Hawaiians turn to tradition for help in ceded-lands fight

By Gordon Y.K. Pang
Advertiser Staff Writer
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About 300 people supporting the Office of Hawaiian Affairs' position on ceded lands gathered from 4 a.m. today at the state Capitol and held a series of chants and prayers.

The action was part protest against the Lingle administration, part calling on the kupuna, or ancestors, to help them fight the appeal.

A majority of those gathered were members of hula halau or Hawaiian charter schools.

Mapuana de Silva, kumu hula of Halau Mohala Ilima, said she brought about 25 members of her group not just to help the cause, but to teach her students about the historically close relationship between Native Hawaiians and the land.

A good number of traditional chants speak of the land and love for the land, de Silva said. "You take the land away and Hawaiians do not have a base," she said.

Daniel Anthony, a 30-year-old subsistence farmer who grows and sells his own taro, also spoke of the close relationship with the land.

"Our big focus right now is sustainability," Anthony said. "To me, if we no more land and no more water, we're not sustainable."

The gathering brought together younger and older Native Hawaiians.

Shanelle Naone, 21, a University of Hawaii-Manoa communications major, was doing homework between chants. Naone said the reputation students have for being apathetic is being shed, noting that there are many youth-based Hawaiian programs.

"The tide is definitely turning," Naone said.

Retired crane operator Jerome Cox, 71, said most Native Hawaiians don't want to force non-Hawaiians off the land. "They only have to support the Hawaiian community," he said.

Reach Gordon Y.K. Pang at gpang@honoluluadvertiser.com.

Dancers from Halau Mohala Ilima stood against a Hawaiian flag
in distress at the state Capitol this morning. The vigil went on
as the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in the ceded-lands
dispute between the state and OHA.
RICHARD AMBO

Photos from Star-Bulletin

CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Over 200 attended a rally at the State Capitol in support of OHA on the issue of ceded lands. At 5 am, groups blew
conch shells, gave chants, and dances to coincide the start of the hearing in Washington.

CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
At 5 am, groups like Halau Mohala Ilima gave chants and dances to coincide with the start of the hearing in Washington.

CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
At 5 am, groups like Halau Mohala Ilima gave chants and dances to coincide with the start of the hearing in Washington.