 Happy Aloha Friday. Welcome to Perspectives on Global Justice, and this is your host Beatrice Contelmo. We live in an elusive paradise. This morning, the state of Hawaii made national news again when our attorney general and several human rights advocates and activists gave a joy press conference. Regarding the US Supreme Court's decision to let portions of Trump administration's Muslim tribal ban go into effect, while the debate and the constitutionality of the ban as a whole. Here in the state of Aloha, we feel it's our kuleana to continue to fight until the Muslim tribal ban is stopped. We are the Aloha state, after all. And if there's one thing Hawaiian culture is well known for and admired, it's for its spirit of justice, freedom, and kindness. We believe that our diversity, not only as a state, but across the globe, is what makes us stronger and wholesome. Not always paradise in the state of Hawaii. We have major social justice issues. Take, for instance, the health and wellness of our native Hawaiian women and girls. We still have a long ways to go. Today, we have a very special guest, Renuka De Silva. She is from Sri Lanka, had quite a few years detour in Alberta, Canada, and then moved to Hawaii. So she's a citizen of the world. And she's a PhD student at the University of North Dakota. She focuses on the marginalization of native and indigenous women from various diasporas of Hawaii. And she will help us better understand how engendering descriptions during colonization times left this legacy that still impact native Hawaiian women and children. And note, welcome to our show, darling. Thank you so much for having me. Well, thank you. So where are you based these days, as far as residence? OK, so these days, I'm in North Dakota, pursuing my PhD in educational foundations. I was born in Sri Lanka. I think you mentioned sort of the other way around. But I was born in Sri Lanka, but left Sri Lanka when I was 12, because my parents were traveling, and my dad was doing his PhD from UCLA to the University of Hawaii, these islands. This is going back, way back. And then you're only 29. You can't be that way back. Absolutely, absolutely. Cannot disagree with that. But yes, so from Hawaii, we went to Africa. And from Africa, I had a choice of going to university anywhere around the world. And I chose Canada. So I have been in Canada since 1979. I'm still a citizen of Canada. Then I came back to Hawaii to do my master's in educational foundations, then decided to go to North Dakota to do educational foundations and research. And the Aloha is bringing me back to the state of Hawaii to do my work in women's issues. So tell me a little bit about your time in studies here in Hawaii. I know you've been here for a little while. You went to a couple of conferences and doing fascinating group studies with women. That's what it's all about. So I, as I mentioned, I'm doing my research work regarding women, native Hawaiian indigenous women and women from various deaths for us who may have been here. I mean, their families for several generations who consider themselves Hawaiian. And so what I'm doing is talking to them and trying to understand their understanding of health and well-being. And it's fascinating. The stories that I hear, mainly because when we think of health and well-being, you're thinking, oh, are they eating the right food? How are they managing the food systems really? What's coming out is health and well-being is the wellness of Mother Earth. So it's women and Earth and the food sustainability interactive and giving and take that which gives is returned. So looking after, I'm making it very broad, but looking after our Earth gives us back. So there's not just the tangible aspects of food and living, but then there's the spiritual aspect as well, which is very, very interesting. Absolutely. And it's also really interesting to see how Western cultures measure wellness in health. From a public health perspective. And yet, even though that's important from an indigenous perspective, I think that part of sustainability and interconnectedness with nature is really what promotes and sustains health. So this is what you're finding out here. Well, the thing is the real system of living close to the land, living with the land really changed with the colonization. And this is not just in Hawaii in other parts of the world as well, but because I'm focusing more here. So what has happened is when the very first people landed, the first came in, they saw people and their lifestyles as something that's disorganized, that didn't fit into their scope of measurement, in a sense. And efficiency. Well, I mean, it was more of a capitalistic view of doing things, right? So they didn't understand that. And they call these people savages. I mean, this is throughout the history. So let's bring in the religion. Let's bring in order. Let's bring in all these things that they are used to seeing and measuring people. We call it bold view theory. That part of it is if these ways of living didn't fit into their ways of thinking and being, well, then they're primitive. So you've got artists like Paul Gauguin. I mean, he