Aloha Final Blog,

I just wanted to add this to our archive.  I had the privilege of being part of the 2012 Indigenous Conference and it was wonderful.  I think that a class like this would benefit tremendously from the various presenters and topics that are so specific to our class.  I particularly enjoyed the fact that a main component of this Conference was to include poetry and in fact their keynote speakers were exactly that.
The audience was also another huge aspect!  They were understanding and concerned.  The audience "got it".  When Kumu asked the question, in regards to last weeks video that he showed, he expressed "How do you change people who are so set?"  Simple answer, "Poetry, Creativeness, Na'au." The change needs to occur within all of us, a change of understanding and Working Together!  I feel what best exemplifies this value is the Hawaii version of "PotLuck".  There is also an abundance of food especially if the group is made out of Hawaiians.
This abundance was not forced nor was it demanded, it was a simple request and commitment to each other.  And with these simple beginnings such a feast is usually formed. However, if there is not this abundance than dysfunction and non-desire for good will towards each other possibly exists.
I believe that this ability to be willing to impart of one substance is a somewhat common value in indigenous peoples.  It is also this same willingness that will allow the fruits and true superiority of civility for Human life and the essences of Indigenous. To convert this into the Economics has always been the challenge and will be the one I hope to overcome by using means of poetry, creativeness and art.

Mahalo to everyone for this class it has been interesting!

FOOD SIGN UP

I will bring a main dish, the napkins, the utensils, plates, and bottled water. K

Respond to this thread with what you will bring so we do not have 14 pots of rice.

post

The peak oil film was eye opening, but I believe the outcome far out ways the bad. Cuba to me is a place that I could see myself living with my family. I have also watched the movie Sicko produced by Micheal Moore. The universal health care that they have there seems better than here. They don't pay for the medical which is crazy to think about I mean growing up I only heard very negative things that came out of Cuba, like the Cuban missile crisis. Now I am thinking that it might have been conjured up like a lot of other things that the U.S. has done to go to war with.

The readings that we had this week were very interesting but to put connections together Like my sister has said "A coop is an attempt to treat a symptom and not the illness. The illness is the idealogy.  Monetary economies allow you to save and not share. And therefore people, places, and mea get exploited." I totally agree with the idea that we need to fix problems as they arise makes absolutely no sense to me because it shows no insight into the future. The with an indigenous economy is the balancing act between trying to make money with out exploiting someone else. When I think of all businesses their is exploitation that happens it is collateral damage when working with Capitalism. My ideal goal is to not work within capitalism but I know to achieve that in my lifetime would be impossible. In order to survive in the world we live in we all must give up something that we don't want too. I haven't realized this until I had children. Me going to school to get a better paying job is me sacrificing time with my children. It is what it is. If I knew of a better way I hope that I would try to do that. 

Final Paper/Presentation

PAPER/PRESENTATION GUIDELINES


What is your projects story?

• A narrative that explains your motivation for:
• Creating your project.
• The scope of your project.
• How will it contribute to wellbeing?

What do you really enjoy doing (What do you aloha)?

• What will sustain your aloha?

What is your goals/desired outcomes?

• Resources needed:
• Financial
• Money
• Physical
• What you need
• Structural (Site)

Statistics to support your claims?

Webbing potential partners?

Obstacles/Challenges?

**********************************************************************************

UPCOMING CLASS SCHEDULE

(April 19, 2012)
***POTLUCK NŌ HOʻI***
Presentation:
5 SLIDE LIMIT for presentation
5 MINUTE MAX

(April 26, 2012)
***NO CLASS***

(Due May 2, 2012 @12pm)
***ABSOLUTELY NO EXTENSIONS***
Paper:
5-7 Pages
Double-Spaced
12 pt. Font

Deadline for the Blog

has passed.

Burker

“In the old village everything was different.

Everybody was painted and wore traditional dress and traditional haircuts.

But when we came here we became whiter. Everybody is white here, and

I think the kids will become even whiter. The young people aren’t learning

much about the old ways.”

For me Burkers article, highlighted the ill effects of enganging in western ideology. 

Things that stood out:

1. The cooperative administrator once being a missionary. 
2. Missionaries exploring for the US and Brazillian Steel Companyʻs. 
3. The idea that people depended on the coop for basic needs, "milk, sugar, coffee and beans"
4. Improvement to villages was defined by sewerʻs 
5. The "city indians"
6. Diversified crops to six crops
7. The one family who had to purchase manioc

Ideologies are so different. Definitions of well-being are then changed. And youʻre left with an unthriving people. 

It reminds me of my brother who lived in Ghana for a  couple of years. He said that the people were

very poor--it wasnʻt always that way. Because the people of Ghana were great rice farmers. They were so good tbe ghananian people chose to farm and not work in factories. So what happened?

The US flooded the Rice Farmer region with aid in the form of rice.

A coop is an attempt to treat a symptom and not the illness. The illness is the idealogy.  Monetary economies allow you to save and not share. And therefore people, places, and mea get exploited.

Fair Globalization...not to sure that will ever happen.

Fair Globalization aka Aloha?

Fair globalisation means putting people first; respecting their rights, cultural identity and
autonomy; and the empowerment of the local communities in which they live.

I like that!

The opening paragraph illustrated what it takes to fail, a political-economical structure not rooted in participation, democratic member control, and autonomy.

Ngugi Wa Thiong'o stated in his book Decolonizing the mind that there are two types of characters that are identified within the cultural stories.  The first, was the kind, cooperative person who cared about others and wanted good for all and hated-evil.  The second was, the two mouth species, that was greedy and cared only about himself.

The opening paragraph simply states the utmost most important underlying theme that clearly illustrates what works. We as indigenous people must fight to be just like the heros of our own cultural mo'olelo.  Our state of mind must become one with the motto of hero.  It is then that all we do will permeates our everything.   Our indigenous economies must have that motto.  It is the heart of the indigenous community and it is the cause for the success of our ancestors and will be the way for our success.And then we will no longer have to ask the question, "What is Indigenous Economies?"  The question once arose in class, "Why la'au lapau practitioners should not collect money?"  Could the answer be that In accepting cash payment one is internal violating what they believe.  They are internally choosing to be "The second" type of human who did not care for cooperation?

I recently read a book called, "Change We Must" by Nana Veary, in this book she asked one of her patients why she stopped coming and she said because she couldn't pay. Nana Veary's response was I am Hawaiian we give everything away free.  She also stated earlier in her book that to be Hawaiian is not about blood, it is about Aloha, and she define Aloha as Alo meaning the the center of the universe, the bosom, and Ha as the breath of God. This is exactly what I believe being Hawaiian is.  Today we have complicated and complex meanings, however, I feel if we could simplify we would have a much easier time of making sense and the impossible will turn into the possible.

Therefore, in relation of this class and to the answer of my semester long question, "What is Indigenous Economies?" the answer is an Economy that expresses aloha as it's number one Product.  In this simple statement I believe lies the ultimate answer to not only this class but to the life of what being Human is.

If we look to move forward by honoring our past and practicing what our ancestors practice because we believe they had the answers, then, having Aloha is the only thing we need and the rest will work itself out.  Ha ha ha, I know that by saying this it sort of shoots our own class and academic validity in the foot, but, "Ma ka hana ka ike."  Should we instead be practicing acts of Aloha, and coming together to talk about what happened from these acts? Is Aloha the Truest for of Economy available?

Intertwining the non-physical the "aloha" with the physical "economics" will create the infusion all Heros are looking for.

Murphy&Arenas - Burker

Aloha Nō:

Murphy and Arenaʻs article was quite long and but I found it informative. I actually automatically thought of Hainan Island on the southern coast of China. I recently traveled to Hainan to surf in a competition there. I know....this may be so random but I believe this totally connects to the reading. As we know China is a communist country, which really got me thinking, many of there laws and their ideas/government are very similar to Americas...anyway, back to what I was thinking about; In Hainan I stayed in Wanning Town. It is a beautiful agricultural land with many indigenous people of that land. They have been cultivating this island and fishing in their seas for many generations, I learn that they understand and speak about four different dialects of the languages spoken in China, and let me tell you, there are many. The coastline of Wanning has been a fishing village for many year, many indigenous people and non-native people rely heavily on fish because they would trade their fish for crops from other villages. About two years ago this fishing village was made into a tourist destination where a bar, small condos, and a night club was build in order to boost the flow of tourist to the island. It was then called the next international surfing destination. The Chinese government came into Wanning, gave villagers some money to relocate, and proceeded to build a place where tourist will come to enjoy the wonders and the great weather that Hainan has to offer. This great fishing village is no more, disco lights now illuminate through this once ancient town. One fish market was owned by a little small old lady who everyone called Mama. Her fish market was torn down and she was barely compensated for her business, she now struggles to make ends meet in her new little shop. I thought this example related to the reading, the language of the people was never in question in being lost, but their cultural activities are slowly dwindling away.

