 This is Think Tech Hawaii, Community Matters Here. Happy Aloha Friday and welcome to Perspectives on Global Justice, Think Tech Hawaii Google. This is your host, Beatrice Cantelmo. Today, our guest, Uncle Hercules Hui Hui, will give continuity to the conversation that we have started last week on the essence of all things aloha. We will also devote part of this program to talk about a very significant date for the people of Hawaii. For historical context, on January 16, 1893, the United States Marine steamer Boston invaded Honolulu in an unauthorized landing and started an unprovoked war through a hostile act of force against the Hawaiian kingdom. On January 17, 1893, the Yolani Palace was illegally invaded by the United States Marine who initiated a coup d'etat against the Queen Lily Koulani, marking the overthrow of the Hawaiian kingdom. On impact, in 2019, the 126th observation and peace march hosted by Hui Kulikika Kau group happened yesterday and it started at Maunalala, the Royal Mausoleum, followed by a peace march down New Anu Street, down to Britannia, through the Hawaii State Capitol Rotunda and stopping the Queen Lily Koulani statue for offering protocol before ending the march at Yolani Palace. Yesterday was a great day of great sadness for many people and also a day in which Native Hawaiians celebrated their strength and they have been fighting and striving for justice for over a century. So this was also a very important moment to practice civic engagement and educating the community about the Native Hawaiians' history and the importance of protecting Native Hawaiian culture, language traditions, natural resources, food security, health care, education, economic equality and sovereignty. This has been a very important day for the ongoing need that we have for healing and reparations and the restorative justice movement that supports Indigenous rights resolutions in Hawai'i. That note, welcome to the Specters of Global Justice. Thank you so much for coming back. Aloha. Aloha. Wow, Uncle, where would you like to start? First of all, protocol of course, definitely asking God for His guidance to reveal anything that is hidden and just to create that atmosphere of aloha, true aloha from the source. So let's go. E hu mai kai ke mai lun mai, e. In a mi a hunano eau o na me le. E hu mai, eau mai, eau mai kai ke mai lun mai. Inaa miahuna no eau na mele eau mai, eau mai, eau mai kai ke mai luna mai eau mai Inaa miahuna no eau na mele eau mai, eau mai, eau mai eau nu eau kia kua eau nu eau no eau ike iahana eau mai ike ke eau mai kia honui eau mai kai aloha aai aloha eieie aai aloha eieieie mahalului kia kua man aloha anu eau mai, eau mai yeah, where to start? I talked a little bit about yesterday and all the festivities, all the different actions going on and just trying to fill in those that were asking questions and I think that's where I go but I was there for an opening session and yesterday, it was yeah, it was the celebration of the 120th year of Yovetuv, so it's like and so we go in peace and they had the peace march, everyone in our group Kaohano Akeloa went up and they marched down and I held the fort together for people and it was such an awesome event where people just made time out of their day to come, you know, so that was really I'm very surprised given the well-known history of the overthrow of the Hawaiian kingdom that we don't have both the 16th and the 17th as holidays for the entire state that would make something people can really, I know a lot of people wanted to be there on both days but they couldn't afford to take that they were from war financially because as everybody knows, Hawaii is one of the most expensive states to live per capita and in general in the nation and so one day really makes a big difference most definitely and that is something to look into how we can get a legislation built past to do that for the Hawaiian kingdom to recognize, you know, there was reconciliation apology bill, all that stuff, no, no action, it's louder than words I think even at the start of the legislative session in, you know, for 2019 being I think there were two different events going on you know, one where it's business as usual legislative session, one more session starting and things happening inside the capitol and then another movement and another ceremonial opening that went on for the entire day outside and I I don't know if there was any way for most of our representatives to one, participate on what was happening outside but two or a true dialogue where they were hearing each other I really left wishing that our letters laid us and those who came to respect them and to shake their hands and wish them aloha could come outside and do the same you know more interdependent, more integrated I think most people that were shaking hands with them and going to the office was there too for a purpose and it's a legislative session so everybody's there to lobby for money and shake hands and go to the politicians stuff but yes, I would love for them to get involved with what was happening cool only paa we were steadfast and just doing our own thing and all the keiki were I mean, even the tourists were so intrigued with all that was going on right from keiki to kupuna I mean, it was all across the board intergenerational very much so and I think the intersectionality also not only of age but races socioeconomic spheres and people from here all the parts of the world it was definitely noted but I do in a part of me I know that there is a process every year with legislative sessions and lobbying not just for money but for bills that will directly continue to impact native Hawaiians' lives and so it is very important that the heads are not turned all the way in my perspective and that the ears are not covered you know, and that that there is a recognition of you know, the importance of serving the native Hawaiian people why a disadvantage like if you really think in terms of public policy you know, we are at disadvantage here you know here is a state that does not recognize the injustices