aboard. Mr. Gibler educates guests an education about fishing, food and the importance of the ocean and the land to Hawaiians. The Royal Catamaran team regularly gathers people to clean up the shoreline and has been working with the Surfrider Foundation to remove ghost nets — fishing nets that have been lost or left behind by fishing boats — from reefs or the ocean.

The idea, one echoed by Mr. Kajihiro, is to encourage tourists to think about how they can leave their resort, even for one day of their trip, and contribute to the place they are visiting.ontinue reading the main stor 

“The point is to make folks more responsible when they come here and to interrogate this notion that Hawai`i is somehow a place for them,” Mr. Kajihiro said. “If you are thinking about coming here, ask yourself: Who are you in relation to this place? Are you bringing something that will be of value to the host, the people who live here? What will be your impact and your legacy be?”

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