Burkeʻs reading was very interesting to me as well, I enjoyed reading about the cooperations that tribes in Brazil have to assist in order to maintain or survive on their land. These ideas and discussions of Fair Globalization was somewhat difficult for me to understand in the beginning but as I continued to read, I thought about the aboriginal people who I stayed with while I was in Australia. The Bundjalung tribe of New South Wales had/have many struggles with corporations helped develop reservations for indigenous animals, insects, and plants, yet the profits of this reservation did not go back to the tribe. In Ballina many aboriginal communities are now managed and organized by elders of their tribe, and many families work together to have tribal meetings or functions. With elders at the front of the community, cultural and traditional activities are now priority and encouraged throughout the younger generations. I hope I was on the right track with connection with the reading. Sorry for this blog being so long but I had so many ideas running through my mind when I was reading each article.

Cuba Peak Oil

Iʻve seen this video before and I think its such a useful learning tool to learn how to survive an economic disaster. I like how the people of Cuba all came together to build a working agricultural-based society and how they all helped eachother out so that they could all live and eat. My favorite part about the documentary was that all of the people were forced to live a healthier lifestyle. Since there was no fuel, or expensive fuel, people couldnʻt be lazy and drive cars, they had to ride bikes and walk. Fatty foods were basically non-existent because the only things people could eat were the things that they grew or raised. No sugary candies, or processed foods. I wish Americans could be like this sometimes, we depend too much on fast and easy instead of nutritious and flavorful. We eat bad things because its convenient and we think "oh Iʻm hungry now, and I dont have time to cook" its such stupid lazy thinking that even Iʻm guilty of sometimes. But when I prepare and eat something healthy it tastes so much better. If the peak oil crisis happened here it would be survival of the fittest and a lot of people would die because they donʻt know how to grow things, all they know is how to live a consumer lifestyle. Shouldnʻt everyone learn how to survive to prepare for the future? My other favorite part was that the people of Cuba got to know their neighbors better because they had to. Face to face communication gets so lost here and people keep finding ways to make it difficult. I envy the way that the cubans had to communicate with eachother.

Cuba - Peak Oil

Aloha Nō:

E kala mai for the late post. I have literally been in The Bush from Sydney to Ballina within four days with no Internet. The aboriginal people and or the Bundjalung People have been amazing to me. The Cuban Oil crisis is a perfect film to reflect on while I am among these indigenous people, the idea of having to come together as a people and sustain life by cultivating land and using the basic tools of our/their ancestor to live is completely relevant and worth discussing.

Down here in Australia or Nūhōlani in 'olelo Hawai'i, many of the aboriginal people live like us in homes, with their families, and have many land, language, and colonizational problems, yet there are many people who live in and on their tribal land. These people are magnificent!! They live off the land and ocean like they have done for many many years. They sustain life through hunting, fishing, knowing what the different seasons may bring and may not bring; for example some animals and fishes cannot be caught during certain times of the months. It is like our ancestors and some Kanaka that followed the moon cycle and the sun cycle, in which they knew how to keep the balance of nature. After meeting these Bunjalung People I thought about how they wouldn't need to relearn how to sustain life by cultivating land and living simple because they already know how to do so, they never lost their traditions from their ancestors in surviving and providing for their families from the land and sea. I am not saying that all aboriginals are capable of doing this and I am not saying that they are the only people that can survive by the ways of their ancestors, but this is what I witnessed within this tribe. It was quite amazing and very inspiring.

I do believe that when oil and or other goods that are imported to Hawai'i peaks or stop, that we would be "ok" in surviving. In the Cuban Oil Peak film I remember the young man who commentated most of the film said that, "it's not about the crisis at hand, but it's about the human relationships that are strong enough to over come and solve the problem!!" I thought that this was an amazing quote because if and when we are in a need to sustain life as a community, we will need to come together as people/humans to solve and keep life going. The aboriginal people have opened my eyes to the great culture and traditions that indigenous people have within the Pacific. I am so lucky and privileged to be apart of the activities of these amazing people of Ballina. I will post some photos soon, but many cultural performances and traditions are not allowed to be filmed or photographed, therefore I respected their rules, but I was allowed to take photographs of members of the tribes. Sorry for such a long blog but I am very excited to share what has been going on in the last couple of days!! See you all soon! A Hui Hou

Cuba Example - Peak Oil

In viewing Cuba and the "economic" disaster, I have hope for Hawai'i.  I do not this it will be a type of hope that all people will enjoy, it is just a simple hope, that it might be possible to be independent from external imports.  I dont really want to call it a blessing, however, I think that because Cuba went through this mini-Peak Oil simulation or "special period" they have now a huge advantage in the Global Arena.  This advantage will be displayed in their economic/agriculture and social realities.  They are the new pioneers in a reality that the rest of the "World Powers" will eventually face if the high dependency on fossil fuels continue.

As Hawaiians, we also can develop and establish the enviro-social-agriculture strong hold.  We are more than capable.  I think in a business sense the idea will be supply-in-demand, and being in the right place at the right time to catch that wave.  The wave has started coming already and we are in position, all we need to do is paddle hard enough so we can Catch It.

Cuba Video

The title in itself "the power of community" points to the key to success in any area. When looking at the changes that Cuba made, its obvious that it's not an easy task to take on. These people literally came from chaos, their whole economy gone, and now to someplace that we can truly learn from. The thing that stuck out in my mind after going over my notes was their ability to come together and work as a community. When they distributed lands solely for farming, they knew and understood the importance of setting aside land for this reason. Something we can learn from here in Hawai'i. But how many people would be willing to make this type of lifestyle change. And as long as we have big spenders, big corporations willing to buy out and "save" us, how will we ever be able to become sustainable so we don't have to rely on outside imports? It is through the joining of communities that this type of success will be possible.

Cuba Video-need for change

 I really enjoyed the Cuba video last class and I found that after I watched it more and more interactions took place at home on Kaua'i that supported the necessary change in our current food health safety, and sustainability situation.
 Currently Kaua'i is a hotspot for GMO testing. Unfortunately we are in waiting to see the consequences of these experiments although every time I return home I am informed of yet more and more cancer cases and other ailments affecting friends and family. I have been in contact with friends/farmers and have suggested starting La'au plots and eco-friendly,sustainable farming for those who have access to land on Kaua'i in order to plant seeds of change. While doing so I've referred to the Cuba video in introducing the idea of community based agricultural projects(self-sustainability) and less reliance on imported goods. I was impacted greatly by the Cuba video because it reinforces the need for ecological concern and dire need for change. It showed me that we don't need nearly as much as we use, as far as chemicals, oil, and other imports that we've deemed "necessary" and that if we can begin to change and resist the destruction of our land (GMOs/other) that we can begin to halt further devastation and encourage restoration as best we can, into a state of "sust'ĀINAbility."

Reading(s) for Thursday, March 22

We will discuss Xiaohua Lin's article "The Diaspora Solution to Innovation Capacity Development: Immigrant Entrepreneurs in the Contemporary World. (This was a reading from last week that we never got to) We will also discuss R.I Tung's article "Key success Factors in Indigenous Management Practice in SME's in Emerging Economies."

Micky Huihui, formerly of Halau Ku Mana Charter School and now of Pacific Islanders in Communication will be visiting us. Dress code in effect.

Peace, K

Cuba Video & Lio

Excellent video. Amazing stuff can happen. As I watched the video, It reminded me a lot of our family discussions that take place in our home. My dad terms a system like Cubaʻs a two-tier system.

Personally, I made a lot of correlations between the video and that of our kupuna. For example:

1. Valuing the cuban elders knowledge of oxen and farming

2. Cubaʻs fostering of neighbor relationships

3. The importance dedicated to education and health

4. The creation of self-sufficient communities

5. The relationship of the governement to its people (the kaikaina-kaikuaana malama relationship).

Two-tier system are efficient, a byproduct of it is an increase of leisure time. In Cuba their foresting of diverse crops allows them an increase in leisure time. And I believe leisure time is what allowed our kupuna to become masters in their fields. Leisure time makes way for enjoyment of life. While in constrast, working an eight to five job takes away opportunities for leisure time; And then  when you attach low compensation and the need to survive you get slavery.

------------------------

As far as the Kahana Lio Project learning how to help others navigate the process of making efficient use of their land sounds a lot like the role of the konohiki. It sounds like a huge project. And I would consider that a valuable project.

I just think, especially after attending Kumu Ohaiʻs Celebration of Life, "spirituality" is the key to this project. And if we heavily on it..."akua will provide". 