was mostly in Tahiti, French Polynesia, where he started painting of this primitive life, this exotic life, the elusive paradise, which wasn't a part of his life, but wanted to bring this to the European views, rather, view. So that's not what it was. I mean, if you look at even in his paintings, I mean, there were so many things that happened that was not nice for the native Hawaiians or the native Haitians, I should say. But there were so many other things that if it didn't fit into the European, Eurocentric way of thinking and being, well, then they're below them. So let's assimilate them. Let's inculturate them so that they look and speak like us, be like us, follow and work like us, except they're below us. So it broke up this whole indigenous or local way of looking at the beauty, the respect, the many gods that they worship. That made sense within their life, was all broken down and was pulled apart to, well, you've got the guns and all of those other things coming in with the colonization. So they were sort of dissembled. So help our viewers understand the meaning of the word of re-engendering, because it's quite a tongue twister there. Many people have looked hard at that outside academia. So if you look at, I'm learning this as well. I mean, thankfully to the women whom I have been interviewing, this amazing native Hawaiian and indigenous cultures have had women side by side with men and participating in life, in rituals, in ceremonies, in life, basically. So they were equal in many ways. But of course, European wasn't that. So when you talk about engendering, and that is OK, a woman does this, a man does that. And it kind of fitted really into the scope of things, because what the colonies brought to us was very much moving away from agrarian culture into a more capitalistic, money-producing cash crops. So you couldn't have everybody going there. So farming had to go out. You had to produce, say, coffee, for example. I mean, this produced cash for more travels for the colonizers, bringing in money, taking it back home, and bringing in more people and turning in the land for other cash crops, like pineapple, and you've got your sugarcane. So that happened here as well. So when these patterns get introduced, the family gets broken down. So then it becomes mostly you start assigning roles within family structures. And then those families have to answer to whoever who's supervising them, who's above them. And usually, it was the colonizer. And that is completely your centric feminist structure. You speak a different language. Your native Hawaiian language is pretty well diminished. Now, another thing I've learned from these ladies that I've interviewed is that they weren't allowed to tell their stories. It was an oral tradition. They weren't allowed to tell the stories, because stories give life, resonance, birth to the story that it carries through. And you learn about the ways of the land. You learn about fish ponds and the lui patches. And how the traditions, that is not conducive to the European way of thinking. You've got to get rid of all this because so if you go back several generations, you'll find that the grandparents had no stories. Grandma had no stories. Great-grandma had no stories. Why? Because they were stopped from telling stories. So it's not that they were not able to tell stories because they weren't there. It was the suppression. Suppression and oppression. Yes, exactly. They were so that they wanted to make sure. They meaning, I have to correct myself when I say they. So the colonizes, for example, it's a process of assimilation because this has happened throughout the world, not just here. But since I'm concentrating my work on here, so that's why I'm referring to it. It didn't help them to know these stories because you know what? That sets the native Hawaiians in this case up for rebellion. You don't want any of that. You've got to clean them up. Clean their mindset. Bring them over to the English way of thinking or the French way of thinking, whoever the colonizes. So that way you lose. You lose so much of the culture. And the beauty of all of this is that now the women are gathering again to talk about the cultures, take pride in the cultures, take the land that is theirs. Do you know in the Hawaiian, among the Hawaiian, this is their country. This is no state. This is their country. And it's been occupied. So this is very interesting. Which is true. Even though we are not a state and there is the whole part of militarization and how we are not really recognized as a kingdom, I think for Native Hawaiians, especially after Native Hawaiian revival, I think in the hearts of many, many women, this is their kingdom. It was a kingdom. There were several kingdoms. I mean, it was. What happened was an illegal takeover. You know that. Yeah, it's very true. So we're going to take a break very shortly. And we're going to dive right in into the second segment of our program. And we're going to talk more about your research and what you hope to accomplish with it. Because I know you have grand plans for it. I have plans of coming back. So we're going to take a quick break