Hawaiian struggles against military occupation have taken
many decades.
Too many decisions on Hawaiian people & Hawaiian lands are
formulated half-a-world away in Washington D.C. by people who know little about
local needs and care nothing of our history or for making things right. Peaceful change
will require sustained, strategic & concerted efforts. Coalition-building
is a key to success.
I just watched a film tonight on TV ("Pride" 2014)
about how gay activists assisted Welsh coalminers & their families during
the 1984-85 UK
miners strike. If we Hawaiians truly expect success, we'll need help & alliances.
The Native Hawaiian fight may last long; best we share experience & successes
amongst many groups.
Can we form a headquarters for global outreach & collaboration?
Or shall we continue to reach out less effectively in smaller groups & individually?
If we've representative people to visit other indigenous peoples elsewhere, and
are able to receive similar visitors, there's much to be learned. When Hawaiians are
visited by a delegation of Macuxi indians or Nordic Sami people (and vice versa)
it's a great, positive international media story with focus on collaboration
rather than exclusiveness. Whether or not we create an application path for
official delegations, we still must get word out more widely: Native Hawaiians
are not dead.
I've brought-up the annexation experience many times in Korea when
teaching place marketing. Most people there wholeheartedly condemn Japan's many
decades of occupation, and celebrate restoration as a recognized nation. But
when I've criticized Koreans for now turning their backs on other occupied
peoples, they're generally surprised. "We thought Hawaiians were very
happy within the USA..."
Mmm - happy as y'all were under rule from Japan!