Deadline for blogging about FAA Samoa was last week Tuesday.

FA'A SAMOA & LIN

The article about Indegionous Economies in Samoa, made me think about the family down the road from my house in Kahalu'u that sells Lau Lau, Pateles, Kulolo, and other goodies every weekend. For the longest time I remmber seeing their homemade signs on the side of the road advertising their grinds. I am not sure how successful their sales are but being that they have been doing it for at least 5 or 6 years (as far as i remember) they must be doing okay. I feel that this would be a successful indigenous economy, because it distributes food to the local community, made by a local family. However in this heavy colonized time, guarantee their are also choke people in the community that have never bought anything from them because they do not feel comfortable buying something from someones house as opposed to a store. Now that I think about it there are a lot of people in my hood selling food on their own. There is also the unko that cruises inside his car with the sign that says SMOKE MEAT next to the car. I have much respect for these sellers and also for the people that support them.
This also made me think of my Navajo friend from Arizona. I met her in this Indigenous Artist Conference in SF. Over here it is really hard to make it strictly as an artist because there is not a big market for Hawaiian Art and crafts. The biggest buyer in the business is Mickey Mouse. However over on the continent my Navajo freind Mellisa was ballin as a traditional Navajo weaver. She was only 28 and making like 80,000 dollars on one piece. As an artist it was real inspiring to meet her, however unfortunately I don't think we will ever have a market like that for Hawaiian art.

What are the readings for this week?

anyone know what the readings are for this week?

Faa Samoa

The article about Faʻasamoa reminded me alot of a kupuna who came to visit us last semester for Olelo Hawaii. As a child, this kupuna would weave papaleʻs to sell at market. Her father would only require them to make as a certain amount. Because it was just a way to get cash so he could buy materials to build their house.

This kupuna, Aunty Annie I believe is in her late 80ʻs.  And she still makes the most beautiful lauhala papaleʻs.  She said she could make them with her eyes closed, sheʻs that good. And the aunty who brought her said she always has orders...people willing to pay a lot of money. But Aunty rarely sells them. At the end of class that day, the kupuna, Aunty Annie gave away the papale on her head and a papale she had brought.

Idk, this really reminded me of her...still gathering the connection.

Cahn and Lin

Aloha Nō:

I found Indigenous entrepreneurship in the studies from Samoa extremely interesting. It is very relatable research because our culture is quite similar to the Samoan culture. I thought that the structure of the paper was very well put together because Cahn first explains the importance of FaʻaSamoa and how the Samoan people identify themselves within this way of living. Cahn then explains the conflicts of business concepts and FaʻaSamoa and the ways in which they can come together; I thought that the structure of the paper helped me better understand indigenous entrepreneurship, micro-enterprise, and basically just enjoy the reading. I thought about the value of the fine mats and the coconut oil that Samoan women and men make and how that is their sustainable livelihood, and it reminded me of a family in Hilo who makes canoes and canoe paddles. This ʻohana is skilled in wood making and it has been passed down in their family for many generations. Making paddles is their livelihood, they live and breathe this tradition. Paddles are sold to keep this tradition and business alive, and many paddles are donated and given to keiki in the community who wish to paddle but their parents are unable to afford it. This reading made me think of this family who sustains their livelihood in wood making, a skill that they carry from their ancestors, to sustain the tradition of hoe waʻa in their community and their way of living.

Linʻs reading was a little more dense then the Cahnʻs reading just because I could relate and make more connections with Faʻasamoa. With that being said I thought that this reading was also helpful in my understanding of entrepreneurship as an immigrant. After reading through the first couple of pages I automatically thought about the immigrants not only from China but also from Japan, Philippines and other countries who came to Hawaiʻi to work on the plantations. Willing or not to migrate many immigrants would send money back to their homeland to help their families survive and maintain well-being. The emphasis of a personʻs dual identity to return home is what got or discovered about diaspora. This reading help me to better understand well-being of different countries and their (indigenous) people in their entrepreneur ventures in a contemporary world. Many people would find this reading boring, but I found it quite helpful to better understand indigenous entrepreneurship in this western economy.

Cahn fa'asamoa

 Indigenous entrepreneurs are usually more oriented toward the well being of their community as a whole rather than their own personal benefit. This article made me think of Aulani when I read "the world businesses and economic activities are embedded in the cultural and social aspects, creating unique styles of enterepreneurship." World businesses seek out cultural knowledge and social aspects in order to exploit the culture for commercial gain. We have many Hawaiian Language and Hawaiian studies students and alumni that work for these large corporations in order to survive.These corporations are marketing the culture for their own gain not for the betterment of the community. By participating in this cycle we give control and power of our culture over to these external entities.
Instead of having these world businesses control, manipulate, and exploit our culture we should look to what we can do to become entrepreneurs in order to give our people job oppurtunities where they can impart authentic cultural knowledge/awareness and make a living as well.

Faʻa Samoa

Aloha nō

Iʻm not sure if most of you know this but I am a member of an aiga from the fono of Faleniu on the island of Tutuila. My mother married a Samoan man who was of the Tiliʻaia family.  They are a very traditional family from American Samoa. His father was from the Villiage of Vaitogi. I was adopted by their family when I was a child. I can remember my grandmother on their side explaining the meaning of Faʻa Samoa to us. Faʻa Samoa from what I was told is very basic, its eloquence is based in its simplicity.  Go to church, go to work, fulfill your duties, and take care of your aiga, and they will take care of you in return. It is exactly like the traditional views of reciprocation held by our kupuna. 

Money is important but I would much rather work work the land and feed my family in that way. Everyone has a well defined role in the family. It was really funny in my house. The boys never really mixed with the girls, they slept in the house and we slept in the garage, we had our own bathroom and refrigerator. When we werent working we spent our time drinking ʻawa with the other men in our family. Strengthening our bonds by cracking jokes and listening to the adults talk out there problems, doing this helped guide us in the best ways to handle our future issues.

While I was in the army I lived with my families matai, he is my uncle Utisoni. He is a very quiet man, who displays unmatched generosity. I remember going with his to family reunions and his wearing his lawa lawa displaying his peʻa , he only did this during these events. He would stand proudly and accept finely woven mats, boxes of kalo, bundles of ʻawa and other things. He would then either call for my or my cousin Soni, to tell us what to give the gift giver in return, then he would speak in Samoan openly displaying his affection and respect for the person. 

If I had a dream job it would be to simply live off of our land and try to up hold the values that our kupuna held. Social capital to me is much more important than money. Social capital in forms of relationships are far more fulfilling to me then a pocket full of money. I love serving my kupuna, ʻaumakua and my akua. Humbling myself for the greater good of the ohana is so important to me. I really dont know if the society that is currently occupying us will allow us to live in the ways of our ancestors, because there is to much power in that. 

Chan and Lin

My dream job would have to be helping people because for me it is more about helping someone than it is about the money. In this society today you need money to survive so I understand that money is important. I am weary of making money a priority, because capitalism makes money a priority "the bottom line" and I don't believe in capitalism at all. It is a thin line to walk in capitalism to make money, but only enough for you to survive. People who want money have no limits that is why we see corporations that get bailed out by the government believe it is okay for them to take million dollar bonuses. The one major problem that I see with capitalism is that when companies are going under they decide to lay off thousands of employees at the lowest level when that number could be drastically smaller if they just decided to lay or take pay cuts in the upper divisions of employees. I need to find another model that works for me. The most important thing in life I feel is finding out what priorities we really need and finding ways of achieving them.
   
In Chan's article she states that "cultural  and social aspects are interwoven in economic transactions through entrepreneurship." I totally agree working for my father in Law installing solar I learned that it wasn't just about the service that we gave the customer, but it was also about the relationship that we had with them. My father in law is all about speaking proper English, however; when a customer starts to speak pidgin he will answer them the same way. This I believe is a cultural aspect that is interwoven in his business.
In both articles it discusses the benefits that we should have in business because we are "indigenous."
How do we keep entrepreneurs in Hawaii when jobs are so scarce, the pay is terrible and cost of living is so high? My brother for instance has a B.A. in Biochemistry and cannot find work, so he is moving to the continent because he feels that he can find better work. I know of many people who move away from islands just to survive. They have hopes of returning but don't. In Lin's article it said that some laws were passed that helped to fix this problem so maybe we can pass laws here to encourage our people to return.