and we'll be right back. My victory was finding the strength to be a champion. My victory is having a job I can be proud of. At DAV, we help veterans get the benefits they've earned. My victory was finishing my education. My victory was getting help to put our lives back together. DAV provides veterans with a lifetime of support. My victory is being there for my family. Help us support more victories for veterans. Go to dav.org. Aloha. My name is Raya Salter. And I am the host of Power Up Hawaii, which you can see live from 1 to 130 every Tuesday at thinktechhawaii.com and then later on YouTube. I am an energy attorney, clean energy advocate, and community outreach specialist. And on Power Up Hawaii, we come together to talk about how can Hawaii walk towards a clean, renewable, and just energy future. To do that, we talk to stakeholders all over the spectrum from clean energy technology folks to community groups, to politicians, to regulators, to the utility. So please join us Tuesdays at 1 o'clock for Power Up Hawaii. Let's start again. Welcome to Perspectives on Global Justice. This is your host Beatriz Cantama. And we are here with our wonderful guest, Renuka Silva. So Renuka, we were talking about your studies and what you're finding. It is reclaiming not only of cultural identity and pride among women of all ages in Native Hawaiian and entire diaspora region that you're covering. But one question I have for you is with colonization and the consistent effort to erase the memory of local people's culture through erasing of the language of traditions, during that period of time, how did Native Hawaiian history was documented since it was oral history? How do you base some of those early oral traditions in your research? OK, so there are still stories that families have. And it's only now that these ladies, these families, have found the strength, I would say, to bring out and be proud of it. Because remember, they're coming from a background where if you talked about your identities or that your native Hawaiian, it wasn't something to be proud of. So there was a time period where these people were forced to identify with other cultures. And then the Europeans, when the Europeans were here and also the researchers, they documented everything from their lands. So it's difficult. But I think there's still finding stories and chance and bringing back the aloha, bringing back the pride and talking about and reviving the fish ponds, the loypacches which I alluded to before. Because these are the transformational, but there's a long way to go because one of the reasons is that we need to get the young children involved to bring that back. The schools need to be involved, to take field trips, take them out, show them. And to include that into curriculum. And you know what, being a teacher, I'm a former teacher from York Region District School Board in Toronto, Canada, Ontario, you always think, oh, curriculum, I mean, it has to fit into the curriculum. No, curriculum is this wide source. You can bring in any part of critical thinking and asking the children, giving them space to develop sometimes their own curriculum, the interest, because you know what, kids are pick tanks themselves. They're brilliant minds. They know a lot more than what we give them credit for. They have questions. And it's unfortunate this curriculum business sometimes put a stop to these questions. And no, that shouldn't, you should open their minds up, ask them, hey, you know, what are your interests? How could we, so when you open up questions that way and when you allow the students to critically think and engage, then wonderful things happen. Absolutely, I think also, going a little bit off the tension but still connected with your book and the intention of what you're doing, is that you can't even start to have the conversations about asking, what do people want to do in their learning environment if they don't learn a real history. And I feel that to these days, you know, that Hawaiian history or history of indigenous people across the globe is really not quite emphasized and taught in a proper manner, at least not in this country. And I'm not seeing much of that, you know, in Hawaii. I mean, there has been efforts, but it's still a very Eurocentric and I think in Hawaii culture, there's still a very heavy Japanese influence in the curriculum structure. So like even for a native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander child, sometimes it's really harder to even relate or to feel that moment of pride and contribution, you know, in your old land, in your old domain, because the references there are being made, just not mentioned, those oral traditions, the beauty, the majestic sides of, what is it, what is it all about to be long to an indigenous root and to be Oceania and to be connected that way? So this is where I think the DOE needs to expand and open, step out of these boxes and really work for the children. I mean, we're in an era of standardized testing and all of these other things. I mean, children have different ways of learning just because, and the arts. I mean, the first thing that gets cut, it's