REVERED HAWAIIAN ELDER PROTESTS US INVASION OF HAWAI`I
Auntie Nona Beamer Decries Wanton Disregard & Destruction
The fragile and sacred land of Hawai`i is our precious heritage and our home.
Even as we are struggling to maintain and restore US damage to our land, the Government is continuing to desecrate more of Hawai`i nei.
This letter is my impassioned plea to STOP any further invasion of our sacred homeland...
I will point out that there has been irreparable damage to Kaho`olawe which suffered U.S. bombardment since the 1940s.
Kane`ohe Bay was once an important food source, the "breadbasket" of the people. It was dredged by the U.S. military and turned into a Marine Base.
Our cherished Le`ahi, Diamond Head crater, has been ripped up and scarred and trampled on.
Moku`ula, the ancient sacred fishpond in Lahaina, Maui, was fed by a freshwater stream. It was callously filled and destroyed.
Other examples exist that are too numerous to mention here.
For over 100 years, the United States of America has shamelessly, for profit and personal gain, taken advantage of both the people of Hawai`i and the land of our ancestors.
Under President Cleveland, Queen Lili`uokalani was illegally removed and sentenced to exile. In 1898, against the petitions of the people, Hawai`i was annexed to the United States, and land was confiscated.
During World War II, more land was confiscated for the use of the U.S. military.
In 1959, when Hawai`i became a state, the native voice was again ignored...
...The health of the native people is the worst in this state. The schools rank among the lowest in the nation.
The needs of the native people are not being met, yet money is appropriated by the US Government for the destruction of our land...
...Give heed to our voices. We have extended aloha to you, and you seek to extinguish our very being.
Respect us - be aware that we are a sovereign international nation.
We are the descendants of a mighty civilization and deserve to be heard and acknowledged!
With utmost sincerity,
Nona Beamer
Wailuku, Maui
