 Hawaii is my mainland. In the next coming weeks, we will be having some guest hosts on this show. So come back on Fridays and you'll be treated to guests from mostly aligned with the Sierra Club. The palace staircase here, this past Saturday, or July 4, sorry, not Saturday, there was a historical re-enactment and several people from think-check Hawaii were involved in this production. It has to do with a holiday called Lahu Ihoiea. And Lahu Ihoiea was celebrated first in the 1840s as the kingdom sovereignty was restored after a brief overthrow by a overzealous British guy named Lord Admiral George Pollet. And it's now called the Pollet Affair. But this event was really critical because it changed the way Hawaii thought of itself and people outside of Hawaii thought of itself. It reaffirmed on the international scene Hawaii sovereignty. And since 1985, it has been celebrated here largely through the efforts initially anyway of Dr. Kikuni Blaisdale. And with me today is a young man who carries this torch for Dr. Kikuni Blaisdale along with a whole lot of other people in my Winchester. He's one of the principal organizers of the new Lahu Ihoiea, which now encompasses an amazing just all kinds of events throughout the month of July. So welcome, Emi. Thank you. Oh, it was so exciting on the fourth to see how you were able to really, as you say, galvanize with Aloha, the crowd that was there at the palace. Matt, like you said, there was a tremendous turnout for the fourth of July reenactment, a very important part of our history, our collective history. We've always felt that Lahu Ihoiea, since its establishment, that education, the sharing of our stories is important for contextualizing a lot of who we call a lot of the confusion that really was systemic over our people and was institutionalized throughout the schools. So we're given a tremendous opportunity to celebrate Lahu Ihoiea with strong leaders throughout the community. Let's have a picture of, let's see, the guy who instigated all of this, the Lord George Paulette, to give it some context. Oh, well, we don't have him. There he is. Okay. So this guy, tell us a story. This story is no secret. It can be found on many texts, but Lord George Paulette, as he were, was a minister for the British Crown, serving Queen Victoria at the time. He had certain representatives from Britain, I'm mad by the name of Richard Charlton, who was at least a bit of land from the Crown when his lease was up. There's a bit of disagreement between himself and the King about where that land should go. Lord George Paulette sort of became that military force that was able to affix Great Britain's weapons directly at Honolulu and threaten Kauikewile and the kingdom with over 10 demands and for five months, Hawaii was occupied and was run by the British specifically through Lord George Paulette. All Hawaii's flags at that point were taken down. The story say that they were all burned and was replaced with the Union Jack for five months. Now, once Queen Victoria, I should say, received a letter about the incident that had gone on. She immediately sent a man by the name of Admiral Richard Darden Thomas. Admiral Thomas became very famous for his role in the ceremonial hoi hoi, or the give-back of Hawaii's effective control, effective sovereignty, and in so doing, Kauikewile honored Admiral Thomas by naming the first public park in the kingdom of Hawaii after Admiral Thomas. We know it as Thomas Square and Thomas Square exists as a national monument and these are some of the histories that we begin to uncover when we continue to tell the story over and over again. It's a fabulous, it's a fabulous event in the context of all of the kingdom. This is like one big event that is really, everybody can get behind. It was the writing of a clear wrong. So for the reenactment, we had several people from the historical there played by our very own Jay Fidel from Think Tech, Hawaii. He was one of the guys and Peter of Carlisle and it was a wonderful way to, it's my favorite way to learn history is that kind of reenactment. And then afterwards, there was a gathering which you led and a sort of a call to unity amongst those of us gathered there, which I thought was really powerful. And you talked about some events that are part of this la hoi hoi aya. So that's really what I want to hear some more about. And this is all leading up to an event that you're having on the 30th, right? That's correct. First and foremost, I would like to give mahalo and praise to Marsha Joyner, to the net crews for Pokolainui for getting all these things together and for everybody who was behind the scene who contributed to making it happen. Because this is la hoi hoi aya is not just a commemoration of our history, but it's also a celebration of our capacity and for our people to be able to come in and share their passions, share their knowledge. It makes us all stronger. So in 2005, when Dr. Kekuni Blaisdell had sort of passed on responsibility of la hoi hoi to a new generation by being one of them, one of our goals was to really direct the celebration of la hoi hoi towards education and celebration. And to really inspire, activate and like you say, galvanize our communities to hui, you know, to gather, to come together strong. So 10 years ago, we wrote out a 10-year plan. Wow. Yeah. And