arts, but arts are very, very important. It teaches you compassion, it teaches you creativity, it teaches you to listen and to work and collaboration. So when you take that away from children and you sort of focus them in the direction maps and language are very important, but kids cannot just learn in vacuums of these little pods. They need the outsources, they need to be outside, outdoor education, learning about the plants and the ocean and the importance of coral. Hawaii's a perfect place for that, but I also understand that you have to have special permits and all of that. I mean, this is unfortunately part of the constraints that schools have. So there's hope for more equity and diversity, not only in curriculum development, yes. And lucky for us, there are beautiful professionals like yourself that can bring not only that light, but also the guidance to be able to help us refine current structures in curriculum development so that we can really... Well, let's see, I think coming back to... I really do feel that I belong here because I mean, I grew up here and I've traveled around the world, come here, but I'm not coming here to really say, oh, this is where we went wrong and this is who they are, but to really bring back the Aloha and to say, these are the things that we want to do and to give some sort of a voice and to work with the women who know their land better, who really have pride in their own land. So I'm just an outsource coming into be a part, be a collaborator and be really proud of the land. Absolutely, I feel many ways, our roles as human beings is to be bridges and to help with that connection and it will be the many voices that will make that shift happen. And so back to your work. I know that you have spent a great amount of your academic life studying marginalization and how the re-gendering legacy in colonial times is still impacting women and young girls, not only native Hawaii, but in indigenous culture. So my question to you is in the context of what you're doing, what are you seeing as the trends of marginalization? So how is that reflected in today's culture? What is your hope to shift that? Well, when we look at even modern women, educated women, who are paid less for the same job as men would do, in a way we have allowed that to happen throughout. I think there needs to be more voices of women supporting other women throughout. I mean, this is throughout the world, more so in the western world than really the Asian, you know, stream. But I think we've allowed that. I think we need to take a more active, more proactive, but not in a way to attack but to create more awareness and to stand up for those. And the women need to take a better stand and say, no, I don't like that, or yes, I will and follow that through. Because a lot of the times I know, I mean, they're not credited with the work that they do in the families or with wearing children and all of that. But I think there needs to be more support from women for women. That is when doors open. That is when change happens. That is when a shift happens. But if you stand back and say, well, you know, they'll do it, I don't have time, well, then that has been the legacy in a sense. But we need to change that. We need to change the perspective. So perhaps more civic engagement in the form of advocacy, in education, collaborative partnerships, which is really very indigenous, like nothing is done in that structure of Hayaki that we are known for. If you talk about Native Hawaiian, I mean, they fought like, you know, warrior princesses, warrior women, warriors, they fought along with the men. Like, I mean, it was great culture here. It was great. So it's sad that that was all broken down, but it was broken down. That was the only way that these people could be ruled over by and changed. So I think women, I think all over the world, but if we are to create change, women need to come together and be supportive of each other and talk about, you know, what are the shifts and why are we doing it? We're doing it for us, for our children, for our families, for the beauty of the land, you know, so that we can feed everybody, not some people. You know, in the days of the past, there was no starvation on the island. Homelessness. Homelessness. All the connectedness. I mean, these are all modern problems. What about the modernization, you know, unfortunately? Yeah, and who was land that does not serve us for our environment can be on land as well. And on that note, I can't believe how quickly our show came to an end, but it's not an end. It's a hiatus. I hope to have you many more times with us so our viewers can continue to learn more about your findings in our ways that we can all co-create and collaborate to continue to highlight the beauty and the richness and the depth of Indigenous peoples' culture and wisdom. So thank you so very much for being here. Thank you for having me. I said that we were going to do our own together, so would you like to hold my hand? Yes. We're going to leave our viewers with a... ...own. So this concludes our Perspectives of Global Justice program for today. And until next Friday, ahue hao.