Kalohe Kapu was standing on the shoreline, carrying the Hawaiian flag, as he watched the paddle-out begin Sunday at Pine Trees on Hanalei Bay.
Then, he heard cries from those in the va‘a carrying kupuna and others. They were calling for a Hawaiian flag.
Without hesitation, Kapu waded out into the chest-deep water, made his way to the double-hulled canoe, and presented the flag as many offered thanks.
He returned to shore with a big smile.
“When the kupunas ask, you give,” he said.
About 300 people turned out on a sunny day for the protocol and paddle-out that followed in support of those standing against the Thirty Meter Telescope on Mauna Kea.
It was a time for prayer, chant, dance, song and coming together, “mauka to makai,” for a common cause.
Auntie Louise Sausen was pleased with what she saw and heard. She loved how everyone was there with hearts for Mauna Kea.
“If I die tonight, I’m happy,” she said.
Many wore red shirts that said, “See You on the Mauna.” A sign read: “Kapu Aloha Is: Truth. Sacred. Inclusive. Righteous Action. Aloha Aina. Aloha Kai. Aloha Wai. A Philosophy For Life.”
A few hundred on shore watched the paddle-out about a hundred yards away on calm waters as those on surfboards formed a circle around the va‘a. Pule and oli could be heard.
Mainei Kinimaka said the protocol was the same as that carried out on Mauna Kea at sunrise, noon and evening, and it was being done on all the islands at the same time Sunday.
The paddle-out united paddlers, swimmers, divers, surfers and all who came out. There was no division, no focus on self.
“Our ancestors didn’t think of Hawaii as just the Eastside people should care about Eastside things, just the people from Hawaii Island should care about Hawaii Island things,” she said. “They thought of everything in a sense from mauka to makai.”
Peleke Flores, who led the paddle-out, said while it was emotional to see kupuna being arrested when the protests began on Mauna Kea, a lot of good has happened since.
“Our people are awakening,” he said.
Hawane Rios, a singer who has led TMT protesters on Mauna Kea, delivered a passionate talk to the crowd.
“It is so beautiful to be here with all of you today, mauka to makai, Hawaii Island to Kauai. Truly moved to be standing with you in intention, prayer and ceremony,” she said.
Rios said everyone is connected to the aina.
“If you’re not Hawaiian, but live here, or you’re a visitor and have drank of this water or eaten of the food of this land, you have the same responsibility as all of us to care and to stand up and show up and to speak up for this place that loves all of us, that feeds all of us,” she said.
Mauna Kea, Rios said, “is calling to the hearts of so many people around the world right now.”
“Our ancestors teach us that we can’t just care about ourselves at this time,” she said. “Our children and the children after them, they will be drinking of the water that we protect, the water that we care for. So we’re not just standing for right now. We’re standing for the next generations, because they matter. What kind of earth are we leaving them?” Rios asked.
She emphasized there must be unity.
“No matter our skin color or background, we all are coming together,” she added.
She called for people to make “a firm commitment to what is pono, to what is just, to what is true,” Rios said.
“What is happening to our home and the world is terrifying sometimes,” she said. “It’s sad to see the Amazon on fire. It’s not just sad. It’s not just that. People deliberately started those fires out of ignorance and greed. It’s devastating.”
It’s OK to be mad, to feel rage at what is happening, she said, but it must be controlled.
“If we can feel that with reverence, it changes the way we move in the world,” Rios said. “If we can feel every single one of these emotions, let our mana and our strength embrace us at the same time, we can learn how to stand with discipline.”
“Our kapu aloha is our safety,” she said.
Rios said there has long been opposition to the telescopes on Mauna Kea, “from the 1960s until now, someone was always saying ‘no.’ This is not new. Now the world is saying ‘no’ with us. How powerful is that?” she said as the crowd applauded.
Kumu hula Kehaulani Kekua taught people some of the chants before the ceremony began, and was a leader of the gathering.
“What’s exciting about today is the surfing community, and really the community at large, has come together,” she said.
The same chants were done in the same order with the same focus as on the other islands, to raise consciousness and awareness, she said.
Kekua said she was feeling “awesome” that the protocol and paddle-out did just that.
“I’m very happy to see the unity and the solidarity with our people and the awakening of the consciousness of just the importance of the environment, of everything,” she said.
This is nonsense. I bet at least as many Hawaiians are FOR the TMT as against, but the Garden Island and other news organs, owned and run by whites, try to curry favor with the restless natives by coming down on their side. This particular article is about ten times more nauseating in that regard. Note the virtue-signaling of couching the issue in terms of ‘greed’. Brah, it’s not greed to want to feed your family with a decent job! What’s the alternative? Living on the beach and subsisting on fish, poi and welfare? The TMT at least would produce jobs. Not that any of the people protesting are interested in anything so crass as actually working for a living, not when they have a ‘sacred’ mountain where they can seize the literal, but no less bogus, high moral ground. The whole issue is dripping with BS and hypocrisy, start to finish.