Cahn

I first tried to read about the contemporary world's entrepreneurship, but didn't seem to find that interesting at all. However, I was really drawn to Miranda Cahn's writing. Its interesting to read the various examples of "indigenous economies" including Fa'a Samoa. The thing that I kept thinking about was her reference to indigenous economies and it's being intertwined within the culture and being community oriented. How much of our economy here in Hawai'i is embedded in social and cultural aspects of society? At first thought, I thought that this was a false statement in regards to Hawai'i, but it is very true that our culture is embedded within the tourism industry...but then again, how much of that culture is made up or true? We recently discussed the new Aulani hotel in 'olelo hawai'i and how Disney decided to make up a "Hawaiian Ceremony" for the setting of the sun. Although it was never a tradition of our people, Disney market's the Hawaiian culture for their resort. Cahn goes on to talk about indigenous economies being focused and oriented on the community.......also doesn't seem to be true either within Hawai'i. Anyway, just my thoughts, I thought this was a really interesting article!

Fa'aSamoa

In this article I was able to find many aspects of what I feel are holes in my "Dream Job" objective.  I realize with my new idea of what "schooling" and the arena of "indigenous economies"that I am planning to pursue; I need to further carve out what my "system/business" will be.  For example, How will I incorporate my Administration? How will I work on ensuring the proper delivery of my service to the appropriate clients (the students/families)? How will I effectively answer the issue of "economies/money" to ensure sustainability my project on all levels? etc.

I have found that having a administrative system based in the values of "embedded" indigenous economies is close to what I envision.  Like Fa'aSamoa and the Matai - I think this is a valuable idea that I need to define as a Hawaiian. Another aspect is that the Matai Level, are those who will go on to function as Government.  I like that point.  I think that is something I need to explore to greater understand the purpose of my "Dream Job" and all the many tangents that it can travel into.

Lin & Cahn, Globalization

I like how in the reading by Cahn, Samoans refer to themselves culturally as ʻfaʻaSamoaʻ: a way of life, a way of knowing. I can relate to the fact that not all Samoans agree with that definition, because I feel like the word ʻHawaiianʻ is used the same way here. Not all Hawaiians agree with the definition of what a Hawaiian is or should be. The key things that I noticed in both readings were change and adaptability. If there are changes it forces people to adapt to them or die. In Linʻs reading I was disappointed to read that diaspora groups of people who invest in their homelands, historically the investments dont enhance the existing industrial structure of the indigenous economy. So it made me think that as educated Hawaiians are we doomed to fail no matter if we strive to give back to our culture? Does that make us Hawaiians a bad investment? Should we invest in the ruling economy instead of locally? I want to say no, that we should invest locally whenever possible, but its hard to avoid supporting the ruling tourist economy when its so expensive to live, period, in Hawaii. Its expensive to live! And even if we support Hawaiians/locals, they will spend the money on foreign economies. I agree with Lin in her saying that we need to do comparative studies on indigenous economies of different cultures so that we can learn to adapt in order to better preserve and improve our cultures for the future.

Kanoe Naone

When Kanoe came it was very enjoyable! I loved her "soap box" speeches. She seems really passionate about what she does and I really admire that in a person. I have to agree with her in what she said about common sense being a Hawaiian trait. I know plenty of people who seems to be missing that trait! And its really hard to try to explain basic things to people when they donʻt have the capacity to understand it. I gained a sense of identity and what it means to be a Hawaiian woman. Rather than to be weak and confused about what to do I felt empowered that I could do anything (as corny as it sounds).

Missed Kanoe Naone

Wow. Iʻm totally bummed I missed out on this speaker. My sister and brother told me I missed out. And now as I read everyoneʻs blogs Iʻm so bummed. Iʻm totally interested in how she approaches her work environment. And Iʻm really excited to think we will continue to explore economic arenas that include people like her :) Awesome.

Kanoe Nāone

This was by far the best class/discussion/guest speaker of the semester. Kanoe is a great example of a strong, educated, smart, and confident Kanaka ʻŌiwi Wahine that is helping the kanaka community is a very positive manner. I find her extremely inspiring because she has this stupendous ability to strongly articulate her manaʻo, experiences, facts, and her ideas of how our Lāhui can become stronger. This is one skill that I need to improve upon, the ability to articulate my manaʻo and or research that I find to my peers in a manner that will inspire and uplift other kanakas.

Kanoeʻs belief of Kanaka ʻŌiwi using basic common sense; in which every person has a role in society is very true because as she reminded us, in ka wā kahiko every kanaka had a role in society to keep the well-being and balance of the Lāhui. When I thought of these roles in society I automatically thought of Kamakakūokalani and how each Kumu here has a different area of expertise: they are skilled in Genealogy, Oli, Mele, Hawaiian and Western History, Art, Indigenous and Western Politics, Language, Agriculture, Ancient Ecosystems, Laʻau Lapaʻau, Heʻenalu, Makawalu, and list goes on and on. These Kumu teach and inspire us to learn/find a role in society to build and sustain our Lāhui. I know Kamakakū isnʻt perfect but it is a small community where no one is a "throw away," and yet everyone can have a purpose if they chose to.

Kanoe made me think about our Lāhui more critically when she advised us to always question the power structure at be. How can our people benefit from the current power structure at be? We always need to ask the question Why and figure out the root of the problem, a prime example that Kanoe used to explain this was to not keeping placing band-aids on open cuts/wounds, but to stop getting cuts and try to solve the problem. My favorite quote from her was, "Kanakas need to be on it because we are responsible for our Lāhui." I want to help and be apart of Kanoeʻs idea to change the course of history in a single generation by navigating the policy system of the state. This plans sounds amazing.

Kanoe Naone

Kanoe Naone was an awesome speaker! I personally feel that she has been by far the most inspirational speaker yet. The work that she does just clearly shows us that our culture is not dying, but growing. Her presentation opened my eyes to the contemporary things our own people are doing to make a difference in our communities. It was a relief to know that the future is not lying only on my generation's shoulders alone. All throughout high school, it seemed like the fate of our culture rested in my and my fellow classmates' hands because "our lāhui is suffering and we are the minority, the victims." Naone's presentation wasn't anything sad like that; rather, it was a sign of hope and sense of true identity. In this ever-changing society, it is our job to imua and adapt.

Kanoe Naone

I feel like this past class was the best yet. Its clear that Kanoe has the same values as most of the students in the class. I  really enjoyied hearing her speak, you could tell she is passionate about her people. Really loving what you do, in my opinion, thats worth more then a high paying job. It was apparent thats the position Kanoe is in today because of her hard work.
I got in a lot of trouble when I was younger. If there were progams like hers when I was growing up I probably wouldnʻt have gotten into the situations I had. Seeing someone coming from a similar back ground as I do succeeding is inspiring, especially when sheʻs able to up hold native values doing it. I really feel itʻs a beautiful thing that her company hires from the community they opperate in. No one knows the needs of a specific community better then a person who resides there. I hope one day I am able to find a career as fullfilling as I know hers is.

Kanoe Nāone

I thoroughly enjoyed this presentation that Kanoe gave, I think by far of all the people that has come to class, she has impacted me the most. The idea of being able to work in an environment that promotes the families well being, learning together, and overall having an environment to which this is encouraged, is awesome. Listening to her, it made me want to work for her and one day when my children come, to be able to bring them up in that way. The whole concept was for the most part not looked at in a western way which I love, bringing your keiki with you to work, catering to the keiki but more importantly having the parents there to help and they themselves will learn and the family will grow. Learning essential tools and values makes a big difference in the upbringing of children. As I watched the short film, I wished that there was something like this when I was growing up. I would have loved to have been able to learn about the land and do activities like that. For sure, when the time comes for when I have my own children, I definitely want to be involved in this sort of program.

Naone

This past weekend I participated in a conference and I presented on "Empowering the Na'au: Awaken the Native Mind".  At the end of our presentation we were asked by our moderator specific questions pertaining to our presentation.  My question was in regards to what I see as proactive, up and coming programs or movements in relation to the current colonized situation of Hawai'i. And I was happy to remark, that Inpeace, was one of the programs I see as a world changer.   I also thought that as a student of the 490 class; Hawaiinuiakea, is also a big part of this process. Classes like ours that takes the chance to examine what Indigenous Economies are and how to participate in the various financial climates is another example.

Overall, us participating in the molding and creating of our future, adds larger bubbles to the water that is beginning to boil. I am excited to be here and be Hawaiian.

Kanoe Naone

I saw we had a reading on the syllabus, but it wasn't up on laulima....so I'll just blog about last week's class for now..