in that 10-year plan, it included expansion of la hoi hoi into our communities. It included developing partnerships with different people who are action-oriented and goal-getters and doers. It was to engage about our audience rather than speak to the people who already agree with the discourse at hand. We understood that it could be an opportunity for us to expand accessibility to a wider audience, because this is not just the burden of kanaka mauli. It's the burden of Hawaii, and it includes the multi-ethnic people of it, including the people who call Hawaii their home today. In that process, we started slow and we began to develop certain relationships with people who have worked with already. For example, this month, we already had, I believe, three of our events go on. The first being July 1st, we had in coordination with halau kumana new century public charter school, of which I'm a teacher. We had a return of a stream cleanup that we invited whomever could make it, and we had about 60 to 70 people show up. Yeah, it was a really good response, and we cleared out much more than I had anticipated when we were supposed to start. The second day at Kaniakupu-Pu, which is a very important national site as well, as one of the summer residents of Kaui Keoli, also rich housed and hosted the largest celebration of la hoi hoi, where there was over 10,000 people in attendance, up in Uwano. So we want to aspire to be 10,000. How accessible is that site now? I haven't had the pleasure. Those of you who are familiar with Uwano and the back trails, going up old Pali Road, know that it's very moderate parking, I should say, but it's a walk-in. There's a lot of visitors that come and go. There's some people who continue to return every single month to take care of Dr. Barenching of Aho Hui, Malamo, Kaniakupu-Pu, on July 2nd, just led another one of his monthly clean-ups, where he provides history, provides culture protocol, and some good old-fashioned sweat to making that place come alive again, you know. And that's sort of the theme that we've adopted, is to make things come alive, restore, you know, restoration, the regeneration of our people. Not just being passive, being part of the action. Being active, you know, being active. Aloha is an action. Yeah. You know, being Kanaka is an action. Being Hawaiian is an action. Being Pono is an action. You know, all those things are great philosophies to talk about when we're sitting at the table, but they mean nothing if they don't make it anywhere beyond that. So, we're interested in action. And we put a call out over the years to other communities, other islands who are interested to celebrating this event, celebrating our sovereignty, celebrating our special place in this world. Together, as a collective, it's a means of unifying. It's a means of creating a platform for our stories to be told by us. So, one of the events you mentioned was the upcoming education event that is going to happen at Halakumana. I think we have the little flyer about that. Ka hoike. Correct. Can you talk about that a little? That's your home? Yeah, that's my home base over there. So, Halakumana is one of a few Hawaiian-focused public charter schools who really spent a lot of time dedicated to culture, dedicated to politics, dedicated to the restoration of our people. Not just our lands and our culture and our knowledge, but of our people as well. So, it became a very good place for us as a selection for where to have what will be our second annual Hawaiian AI education convention. Ka hoike ea is sort of a playoff of la hoi hoi ea. Hoi hoi meaning to return something to where you got it from. So, the day that represents Admiral Thomas and Ka hoike oli that gave birth to wama o kee o kaena i kapono was about putting it back to its proper place. So, this might be a good time to correct that idea. Most people think the life of the land is preserved in righteousness, but it's not really AI, it's not life. It is sovereign to you. Well, AI is many things. The beautiful thing about our language, the beautiful thing about our people, it was just so threaded and intertwined with kauna, with layered meanings. So, yes, wama o kee o kaena i kapono. The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness. But what I always like to share is that historical context is super important as well, you know? And AI is not just life, it is life. It's important that's what we're trying to restore is the life of our people, you know? It also means to rise. You know, like the tides rise. So, the people rise. Our la hoi rises. And it definitely means in the western term it's become to understand as our sovereignty as defined by our inclusion into the family of nations back in 1843, which is an important year, which is also the year of la hoi hoi ea. So, our independence is really solidified by la hoi hoi ea. So, if you're talking Hawaiian independence, you need to also understand the critical role that la hoi hoi plays. It's the evidence. It's why Lili Uokalani said we will not fight. We're going to allow law to take its course once again. Once again, because that was our experience. Lili Uokalani had celebrated this for over 50 years in the kingdom. She was a student. Everybody in the kingdom knew. It wasn't the first time that Hawai'i had been overthrown. The