What can we do?

While learning about the culture and language of Hawai'i, it difficult, if not impossible for a student to ignore the impact of historical events. Outside influences over the last 230 some-odd years have irreversibly changed the course of life for the Hawaiian people forever. Whole books and volumes have been written about Western invasion and colonization and its impact on indigenous peoples all over the world. Some peoples and their cultures fell victim to racial genocide and were completely wiped off the face of the earth, while others such as the native Guamanians, have lost their native culture and language forever. In any case, the harm that was done is irreversible. What can we do?

Quite by accident, I discovered a book called Ancient Hawaiian Civilization, edited by Kenneth Emory (1999). The story behind this book is that a group of educated persons associated with the Bishop Museum were invited to give a lecture series on Ancient Hawaiian Civilization at the Kamehameha Schools in the early 1930s. The lecturers were educators, archeologists, researchers, Hawaiian elders, scholars and scientists, and they spoke on a wide range of subjects including the arts, migration, astronomy, navigation, land use, religion, agriculture, warfare, plants and language, among other topics. These lectures were collected and transcribed, and published in 1933, in the first edition of Ancient Hawaiian Civilization. Since then, the publication has been reprinted twice due to updates in scholarship and research in certain areas.

The spirit of this publication…was an important and refreshing departure from the forced English assimilation which had become the "highest standard" within the public school system. The authors send out the message loud and strong that the young generations of Hawaiians had a responsibility to perpetuate the culture of the ancient people, to carry the torch as future “keepers of the culture”.

“There ought always be among you of Hawaiian blood, some persons conversant with the great traditions of Hawai’i,” the authors wrote, “and some of you able to speak the language perfectly. There ought always to be some of you who can chant the glorification chants, the ceremonial chants, the chants of the hula in the very same voice that stirred your ancestors and is capable of moving the total stranger to an appreciation of the mystery and beauty of these utterances…above all, there should be some to carry into modern life the fine things of the past.” (Grant, G., in Emory, 1999, p. 8)

I agree. This is what we can do: learn from our mistakes, and from history. We can take the time to learn about our ancestry, about genealogy, and honor our kupuna(ancestors). We can learn our native language by taking classes, by choosing to speak and write the words whenever possible. We can think about the composer's meaning of the words behind a song, or embody the words with emotion when we dance the hula. Words are powerful. They can hurt or heal. We must choose our words carefully.

We can develop a loving relationship of care with our ‘aina (land), and live mindfully each day, with every action. We can choose to live with the values of Aloha that were gifted to us by our ancestors. We can ask for help from our kupuna and our 'aumakua when we need it and be open to receive it when help arrives...in whatever form it comes. We can give thanks by having deep, sincere gratitude in our hearts for what has been gifted to us. We can take care of our land, our families, which include parents, grandparents, and keiki (children), our communities, each other. We can take care of our bodies by selecting wholesome nourishment, adequate sleep and exercise, and our minds by practicing clean living, choosing positive attitude and mindfulness. Above all, we can choose excellence in all that we do.