When Kumu mentioned the idea of creating more "Kanoe Naone"s, it really hit me. I think she is such a great role model to look up to. Kanoe is a perfect example of having a strong opinion, having a strong belief and then enacting it. The products of her work are all simply products of her opinions - everything she strongly believed in. Her presentation really had an impact on me just because she was so passionate about what she was doing. It was so easy to relate to her as a person maybe just because of the way she thought, spoke, and acted. Furthermore, it was also really interesting to see where she journeyed in her careers. Even though she got her degree in Political Science, she's now the CEO of an organization that perhaps doesn't really have much to do with political science. I'm sure many of the things she learned in getting her degree helped her in her position today, but it's inspiring to see where she has ended up. I truly hope to one day be able to articulate and carry out things that I believe in as Kanoe did. It is inspiring to see such strong Hawaiian women in today's community. Although I might not know what I want to do as a career, Kanoe shed light on the kind of person we can all aspire to be.

Kanoe Naone

I just wanted to write down some thoughts about the guest speaker yesterday, Kanoe Naone. After listening to her spill I was extremely impressed with her views. Some key things stuck out to me which are the Hypocrisy in  business. The Idea that business give a service and yet with in their own business they do not offer that service. Like a child care business that doesn't allow their children in the child care. Another thing that really struck me was her belief of "Common Sense." She said that she believed that "Common Sense" is a Hawaiian value and she was shocked that others don't have that same value. I personally think that the reason other people don't have that value is because "Common Sense" in business doesn't mix. I believe it falls under the category of "Bad Business." Because a lot of things that are to her "Common Sense" cost money, which means the dig into profit and would be seen as a negative thing. One week paid vacation on Christmas for family enrichment. The last thing that I want to discuss is the Idea of knowing a problem that you can not fix in the near future like "Sovereignty" but taking steps to get their now. A mountain is climbed in steps. big problems take steps. Bigger problems take more steps. That gives me hope.

Whole foods sells out to monsanto

Article:

http://rickthehealthsleuth.blogspot.com/2011/01/whole-foods-sells-out-to-monsanto.html

Deadline for the Blog

has passed.

Pacific Island Economies & Rebuilding the Auwai

The reading about Pacific island economies was an easy read to me due in part that it was straight to the point and explanatory. I found myself learning a lot of things that I didnʻt really know for sure about before reading the article. I liked getting a straight explanation of what exactly an economy is first of all, and I also learned a few things about the Marshall islands and the Solomon islands. The read was a good report in the sense that its educational and informative to those who donʻt understand pacific island economies, and also to those who are part of a pacific island economy but donʻt really understand what what that means.

The reading about Auwai was very familiar to me. I think Iʻve read it before. I liked the quote: "When knowledge is seen as something to be filled or drilled into the heads of young people then regurgitated for standardized tests, and school success is defined solely by those quantitative measures, young peopleʻs desire to learn can wither and evaporate." I COMPLETELY agree with this! I canʻt even recall how many standardized tests I had to take when I was in school because there were so many! I see where kumu Kimo is coming from when he says that he doesnʻt want us regurgitating information back to him, there is absolutely no learning in that.

Both of these readings overall, stressed the importance of being sustainable/having sustainable resources. I think that being sustainable is very important, especially since we live on an island in the middle of the ocean.

Now we have the information, what can we do with it?

Pacific Island Economies/Rebuilding the ʻAuwai

These two readings were much more enjoyable to go through this week. After reading Pacific Island Economies I thought of a Hawaiian family who started a surfing school about 10 years ago and two years they finally won a bid to work out of a stand on the beach of Waikīkī. Of course they teach surfing to many foreigners that come from all around the world, in which they contribute to this economy of Waikīkī that many of us question and possibly want to dismantle. I once asked the owner (who is my uncle) how does he deal with the western economy that he participates in compared to the non-western upbringing that he experienced? My uncle grew up in Kālihi with a grandmother who spoke Hawaiian and a lifestyle of a surfer who dreamed of surfing the world. He told me that teaching surfing on the beach of Waikīkī allows him and his family to live out his dream of surfing the world. Being that he owns a surf school, he makes the rules, makes the schedule for his workers, and makes money for his family to survive, he could not have thought of any other way to care for his family. His five children are sponsored surfers who travel consistently all around the world and since he is the boss of his own business, he travels with them. After thinking about this familyʻs lifestyle, I finally realized that this is their well-being, teaching surfing allows them to have a life that they love.

From the two readings that we were assigned I enjoyed Rebuilding the ʻAuwai the best. This reading actually reminded me of the conversation we had with Koa Marino, the kumu from Ānuenue. He spoke about the differences of ʻIke Haole and ʻIke Hawaiʻi and how it is very important for Kanaka keiki to distinguish the two in and out of the classroom. An example of ʻIke Hawaiʻi in an educational form is demonstrated by the Kahokuloa ʻOhana from Kauaʻi. Pulani Kahokuloa is a father of eight children, he taught all of his children how to surf in ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi and he continuous to coach them in ʻōlelo. I see this as self-determination to carry culture through surfing and ʻōlelo in an ʻIke Hawaiʻi educational form. Like the ʻAuwai and the education of our keiki, Pulani incorporated an ancient activity of our people and the language of our people to teach his children ʻIke Hawaiʻi. I really hope this makes sense to you folks because this is how I viewed and connected the readings of this week to the well-being of kanakas.

Rebuilding the Auwai/Pacific Island Economies

I really liked the Auwai reading....just in the introduction alone there were so many good points as to why it is important we learn and practice what our kupuna once did. I think especially as Hawaiian Studies/Hawaiian Language students, it is important for us to be able to articulate these key concepts. Often times I think that educators over look the importance of teaching haumana the these practices. Not only does it teach the obvious (like with the auwai example), it also alleviates many surrounding problems that might be so obvious. Like she mentions, not only does this revivification of the auwai help the lo'i, but it also influences the removal of non-native plants, teaches an educational lesson to the kids about the aina, and also allows for a spiritual connection to our kupuna as well as our aina. It is clear that as we introduce what seem to be not so common practices today, we can perhaps make them ma'a mau. Just as once was with olelo hawaii and hula, maybe other practices can be brought back through things such as bringing back the auwai. And in the process learn and grow as well.

Goodyear

Aloha kakou,

I just talked to my sister waianuhea about what was discussed in class while I was gone. What I got from the discussion is that kumu wanted us to focus "internationally" rather than "locally." I understand the mana'o behind this because that is a problem that will affect us in the future and it is great to think ahead, however; I feel that this might be kind of like walking before we can run. Because I feel that the greater problem at hand is the fact that many of our people do not even know about the wrongs that have happened to our kupuna. We need to focus on this problem, we need to educate everyone about our situations. I am sad that I missed this discussion in class because I feel that I could have got some important idea's from that discourse.

I guess the major question that I have after reading these articles is what do we do next? I would like to revert back to the way things were, but I don't believe it is possible. Given our current situation. There needs to be a transition from capitalism and subsistence communal living. People deal with problems in very different ways for instance taking off band aids after they have been on your body one approach is ripping off the band aid as fast as you can but that does not work for everyone.

I do not know what the solution to this problem is but maybe collectively we can come to a solution that works.

Ma Ka Hana Ka 'Ike

Ma Ka Hana Ka 'Ike

I believe that we still have the ability to form our own 'auwai in our personal lives today.  It will be an 'auwai from our ancestors to our present day.  And teaching our children how to maintain this connection, will restore our people with the vitality that "wai" brings.

Knowing and understanding western methodologies and "capitalism" is important to provide protection for our people and most importantly the future.   However, I do not believe that those external models contain "wai", rather they are just pvc-like/modern created plumbing fixtures.  The true importance I see in this article is the understanding that the application of a native methodology is much more advanced than the current more commonly used "pvc/modern created systems"; thus, Captialism is not an indigenous answer, it is NOT an 'auwai.

I believe focusing on the values that our native methodologies exhibit, make us more advanced than PVC type systems.

This article encouraged me to maintain my own personal 'auwai system with my ancestors with the ancestral knowledge I have been taught, and not with the imposed, unintelligent, overworked technology of the PVC system.

Should we focus our studies on the PVC or the 'Auwai?

Goodyear

NCLB is a joke. I think this article articulated a lot of ideas I already embraced. But I think most importantly it highlighted to me the importance of reconnecting to the ʻāina and becoming a "caring companion" to it again.

How do we improve well-being?  SPIRITUALITY.

Halau Ku Manaʻs experience with clearing the land and reopening the loʻi say it all. While it may seem almost impossible at times the foundation and kuleana are there. Once you choose to return to it and do as much as you can the way will be provided for you. (I totally believe it.)

Foreign models do not work for education and economic arenas because those in power benefit from us being subjugated and from us not assessing our sovereignty. So then how do we make a model that fits us. We DONT. We just unearth the ones that have been overgrown by the invasive species.  Hmm...could we do that do tourism?

WOW! Its truly awesome. We donʻt need to recreate anything. We just need to return to our core values because the foundation still exist.