I’d be a lot more likely to agree with that post without the racism parts.
And there you have it from “Hitch”: the all-purpose leftwing shutdown of any intelligent discussion by reducing it to race. I’m sorry, Hitch, but your race card has been declined. Do you have another form of argument?
Actually, I was agreeing with what you said, just not how you said it. The race card is what YOU played. It’s amazing how you were your own argument. Calling me leftwing? What, other than not liking racism, makes you think that? Where was I arguing? Where was your “intelligent discussion”?
Racist.
Aloha Aina, Aloha Kai, Aloha Wai. How about adding “Aloha Hoku?”
“Our ancestors teach us that we can’t just care about ourselves at this time” is a great quote IN FAVOR of building the TMT … if it was even true.
There is so much disinformation being spread here … Hawaiian history, culture, religion … it is all being magically transformed into something that it never was. Historically Hawaiians were not a united people; the islands fought wars against each other. So much for that unity argument. “Mauna Kea is a place of worship.” Right. “TMT will ruin our food and water supply.” Right. “TMT is just like the greed burning down the Amazon rain forest.” Right.
What the article failed to mention was that a herd of unicorns were spotted galloping down the beach while multicolored triple rainbows appeared across the sky.
The vast majority of Hawaiians support this protest of greed, power lust and down right oppression of native Hawaiians, their culture which is prostituted for profit and the illegal State as part of its agreement for Statehood accepted its responsibility from the Federal government to address the issues of displaced Hawaiians from the illegal take over of their government.
The State has failed with more than just neglience, but designed murder and genocide of Hawaiians “approving” telescopes to be built on lands set aside for the benefit of Hawaiians. They had no jurisdiction in such approval. So in essence the State is the criminal, in addition of not paying for over 60 years to the DHHL.
Hawaiians should seek redress from the Federal courts not the corrupt State as it proves time and time again its total disregard to human rights.
Mean while Hawaiians should fully reject the Western perverted Christian religion, which is basically just another tool for manipulation and control. Instead Hawaiians should revert back to their ancestor ways of invoking the dark forces of their past Kahunas against those who persecute them. The Christian religion is a fantasy and has no power over Kahunas, that is the reason why the Vatican so feared the Kahunas and the reason why they sent over Father Damien to stamp it out.
Hawaiians will never receive justice so long as the State has its crony judges and lawyers to work against you. But when unfortunate things start occurring, it is their fault for invoking such reactions.
Somebody put this garrulous windbag to bed. He just says the same nonsense everytime.
If you all care of the aina. Go out with your hoes, weed wackers, machete, trash bags, and whatever other tools you might need. And help the County clean up the shoulders of the highway, around signs, telephone/electric post, and guardrails with your tools. Then go help clean up the streams, ditches, and rivers. If that’s not enough, “go and help cleanup the public parks, restrooms, and beaches!”
ceedawn@gmail.com WOW! There is a lot of truth in all of these comments; amazing.
Good for the whites who approve of the statements that are often censored to promote the continuation of their fellow white racist descendants of the barbarian savages who stole and murdered native peoples throughout the world including Hawaiians.
Is it not a fact the when Hawaiians ruled the own island nation, that they were the most educated and self sufficient healthy race amongst even the most Westernized nations? There was no homelessness nor massive medical issues as what is present today when they were forcefully removed from their independence, not just from whites, but also from the equally racist descendants of the Japanese contract sugar immigrants, who overstayed their 3 year contracts and became a horde of self interest racists who now control most political agendas, which is basically to promote themselves at the expense of Hawaiians.
You can verify such racist policies as evidenced by that racist Japanese former governor George Ariyoshi who appointed ONLY those of Japanese blood, often his own family, friends and cronies to all State government heads. Then of course the overwhelming highly bias ratio of 67% of State workers that are of Japanese race although they represent only 17% of Hawaii’s total population, a whooping 290% representation!
Now you cannot say this statistic is some freak event of nature, but a carefully designed racist policy, So when I hear liberal mouth piece Hirano speak about how the whites discriminated against her race and keep trying to push that self-pity agendas, why are she not looking in the mirror and see what her ancestors and descendants did and continue to do against Hawaiians.
The present governor, another descendant of the same illegal Japanese immigrants, sent over police from Oahu to the Big Island to harass native Hawaiians who have a legal basis for being there since the lands where the telescopes sit on belong to the DHHL.
Yet if you look at one of the most corrupt DLNR, a State agency of the Kaua’i district of which consists of former State legislatures, now retired and double dipping, just happen to be of the same descendants of Japanese illegal immigrants have secured vast tracts of DLNR lands of which they only pay $1 a year leases and making a fortune subleasing it the same way the State is doing to TMT for $17 million!
It is a scam of huge profits, while Hawaiians keep dying waiting for some measly home lots, the Japanese are throwing Hawaiians under the bus since Statehood of 1959. I hope Trump sees this message and respond to Mazie Hirano’s attempt to impeach him.