Tevita Kaili, Associate Professor of BYU-Hawaii, was able to participate in the rally. “I attended with the identity of a native Oceanian. I am not native to Hawaii but to the region. I am a Tongan and as an indigenous person, it is my responsibility to fight for the indigenous right for the environment, food, and all other kinds of issue.”
Kaili explained the purpose of the native activists was to call for a respectful co-existing environment. “Indigenous people (Hawaiians) are asking for a way to be able to live peacefully together with the settlers (Westerners). They want to compromise the land, the language, and the environment. They feel like the settlers are destroying the land by urbanization.”
“It
is not a matter of race,” said Kaili. “The activists were calling for self
determination. Native Hawaiians want to be independent, maybe in the sense of
politics or maybe have a native government. They want to be de-colonized [from
Americanization],” Kaili said.
Kaili said the movement in Hawaii themed differently from the other Idle No More
movement in North America or Euro. He said,
“The local theme in Hawaii was specifically
toward the nation of Hawaii.
There is problem such as the GMF. Big companies want to change the gene of taro
and taro means something special to the Hawaiian, so they are upset.”
He also expressed he
experienced a very peaceful rally. “Most indigenous people believe peaceful
demonstration is the way to get the message to the world…. Although some
Hawaiians believe to forget about the past and move on, there should be some
sort of justice after forgiveness.”
“I think we are moving
there. The coalition between the indigenous and non-indigenous is coming
together,” said Kaili. “There is a lot of settlers support the indigenous
activities. The Idle No Move movement is getting bigger and devise. It is
powerful. Lots of people are working together to create coalition. I guess a
lot of people realize what is good for the indigenous is also good for the
others, for example, saving the water, environment, and human right.”
Ikaika Wright, a native Hawaiian and a Hawaiian
Studies sophomore, described the necessity of this rally with a quote from
Vandana Shiva (Indian philosopher and environment activist), “In the making of
your own food, is the making of freedom”.
“We, as the people of Hawaii, are in a very unstable time with our
continued dependence on outside support for the basic necessities of life,”
said Wright. “That compounded upon the breakdown of our communities through
development, which is further crippling any hope of us to create a healthy,
sustainable way of life.”
Wright continued, “I think it is important
people come together and take control of our resources, and not allow their use
to be dictated by big business, which has continued to marginalize the needs of
the people here for their own economic interest and muscle their way around
government.”
After attending the
rally, Ben Schmidt, a senior communication from Calif., said he had a better understanding
about Hawaiian culture and the current issues that they face. “I learned that
GMOs aren't necessarily in favor of the local people. Locals rather produce
their own food and live off the land like they have in the past.”
Idle No More (INM) is a
growing indigenous rights movement around the world. INM urges local government
to “repeal all legislation which violates treaties, indigenous sovereignty and
subsequently environmental protections of land and water”, according to the
official website.
On Jan. 17, 1893, the Hawaii’s monarchy and Queen Liliuokalani
were overthrown by the American-backed Business men and western missionaries. The
kingdom of Hawaii
was led to the dissolving and later on became the 50th state of the United State,
according to the New York Times.