Within the first paragraph I already gained a new understanding of economies. For a long time as a young artist kid I often perused the path of printing T -Shirts. I did it for a while, however after a while I was discouraged that I really was not doing anything to benefit anyone by selling shirts. However I just understood that any part I play within the economy is benefiting the community in a way.

The idea of GDP made me think about a discussion I had with a Aunty last night. She was telling me about her Maile Farm on the big Island. For her the whole idea behind it was that now a days, people are using imported Maile because the local growers are not reliable. She also knew that we were destroying our own Maile resources by trying to keep up with the demand. This is how she was inspired to start to her Maile Farm. She explained to me that she was simply using the "Maile" as the vehicle to raise her people because of this same philosophy that the money would filter through the community by providing jobs and so on. What can I use for this "vehicle" that will stimulate the economy and do something else at the same time like how aunties farm reforested the environment. I think it is a very important realization for us to figure out how to provide this place with what it needs so that we are not importing everything. This leads us to the idea of subsistence.
What I got from this is that we definitely have the resources to sustain our selves, but the question is whether we are using these resources correctly; and we can all agree that we are not. Something I read in another book today made me think. It talked about how Hawaiians once ate food strictly from "this" soil and "this" sea. This speaks of how what our bodies were made up of were also "Hawaiian" (things of this place). In this modern time I feel that our bodies are made up of foreign foods not from this soil or this sea. This is all the whole idea of subsistence.
Aunty also talked about how if you think about it the Hawaiian community has a lot of money resources within Kamehameha Schools, OHA, QLCC, and so it, we just gotta figure out how to come together.

Deadline for Blog

has passed.

Thioub : Jenny Estrella

page 79 or 18 in pdf
What gives UNACOIS leaders independent clout and room for maneu- ver is their capacity to mobilize a large mass of followers. Their ability to do so rests on the strong links of personal dependency that tie leaders to fol- lowers who are involved in urban commerce. The principal beneficiaries of this system insist that these tight personal bonds are a manifestation of tra- ditional ethnic or religious solidarities.

This article helped me to see the inter-playings of the various groups of a post colonial world.  I feel understanding the experiences will help to identify the economic structures we will possibly traverse as Hawaiians.

Thioub, Ibrahima and others

Economic liberalization was quite engaging to read about within a African Country. I first pondered upon the word liberalization and I tried to define in the easiest way possible in order to follow along in the text. I defined liberal as permitting freedom of action, especially advocating progress or reform to matters of personal belief and or expression.

After I defined this term I immediately goggled Senegal, because I had no idea where this country was in Africa. I found that Senegal was ruled by two kingdoms throughout the 9th-14th centuries and in the 15th century the Portuguese landed on the coastline followed by the French. Around the 11th century the Islam Religion was introduced, and today about 90% of the population of Senegal follows the faith of Islam. Between 1300-1900 close to 1/3 of the population was enslaved by various European powers such as Portugal, Netherlands, Great Britain, and by 1677 France ended up in possession of a minor slave trade. E kala mai if I am rambling, but I feel that research on Senegal as a country is wise, to know some information on a place can guide my understanding of it better.

From the short history that I have found on Senegal I have gathered that this country has suffered many economical and political struggles before Independence was granted. Colonial power was still heavily present in Senegal long after independence due to the control used in conspicuous ways to protect and promote foreign capital, the import trade, extractive industry, and other services. The first 25 years of independence the peasant production of peanuts for export and international loan capital invested by the state was prevalent, yet politically and economically African and Lebanese businesses remained subordinate to both French and state, invested capital in the trading, manufacturing, and banking sectors. How can one country keep up with such high demands? The general decline of the peanut sector, revealed the falling of productivity and profitability for the producers, which eventually transformed the organization of rural commerce. With the many different groups or groupings that came into political play in Senegal, the militant UNACOIS is probably understood as the result of a transitional moment in Senegalese politics. The rise of this organization displays that old forms of government control over the business sector are no longer applicable. The well-being of the Senegalese has grown compared to the 1980s and 1990s, but the road to liberation has been a great struggle.

The Senegal struggle reminds me of the Apology Bill that given by President Clinton to Hawaiʻi in 1993. I can hear Haunani-Kay saying to us in class that - "we donʻt want no damn apology, we donʻt want a piece of paper! We want our land back!!" It reminds me of the fact that this apology will not change anything, it will not create a better living environment for our people to have a better well-being in life, it is just a piece of paper. Land will better our well-being, most definitely.

Thioub

UNACOIS approach to getting their voice heard was awesome. Also, I thought it was interesting they considered it "militant" tactics. I think if we want change we need to continue to be mindful of theyʻre methods. I believe in the power of protest. Again look at Haunani-Kay and the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Through her education and understanding we now have Kamakakūokalani.

Organized mass strikes got UNACOIS a voice. If you want better well-being we need independence from the colonizerʻs mindset and the way to accomplish that is through returning to the culture, sustaining ourselves from our Papa and through the language. 

Kinda off the subject but it makes me wonder what would happen if Hawaiians chose to strike Waikīkī for months? What type of impact would it have? Would tourist come to see non-hawaiians?

Ibrahima Thioub

Business and power. What's new? This paper was a hard read for me mostly because it bored me. Those who have control have power. Straight off it was obvious to me that Senegal has gone through much struggle to gain its independence. What from slavery, other countries trying to rule over them, and from different interests. Religion of course also played a role in civil unrest. With the involvement of the military group UNACOIS, I was strongly reminded of what Hawaii has and still is going through because of the military, and we don't even have independence! We were taken over by military occupation (which is a mild way of putting it). And military nowadays completely rules Oahu island! The best beaches are fenced off or reserved for military, they get special discounts, they bomb sacred places with having no respect for the Hawaiian people, and much more but I don't feel like ranting about it.
"competition between state, foreign and local business interests has centered on the struggle for control over trade." (thioub,6)
I feel like Hawaii is going through something like that now, minus controlling trade. I hear how we should buy local and support local people but it's hard when the state makes buying foreign so much cheaper than buying local. It's sort of like buying organic, it's supposed to be better and healthier but if you go to Safeway it's also very expensive. Why spend $6 for an organic tomato when you can buy 3 (Monsanto) tomatoes for $3? Cheaper appeals more to us because it's logically more affordable especially living somewhere that's all ready expensive to live in the first place.

super late hale

I have recently come to the understanding that knowing the Hawaiian Language is knowing a whole another perspective. I feel that within the Hawaiian Language there is a whole different outlook on life and what surrounds us. This language shows our relationship to our environment; something that the English language could never show us. I feel that it is crucial to learn the language because it allows us to see through this lens that our ancestors looked through, and give us a different understanding of the identity of people and place.

It is sad, but through out my life I was often discouraged from dedicating time and energy into learning Hawaiian. Even at Kamehameha we were pushed more to learn Japanese and Spanish because they would be "way more use full in this developing world around us". I am glad that it seems that this mentality is starting to shift. I feel that my parents generation were the ones that were raised with the heavy colonized mindset, however our current generation is beginning to change this. I have faith that our childrens' generation will share a better understanding of who they are, and their roles in this place.

We often get frustrated in the topic of Hawaiian Sovereignty and if it will ever be achieved. Sometimes people make it seem like it is unrealistic and it could never work. However I have also come to the understanding that there are ways that we can practice sovereignty right now (in a sense). One thing we can do is practice food sovereignty by growing food, and making an effort to understand that food is not only acquired through money through safeway. Besides food sovereignty I think one of the next important forms of sovereignty is Language Sovereignty. In a sense, us being able to speak our own language is a form of having independence from the colonizer language (in my opinion).

To tie this all to what is going down right now, last week was an international mural festival called the Pow Wow in Kakoako. Hence the one week late blog. I was privledged to kokua Solomon Enos, whos Hawaiian Art, can perhaps inspire its viewers to seek the path of understanding our people and culture. I see painting "Hawaiian Murals" as a way to reclaim this madly developed city we have been born in. However the trippiest part about this whole thing is that the only reason that we were given this opportunity to paint Kakoako, is because Kamehameha schools is planning to knock it all down to make skyscrapers, the rail, and fat tubes to steal the water from the ocean. Perhaps I am biased but I cannot understand how "Hawaiian organizations " (Kamehameha & OHA) feel that this will be the most beneficial thing for our people. Maybe I don't see the full picture but I feel that there are many other ways 200million can be used to benefit our people. Crazy stuff going down right now.

Deadline for blog

Has passed.

Constance Hale

Very easy, casual, non-academic read. How to undo the damage that foreign missionaries did when they made hawaiian language written. What really annoys me about this reading is the part where the missionaries found that the hawaiian language was "lacking" even though it was precise and very intermediate. The only reason missionaries thought it was lacking was because it didn't have words such as faith and holiness and religion. Well duh, of course it didn't. Hawaiians didn't believe in the same religion that the missionaries believed in! This strongly reminds me of how you would control a people, if you can take over their language and religion then you can basically mold a people however way you want. Which is exactly what the missionaries WEREN'T supposed to do!