of the overthrow of the Hawaiian kingdom when the government of the United States had taken the land of native Hawaiians with the intention of keeping it safe it's being not utilized to benefit native Hawaiians and so that, yeah I, yeah our land is weeping so much because it's just tons and tons of concrete pouring on top of her just weighing her down and nobody's looking at that you know the economic development that is what they focused on and everything was about that it was when the rail came it was you know yet I become, yet above the screen the rail is coming, the rail is coming coming through our communities and doing that on the trawling and it was like really disturbing and and it really is an eyesore for us natives especially where my office is on the third floor you should look at Diamond Head and now when I sit to entertain guests we look at the rail and that's nothing you can't see there so it's really sore well the rail is not even operational so that's another issue perhaps there's a silver lining there that maybe the mismanagement of funds and also of the project management piece of the rail road has delayed also the booming of poor and concrete and redevelopment in areas that traditionally are you know neighborhoods lived you know like we're not a neighborhood of Hawaiians to live because when the rail road is complete I think the land market value will also go up and you will see more gentrification as we see in Kakaako you know Honolulu and other parts and so where will our people go? that's the question that is the question so where are people going to go? we have to stop I just you know I really want to get in to legislation and get a part of the thing and start writing things that would make sense for the Hawaiian people or people of Hawaii let's say that yeah we don't want to categorize like just the Hawaiian people the natives of the land whoever is boring here no matter your white, black, orange, red you're part of the Aina so you know that that has to be preserved but it's not it continues to to disappear our Aina is just disappearing it's scary it looks right now and what do we do, what do we do? because we have no one coming together you know everybody has their own peace of what it should be and what they want to see and I think the totalness has to be one voice one purpose one God is there a way in your perspective on how can we make that bridge and helping people of Hawaii of the land of Hawaii and those who are running the show and have the power and are not considering the best interest of not just the people of Hawaii but the land in itself because there are two things going on here we have the people of Hawaii who are directly impacted in a very negative way with that lack of sustainable vision and commitment but there's also the land in itself that's being destroyed and impacted negatively so how are we going to make this bridge, uncle? what's your view? so a lot of perspectives in this program so the perspective I come from is this one one thing that I do appreciate and that's the maka ha the breath of life that I get to experience every day and I think I think this one source that gave me that opportunity so we need to come back focus and have everyone on the same page honoring just one and asking for that kind of guidance instead of the continental thinking we need to think that Hawaii really is a I think a launching point where everybody can come together and start thinking the same thing you know so there is a way to get into legislation and get everybody on the same page and all of a sudden there's no more the ledge representative, senator, everything will be belong to all of a sudden the Hawaiian kingdom and the United States will be no, no thing so that can happen but everyone has to come together as one let's take a minute break and talk right about that possibility and how to make a hape hi I'm Lisa Kimura I'm the host of Family Affairs on Think Tech Hawaii join us every Tuesday at 11 a.m. to talk about the issues that really matter everything from policies that need to be changed in Hawaii to the fact that we need better gender equality so that we can all have a better shot again join us every Tuesday at 11 on Think Tech Hawaii for Family Affairs Aloha Hi I'm Mabuhay my name is Amy Ortega Anderson inviting you to join us every Tuesday here on Pinau Power Hawaii with Think Tech Hawaii we come to your home at 12 noon every Tuesday we invite you to listen, watch for our mission of empowerment we aim to enrich, enlighten, educate, entertain and we hope to empower again maraming, salamat po Mabuhay and Aloha welcome back to Perspectives on Global Justice, Think Tech Hawaii this is your host Beatriz Contamo and I am here with Uncle Hercules Hui so before our break we were talking about how we can, if we come together and this division that we currently have and that Hawaii becomes a kingdom because in reality it's still a kingdom it's still a kingdom so let's talk a little bit about that because most of our viewers who are not from Hawaii don't quite understand that so we need to educate the world about what's going on talk about educate I'm a brand new baby when it comes to this part because like I experienced the first time continent, I was decolonized, my mind was all about being an American, acting like that and just pursuing that so all growing up through all my life until I was like gosh I think I was in my late 30s when I was woken by this Wahine and her company took me and my babies in and gave us a perspective on the Hawaiian values system the ohana management system we were taught it again and so ohana is more than a word it's a way of life just like aloha it's not just a word it's a way of life can I ask you for a favor if you may last week after the show ended you sang a beautiful song in the protocol I would say I think you sang it in both English and in Hawaiian that I think ties in very well with the part of ohana ake would you mind singing it? not at all this song was written by Auntie Faye Surukalani Ueda she wrote it for communities in schools