Reaction

Our guest speaker on Sept 22nd shared his personal experiences which led him to becoming an advocate for Kahoolawe. As in so many other kanaka from that generation, caught up in the ideology of the American dream, he managed to break away from it, and walk native. He asked why so many of us are in school rather than living and following our cultural practices. Why are we spending four to ten years in the university, wanting to obtain BA, MA or PhD degrees? I've had to absorb this, toss this around in my head for a few days before actually coming up with an answer. For me, much of the Hawaiian history we are learning today is a result of other kanaka who have graduated from the university level, challenged previous historical accounts on what happened to kanaka pre and post 1893, and have established themselves as credible sources by obtaining the palapala and doing the research. Without these degrees, how can we be taken seriously? Granted we may not all agree on certain topics, but a healthy exchange of ideas allows us to think critically enough to make up our own minds and not rely on having it done for us by someone else. Teaching Land & Sovereignty - A Revised View summed it best for me: There is a need for curriculum materials addressing Hawaiian history because previous accounts have been manipulated and erroneous. I believe that being a kanaka student in this day and age is empowering because it's allowing me to rid the shame. While schooling is taking away most of my free time, it doesn't strip me of practicing what I love best...hula, and eventually when my palapala is in hand, I will return to papa hula and continue the learning there as well.