Constance Hale- how do you say computer in Hawaiian

I thought that this article was inspiring and it made me proud to read the progress that Hawaiians have made in reviving the Hawaiian Language thus far. The strides made in the past few decades are motivating to say the least, and I look forward to contributing to further strides made toward Hawaiian language/culture revival.

A very beneficial aspect of merging indigenous language/culture with technology is that it creates a virtual space for discussion and information exchange that transcends geographical boundaries and limitations.

A unique aspect of being from Hawai‘i is that although we are recognized as a state, our “state” comprises of islands separated geographically. By utilizing technology we are able to create a space that all people can participate in discussion and learning even if they can’t all physically meet in the same geographical location. Whether on an island in Hawai‘i, another pae ‘āina or ‘āina ‘ē.

Indigenous Languages and Technology

Indigenous Languages and Technology (ILAT) discussion list is an open forum for community language specialists, linguists, scholars, and students to discuss issues relating to the uses of technology in language revitalization efforts.

   I found this open forum on the web for Indigenous Language and Technology(ILAT) that I found very interesting. I didn’t have much time to explore the entire website but they have an archive of discussions by other Indigenous peoples around the world. This is a great virtual space for Indigenous people to compare their mana‘o and get information about other peoples’ effort in revitalizing their languages and cultures as well.

They also include links to articles if you’re interested in the topic.

Here are a few posts made by various groups of people retrieved from the server archive that I related to/ I related to the reading.

MESCALERO -- One word at a time, one student at a time, a group of

Mescalero Apaches and their partner, a New Mexico State University

anthropological linguist, are trying to stave off the demise of the

tribe's ancient tongue, the wellspring of its culture.

"Like one of the elders said, every step is sacred," said Oliver

Enjady, an artist and former Tribal Council member who is director of

Nde Bizaa, the tribe's language program. "This (language) was given to

us by the Creator for use by the Apaches. ... It's who you are, and

you can't change that. If this is lost, then what is your identity?"

"Language suicide is when a community itself opts not to practice it,"

Distinguished National Professor and renowned author and linguist Dr

Tariq Rahman

(so the opposite of language suicide is when a community itself opts TO PRACTICE it!!!!)
E Ola ka Olelo Hawai'i!

Hale

Although integrating Hawaiian knowledge with technology is nothing new, its great to see that people like Keao Nesmith are continuing do so. A great way to participate without selling out.

Kumu Kimo mentioned something along the lines that we should do more bridging of the gap between the reading and the current news of today. But when I think of current news, iʻm thinking GMOs poisoning Hawaiʻi and Kawaihaoʻs disrespect for Iwi.

So whats the bridge, protesting.

Consider the history of Kamakakūokalani.

Kamakakūokalani is standing because of people who refused to work within the model. They used their passion to protest the system, which in-turned provided this program. Without their passion and understanding of racism we wouldnʻt be discussing this indigenous economies. Therefore, we have a few professors at Kamakakūokalani who are  great examples of how to participate in a meaningful way and improve well-being.And like Kamakakūokalani, Leokī would be non-exsistent/insignificant if it werenʻt for Hawaiians who had passion and protested powers in control.

Hale- Pihana K.

By reading this, I am continuing to learn about the people that I know, and all of their contributions that I didnʻt know about. I have known Keao for years, and have met those like Larry, but there are so much that they have done that I did not know.

For me this is the first time that I am hearing about this leoki, but it made me think about how dependent I am on the Hawaiian fonts and the format for writing my papers in school. Especially for perpetuating the language for our younger generation, I think that the more programs that we have available, the better off we will be.

I am glad that now compared to the numbers before,  it has substantially increased in the number of children and overall the community in speaking the language. As we can see from the starting of leoki, it took 3 main people and I am sure a lot more to create this avenue for the children to communicate with each other.

I think that by having an environment that encourages the Hawaiian language, it is a safe place in which the children will not feel discouraged by outside influences. For me, the more sources that are available, it helps me in strengthening my Hawaiian language. By this I mean that I am learning Hawaiian as my second language, and because of this, it does not come as easy because the mindset of Hawaiian and English is two totally different ways.

Hale: jenny estrella

Language the carrier of culture.
How do we as Hawaiians interpret life today?

I feel that the process of discussion is a very Hawaiian Practice. The way in which the Hawaiian Language community arrived at the meanings of these hua olelo are worth observing.

I feel further that this process of discussing should be applied in our future endeavors as Hawaiians, especially now that we are venturing into new frontiers of indigenous economies.

Knowing that well-being is our desired goal when participating in our indigenous economies, I would like to discuss pitfalls and peaks to be aware of when navigating through the "system" and how to deal with possible solutions to various scenarios.

And I would like to discuss with our class, "guest speakers" and those who have and are navigating the "system"; the various experiences and situations they encountered, to better equip myself for the "system".

Hale Jarom

I just wanted to mention that tomorrow at 10:30am to 1:00pm there will be a vigil for protection of 300 plus iwi kupuna being desecrated at Kawaiaha'o Church and peaceful protest against the church for this hewa. Report @ 10:30am in front of Honolulu Hale across from thchruch to get signs and instructions, anyone arriving after 10:30am report to church side and see Hiwahiwa. No one is allowed on Church Property, they may arrest you! They are asking to wear black.

Also from the Hawaii GMO Justice Coalition:
GMO Labeling Rally Stop Monsanto From Poisoning Hawaii. Tuesday February 21 at the Hawaii State Capitol 415 South Beretania St. Honolulu. 12pm Blessing Ceremony for Haloa the Taro. 12:30-2:30 music, 6 speakers, free salad, snacks. 2:30-4:30 lobby legislators. 5pm closing

First off I must say that I am impressed and a little jealous that I did not think of leoki. I want to say mahalo to Nesmith, Kawai'ae'a, and Donaghy because I feel that it is a great thing they have done. The second thing is that I would like to use this computer program because it sounds very interesting. I don't believe that I would be able to understand a lot of it but it would be impressive to use.

What I pulled from this article are the challenges that were faced by Nesmith, Kawai'ae'a, and Donaghy which is incorporating new technologies to help preserve our culture. Right after reading this article I jumped on Facebook and a thought popped into my mind, what would it be like if Facebook had a Hawaiian equivalent? I would never have thought about that if not for this article.

Also another important issue is the use of new technologies in continuity with the efforts to revive our culture. It is obvious that children learn better than adults. I have learned how to use a computer faster and with more efficiency than my parents and my father was the same way with his parents so it only makes sense that we use those technologies to our advantage. My daughter is only two and loves to jump on my computer, so if I could get her to use programs such as leoki I feel it will help her to learn our language and the computer. I know that the more we can use technologies in our culture the better for our children.

Maybe someone could create a Hawaiian computer language. I have taken a couple of computer science classes I feel it would be interesting to learn in Hawaiian and to program in Hawaiian.

Hale Reading

We often discuss the importance of fitting the system to us as Hawaiians rather than the other way around. This is a prime example of integrating technology into our culture. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the place that ʻOlelo Hawaiʻi has made within schools and learning systems. It is the result of three individualʻs desire that there is this computer system for us as Hawaiians. Often times I think we over look the leaps and bounds we have made with our language. Instead of carrying around a huge dictionary, we can simply look to our laptops, ipads, phones and log onto wehewehe.org. Not only is technology being integrated successfully in the kula haʻahaʻa, it is finding its way to kula kiʻekiʻe, kula nui, and now iphone applications as well. Not only have they created a new and beneficial system to keiki, it is also pushing to creation of new words. I am starting to look at this papa with a new lens...We hear time and time again from our guest speakers the success and joy that comes from loving and learning your culture and creating a career in which you love. This previous sterotype of only being able to be a teacher as Hawaiian studies major is slowly diminishing. We have also talked about being able to "beat" the system through going through it. I think it is great that we have people who have the ʻike of both their culture and some of todayʻs modern-world...like the example of creating "Leoki". Itʻs great that individuals are taking the incentive to further their knowledge while keeping their culture in mind as well. It is through continual examples such as this one that we will be able to further ourselves as a people.

How Do You Say Computer in Hawaiian?- Constance Hale

This article stirs a lot of emotion within me. It made me feel proud that our culture, as fragile as it is and as badly as it was broken, is still surviving. And not only are still surviving, but we are reconnecting with the past and building bridges to the future. We are finding new ways to weave our tradition and culture with our modern technology.