French had tried to do it as well. But relying on law, it was restored. So, in the 1893 American intervention, she relied not on violence, which would have opened us up for takeover, but through law, the law that every nation had sworn to. Just not every nation has committed to that oath, let's just say. I think this is a good time for us to take a little break and then come back and talk about more events for this month. We 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. Welcome back to Hawaiʻi is my mainland. I'm Kaui Lucas. With me here today is Imae Wenchester, one of the organizers of La Hawaiʻi Heia. Hawaiʻi is a very, very special celebration of sovereignty and arts and culture and history in a way that brings the general population in together to look at this in a way that's, I would like to say, playful, deeply interesting, and there's a whole bunch of actual specific separate events. So let's have a look at what we have coming on. Just put them up there for us and then we'll talk about them. So the combination of this month's total celebrations, which includes a Native Hawaiian education convention, which is actually on the 15th, it also includes a quick puhukaina malama aina session. For those of you who are interested, the following Sunday. We'll get there. But at the very end, like it says here, we have the celebration of Kalāhoʻi Hawaiʻi Heia, which would be for the first time celebrated on Honolulu civic grounds. Typically every year it's celebrated at Thomas Square, but like we've all seen, Thomas Square is under some construction right now and is physically ready for us. So we're given an opportunity to sort of take our celebration, our message to a new place, to a new audience. And so that's what our intentions are going to be. So what kind of things will happen? I mean, that's a good long time. 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Yeah, it's a great day. It's a family day. We have free music. We have hula performances all day long. We have cultural workshops. Kūiʻi for those of us who love making and eating paʻiʻi. We have educational booths. Paʻiʻi Heia will be coming down and sharing a little bit of Hawaiʻi knowledge. We have different groups from, let's say, Hawaiʻi Community College. You're going to be coming down and sharing some information about what they do in terms of servicing native Hawaiian students, specific to, I think, Hawaiian studies. We also have games. We've been able to elicit some help from Halimoa over the last several years. And so they come down and they provide maʻiʻi games, in case you play Ulu Maika or Paʻiʻi. They get to challenge the poʻana sometimes. If they're lucky, they get a chance of poʻana of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. Come on up on the crowd. It's been a long time supporter of la hoʻi hoʻi and it comes down every year. And here we're looking at a picture of another event that's happening in Waianae. This one is another family type event. Yeah, so one of the things we're very proud about is that we've begun to expand. And so the people of Waianae sort of have taken up the call to celebrate in their own community. So what you have here is sort of a real good collection of different Waianae members coming together and taking it upon themselves to own their own celebration in their own home place. And this is what we're really encouraging for everybody on every island, including the mokue. What else have we got? I do know that it's a two-day event on July 22nd and the 23rd. There's more information for the Waianae community as well as anybody who's wanting to go down there to check out the hoʻolāleʻa, which should be their second annual celebration. And information about all of these events can be found on the la hoʻi hoʻi Facebook page. Yes, correct. We're very grateful to Detail who has been helping us out with a lot of the program, the logistics. So now we actually have a real-life website, lahoʻihoʻiad.org. All of your information can be found. If you're interested in joining us, being a vendor, all that information is there, including events throughout the month of July. So some more events there. I know where there are some sort of art space and some educational-based ones. Let's just scroll through those. That would be great. So this one. I went to this one. This is in Kaniʻohi, or Kuikū Māliōla. And this is more arts, poetry, and... Yeah, so nāhua ea is also another playoff of lahoʻihoʻi. Nāhua ea really literally meaning the fruits of sovereignty, the fruits of our rise, collectively. So this was actually put together in the hands of several poets, musicians, singers, academics, writers, including my wife, who is the lead person for this event that's coming up for there. Maybe it's the fourth year running, I think so. And it's a great way for the community to come down and to be expressive. And we really want to encourage all of the Eastside community to come down and check it out. It's going to be a great night. And if people haven't been to that place, it's a beautiful space, both inside and out. And it's sort of in a mini version. It's sort of like a Hawai'i, everything. Yeah, it's a little slice of what Hawai'i should be. Yeah, it definitely is. Pāpahāna, Kūʻohiōla, and all the good people who do very hard work over there. They deserve a lot of credit