May 06, 2008

What is one native Hawaiian thing that has successfully adapted to change? We sat and thought about it and couldn’t come up with just one thing.

It became apparent that we, the human race, were the detriment. There is no successful adaptation; there is always some loss and some gain that helps you survive, but at what expense? Achieving balance and a sense of pono with the ‘aina is what the native people here believe to be the ultimate goal. Our native ancestors understood this, which is why the land was abundant.

Today, we are struggling with people who don’t have this sense of responsibility to the land, but they do have the control over it.

Power and control drive their decisions about the ‘aina, which impacts our everyday lives. What they may believe to be profitable may not be equitable in the long run. What native people think of as being profitable is longevity and prosperity with the ‘aina. And, as history has shown, what is right for the people who now control the land does not coincide with what is right for the kanaka maoli, because our belief systems have fundamental differences. The field of science is a perfect example of the fundamental differences between these two.

Ancient Hawaiians were scientists by nature of survival. They were top-notch when it came to living in a changing environment, with unknown variables, and top-notch in  making astute observations and decisions that would determine the future and survival of their people.

Scientists today agree that the ancient Hawaiians had the best system, but recently, corporations have controlled the game. The corporations have manipulated this scientifically proven fact to the benefit of their own pocketbooks. It started with the introduction of metal, and continued with everyday conveniences, changes in diet, and now we’re facing genetically modified organisms (GMO).

The corporations are the savages, not the natives, and not even the scientists (both of whom get shot by the corporations in Hollywood movies).  The corporations have a different belief system, which is all about the almighty dollar. This belief system eliminates relationships, eliminates native instinct and runs purely on ignorance.

Today, native Hawaiians are trying to fight the loss of water, but how can we win when the court systems aren’t working, legislators aren’t listening and big companies are thriving? Do we succumb to adaptation, as we have with so many other issues in the past?

Adaptation might look like a shift towards dry land taro, with many of the wet land lo‘i turning into dry land lo‘i just to ensure continuance. But what does that mean for our culture? A loss of traditional practices , loss of native species and a gain of new, foreign ones, is what it would mean. This is a bleak future, but we need to envision it because it could be real and if we don’t anticipate it, we can’t change it. 

Today, we need to trust our native intelligence, our na‘au, our instinct, and teach our children to do the same because that native instinct is inbred. It is in our DNA and no one can erase it.

We need to learn how to listen to it and trust it, because it is built upon generations of experience, knowledge and mana that interweaves together to form the life force that keeps us going.

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Kema Kanaka‘ole and Kau‘i Kanaka‘ole