Reading about Haleʻs recount on his visit to UH Hilo reminds me of when my Hawaiian language class went to visit a kula kaiapuni on Molokaʻi. We were all seniors (there were a total of nine of us) and we went there with the idea that we would visit these keiki and have a chance to practice our language to teach the keiki a game for class. However, none of us were really prepared for what we experienced there. We all connected with the keiki, and as we taught them a game, we had a glimpse of the future. We could see the language and culture living and flourishing in these keiki. It not only gave us hope for our people, but a sense of purpose to continue the legacy just as these keiki were doing.

The efforts of NeSmith, Kawaiʻaeʻa, and Donaghy have shown that our culture is able to progress and strive in these modern times. Thereʻs a website I would like to share with you all:

http://www.awaiaulu.org/main/index.php

This is a website that a friend shared with me a few months ago. For those of you who have never seen this website, it is a project known as ʻIke Kūʻokoʻa. It is simple yet effective in getting our language (specifically that which is found in old newspapers) available for online access. Itʻs very easy. You can register within minutes, and it will assign you to a page that has been photo copied. All you have to do is transcribe EXACTLY what you see, so that it will be accessible in an online version. I believe this project is yet another big step for us to take in the progression of our language and culture.

Hale - geodee

Aloha Nō ʻOukou:

How to say computer in Hawaiian opened my eyes and totally got me thinking of all of the online resources that I use to do research in finding stories of our history or just going through the Hawaiian Language news papers without having to go to Hamilton. It is definitely convenient to just jump on your computer and search for dates and events or keywords that you need to find what you are looking for, and I greatly appreciate that luxury, yet I rarely think of the people who began connecting these resources online and who maintain the sites. They need to be enormously thanked for such valiant work. So, mahalo nui for these resources!!

In class we discuss the well-being of indigenous peoples and their culture from all around the world, our assigned reading also reminds me of Ngūgī Wa Thiongʻo book Decolonising the Mind: The Politics of Language in African Literature. Ngūgī reminds us that "language, any language, has a dual character; it is both a means of communication and a carrier of culture." I believe that carrying culture through language is very healthy for a person and their identity.

This reading (and Ngūgīʻs text) had also reminded me of a non-profit organization called Native Languages of the Americas. It is a Minnesota non-profit corporation dedicated to the preservation and promotion of learning endangered American Indian Languages. At the top of the homepage there is a link that is labeled ʻSupport our Organization;ʻ when you open that page there is a description of how people can help to support their cause, not just by donating money, but asking other American Indians to speak their language, if one is fluent in certain dialects to record it, if one can write in an indian language to create a website for others in that tribe to learn from, there are ten more tips/ways to help support the organizationʻs mission. Besides supporting their mission, Native Languages of the Americas have a great website that list Native American Indian Tribes and Languages throughout the Americas. Almost all the languages listed have a dictionary that defines basic terms in each language; even though basic terms like different animals or body parts are defined, at least there is some kind of resource that American Indians can build upon. This organization states that their website is not beautiful but it is a resource that is needed to save and restore languages of indigenous indians of the Americas. I admire this organization and website for their endless work to preserve and maintain language, culture, identity, and overall the well-being of Indians of the Americans.

http://www.native-languages.org/languages.htm

Here is the link to Native Languages of the Americas website. It is a simple site, yet very valuable for Native American Indians of the Americas; just take a quick look to see the amount of work that went into making this site, it is amazing. I hope the link shows up when I post this.

Blog 2: deadline

Has passed.

Godoy and others

I think that it is interesting to see the effects of a market economy on indigenous peoples, especially with Hawai’i’s being a product of a market economy. Godoy and others write of how indigenous people “hold most of the world’s traditional knowledge,” and how they are now entering the “radar screen of policy makers.” People are starting to recognize that it is the traditional knowledge that needs to be looked at more seriously. They look at the effects of market on renewable resources and say “increasing integration into the market and the population pressure induce indigenous peoples to degrade renewable resources.” People are seeing the benefits (monetary, health etc.) of this new market economy and abandon their traditional knowledge systems in order to “progress” the problem is progress on whose scale? “ Market penetration changes the way indigenous peoples use natural resources.” Right on the money, in old Hawai’i our kupuna took care of the ‘aina and in return the ‘aina took care of the kupuna, when the “market economy” arrived on floating islands this new concept changed the importance of that traditional knowledge system and in return depleted that natural resource(sandalwood).I think that this is a good example of market economy being imposed on a people and them abandoning their traditional knowledge systems to accommodate and acculturate to a new concept. By looking to the past we can help shape the future not just Hawai‘i’s future but the future of other indigenous peoples and their land.

 “Integration into the market could increase monetary income and consumption of goods and services, including health care(Alkin et al. 1985) and food.” I noticed that many of the positives to integrating market economies all include “may”. I think it important to look at past studies or past events/implementations such as the comparison I’ve made with  Hawai’i in finding new ways to integrate a healthy market economy allowing the indigenous people of that place to utilize their traditional knowledge systems in creating a balanced and sustainable economy.

Aloha mai kākou,
I trust this post has found you all in good health. "Indigenous Economies",  I agree with Corytaum. As an Indigenous peoples having lost their land, WE ourselves are being forced to deal with both the loss of our indigenous frame of minds AND the struggle to learn and function in another society. For me personally, living with the fruits of what happen 100's of years ago is bringing me to question my own ability to remain indigenous today. The system setup by the haole man, has pushed Indigenous peoples (our Kupuna) into the norm of society and confused them as to exactly what their place is IN society. Our kūpuna have come from long lines of kānaka that value genealogies, knowing this as a kanaka today, How does this help me? This is what I struggle with now. I love and value the ʻIke of our kūpuna, but is it really worth all that hassle. Do I really need to subject myself to the cruelty of a system that clearly doesnʻt share the consideration to allow a people the right to maintain their own form of economy.

Kanakas during the monarchy time have built, wrote, farmed, entertained, and many more. The people worked and lived a pretty comfortable life. They were kānaka that were able to juggle the two: the change in society & the maintenance of their traditions. Fathers would go to work while mothers stay home to take care of the keiki. Family was important and providing for them was not a choice, but your responsibility. The values in an old Hawaiian household are completely being changed in some Hawaiian households today. Families have completely cut off all ties with other family members and ʻohana isnʻt what it used to be.

Today, I feel a lot of us have lost the ability to think like that. I blame the change in society. Over many years of change, the values of kānakas have changed. We continue on in a society that constantly allows us to abandon our traditions.

But still, we move forward. The obvious things of a culture have disappeared from us (such as land, etc.), but there still remains something within us, pulling us back to the past. Though some may say that there is no value in thinking as our kūpuna did, there are many that say that our kūpuna thought in the most strategic of ways.

Our kūpuna knew exactly what was happening to them, and understood clearly what they needed to do in order to keep the traditions of the past. They understood the need of that balance in ones self. Colonization starts from within, and when "inside" starts to believe it, you become it. Our kūpuna continued living in both the past and the present, passing down as much ʻike as they could to the next generation. They looked to the past to those who have come before them for the answers. I loved their understanding that they couldn't do it all on their own. They ADD on to the work of their ancestors, although little bits at a time, they knew that in the end, it will be great. And they continue on these works by passing them on to their keiki. Imagine someones lifetime work, and THEN imagine many LIFETIMEʻS of works. Western thinking focuses on only ONE persons works, Hawaiians focus on many peoples works. Then reiterating the value of knowing your genealogy as well as that of those who are around you, to understand your kuleana.

Kānaka understanding this need in change today, go through the struggles to try and bring this way of thinking back. They have heard the stories of their kūpuna, and they understand their responsibilities. Although feelings of loss go through my body, I take peace in knowing that its going to get better. Hawaiian families WILL continue on, and they WILL succeed in whatever it is they put their mind to. That is one thing our kūpuna has given us. The ability to be so mind strong that nothing can stand in our way. Regardless of the many struggles they go through, they still continue, passing the knowledge down to their keiki and so on.

This is why I think it would be cool to listen to guest speakers that can share personal accounts just like this with us, such as the Hawaiian Nation group. I think it would be interesting to know how they are able to hold title as a "Hawaiian National" by being in that group. If they are a 501c, what exactly is it that allows them to do what they are doing? (Occupying Iolani Palace, maintaing acres out in Waimānalo, waiving all rights to U.S. citizenship...) What kind of organization are they? How do THEY sustain themselves (being an indigenous peoples in a now days society) today? Did they themselves attend school to acquire certain job skills? Are they qualified in anyway to do this on their own? and if they are, what value system do they follow? and how is it, dealing with the juggle of both societies?

Mahalo no ka hoʻolohe ʻana mai, hope I didn't go too far off track!

Ke aloha nui,
Punahele Kealanahele-Querubin