for the beauty of that place. Kanaqa are very important to Ainaw. I know what I'll come up with. And it's very kid-friendly. One of the other things I have really appreciated about these events is they're not, oh, no, no, don't bring the kids. They're all, yeah, fine, bring the kids. Kids are fine. It's very grassroots. You know, it's bring a potluck dish, bring your kids. There's entertainment for them. We've had kid groups perform before my daughter was a part of a hana-keako put together by one of the kūmūs over at the school. So you get a little bit of everything over there. It's a great night. And there's also some, there's going to be a Makua access I saw. Also, right, so if somebody hasn't been out there, that's a very special place. And there's information on the website about going to that. The public is only allowed certain width. You have to sign up well in advance. Is there a particular tie to Laho Ihoi with that? Or is it more just because it is a very sacred space? And... Well, Laho Ihoi is the restoration of all things at Makua Valley. It was definitely a pillar, an example for us at my education growing up as seeing as the power, the restorative power of people, you know, to a place where there can be restorative power to people. So in that, yes, Laho Ihoi, we have the right connections to the people who care to take that zone. And it's been a good and natural and long-going relationship that we've had with Malama Makua. And we encourage you guys to go down there on July 23rd. Check out the access. There's a little bit of information you need to supply your name so that you can get in because it's a military firing range. But there's a lot of good stories. There's a lot of good more level to be heard and to be shared. And it's a great place to take your kids so that they can hear the story of what's happening in Makua Valley. There aren't that many places on Oahu where you get the real feeling of impact of American occupation really has been sort of very in your face at Makua. But what's also very in your face is just through the restoration work there and through the archeology that you just you can really feel the deep, deep history. And maybe outside of Koholavi I don't know anywhere where you see those two things come right up against each other, quite so in your face. Yeah, the people of Oahu and I are very very proud of where they're from and they've sacrificed quite a bit some of their lives protecting that place and sharing the message. So our responsibility as La Ho'i Ho'i organizers are to continue to give them platform to tell that story continue to honor their work and that's what we ultimately are trying to do in La Ho'i Ho'i. It's not just celebrate this past event, but we're trying to make it a means to really catalyze and motivate and provoke even more growth, more development, more struggle within our people because we kind of become apathetic to those things and I think we're at such a great capacity in our more so than we've ever been to make great things happen. Thanks to a large I would have to say a large amount of the credit goes to the kind of education that the Hawaiian community has been able to make happen like the charter schools and like Ho'i and studies it's not that much support but really incredible dedication so it must be very gratifying I think you said you'd been a teacher at the charter school for 13 years? Yep, coming up with 13 years I have a lot of appreciation for all the teachers who have made Ho'i an education possible I know what the struggles are to deal with this line of work but the fulfillment, the responsibility of the burden is something that we all must carry and for those of you interested in teaching please do we have events that could possibly kindle or ignite that flame in you we have people throughout the month of July that are doing things that are meant to take us on a positive path so I encourage whoever is out there if you feel something in there, not all something special then we can be special together There's a event happening at next door I'd like you to talk about that's another completely different realm So it's not just about restoration of culture it's not restoration of language as well it's also the restoration of our voice and some of the times that voice has evolved into music, into reggae, into hip-hop because our Lahu is so diverse in our talents and in our skills we give everybody a chance to access this history and this collective movement together so in next door on July 21st July 21st there's going to be a great lineup of local reggae artists and local hip-hop artists that really are expressing conscious music it's not the Waikiki Shell it's not that it's music for the message it's music for the movement it's music to dance and celebrate who we are and how far we've come so we invite people who are into the scene at night time party people this one is sort of meant for them for you so come down and check us out Well thank you so much Imai for giving us a little snippet of the kinds of events I mean they're not even alive they happen in New York wherever our Hawaiians are they celebrate la hoi hoi ea so wherever you are Hawaiians throughout the world if you see this on July 31st fly your flag up high and celebrate la hoi hoi together and the world will celebrate together