in Akeke and all the ohana to come together this is part of our a signature song and it was she wrote it it means a lot to whoever came through the academy over the years it starts off with well let me start it kulea i ka lukahi ike ohola kulea i ka lukahi ike ohola kulea i ka lukahi ike ohola Hawaii is my home islands under the sun where mountains graze the endless skies the water surrounds our islands in the sun sacred for land and sea day slowly gone by today we must strive to seek harmony with manned and land and sea we are searching for a way to keep what's good in the past where sharing caring's not so strange aloha a way of life not something to be part or sold lukahi is that way lukahi is that way kulea i ka lukahi ike ohola kulea i ka lukahi ike ohola kulea i ka lukahi ike ohola to strive for harmony in all things mahalo mahalo I encourage our viewers to really listen to this song both in Hawaiian and the approximation, translation in English. I think it's very important that we have more programs that use Hawaiian language even though I cannot speak it I think it's important that we recognize that that is the fast language in Hawaii and it continues to be the official language and yet many people don't speak it and if it is one thing I have learned that will either advance a culture or will put a stop in it it's the ability to speak that language because that's where all of the oral traditions the sentiments that cannot be felt not only in your brain but in your own heart and through your tongue in any other way and so I've noticed that being spoken a lot on both days the 16th and the 17th of January that strengthening of the language and I made a commitment this year I'm going to start learning Hawaiian I don't know how that's going to happen but I am devoting every day to learn, to listen so that's part of the emotion, right? Yeah, that is so important, yes and of course we have you know a second language in the Hawaiian Kingdom and that's through our evolving into the society that we are plantations and all that came along so this thing called Hawaiian Pigeon which is a recognized foreign language now and so that's our way of speaking totally here in the islands and all of the islands and it's true that even different sectors of the island have a different little twist on their little pigeon so Hawaiian Pigeon is like they have different twists in every community you go through throughout the whole island The only phrase I know in Pigeon is make shushi and I which to those who don't know it's like I go pee which is not true right now but I thought it really took me when I learned because that has very much the structure of Portuguese that in English you go pee you don't make pee, right? so to make you know but shishis I think it's not Hawaiian but it's used in Japan Oh really? and so I think it was one of those phrases where you know I got a research a little bit of both the first hundred Japanese that came to the island to start the plantation era those are the people that probably you know between all the going pee and all that you know shishis shishis it was so simple but yet it's a local word yeah and but now in Portuguese in Brazil we say shishi for pee so that's why I was so intrigued so the Portuguese were here too so all the different plantation villages had different dialects so I was so intrigued but anyway back to Tengen in the zone that you just graced us with one of the parts that really resounded with my heart it talked about this part of recognizing the past as far as kindness and aloha and caring for one another malama, aina as a way to be in the present also to have a future right so and I've heard many speakers talking about how indigenous cultures you know throughout the world but here in Hawaii also a struggle you know in clash with the concept of what's modern today and what should be the way and yet and the way it's being done today is no sustainable part of taking care of the earth the level right and planting your own food and being able to survive from that and also being able to value that and value organic farming you know it's really not going backwards in the sense of being derogatory it's actually wise you know and so two things that I heard Monsanto fight and the big victory you know it took local activists you know people of Hawaii to say no we don't want this here and the water streams in Maui wow yeah yeah everywhere it's how they went divert the water away from the local farms and took it for Dillingham and so they took it for the big farms the sugar came the little farmers suffered back then because their water was cut off and it was such yeah the history in Hawaii is so rich and so pure that you know if you go back it makes you cry just to think about what they went through in order to get and now our Aina is just weeping because there's so much buildings but we need to stop and take a listen he's telling us to grow our own food you know Korean natural farming came and taught our Hawaiian farmers and now they got Hawaiian natural farming so all this organic growing and all of this stuff is happening on a small scale it can reach others but we need to stop stop selling the Aina already and just preserve it for the growth of food and to feed our people because if that line stops from the continent there's only one a week supply so we have to wrap up I'm gonna share a quote from Martin Luther King Jr. because it's Martin Luther King Day on Monday that injustice anyway is a threat to justice everywhere and so I would like for you if you can comment on that in the context of Hawaii 30 seconds what happened to our queen she actually told the people that the Americans that they can keep their heaps of money our people will live on the stones the stones will feed our people not the money so that's where the injustice is pushing the dollar on to us when our economy was sharing and caring it wasn't about the dollar but now you got mixed up in that world so I think that is what I think yeah, stop we're out of time my darling come back soon Ahoiho Mahalo Alright