Honor Our Civic Heritage: Join Us at the Ballot Box

Submitted by Our Kaiāulu Votes

Native Hawaiians are part of a lineage of civic leadership. Our people built a complex civilization in one of the most remote places on earth. This was only possible through deeply ingrained values of mutual obligation. Makaʻāinana contributed to the welfare of their ahupuaʻa as a matter of kuleana. Aliʻi cared for their subjects through pono administration or suffered the consequences of lost legitimacy.

With the establishment of the Hawaiian Kingdom, new forms of political discourse were adopted. Kingdom subjects voted for legislators and for the monarch. The overthrow did not overthrow our sense of civic responsibility. Most Native Hawaiians signed the Kūʻē petitions protesting annexation.

Native Hawaiians were active, too, in the territorial era: founding political parties and sending ʻŌiwi delegates to Congress. After statehood, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) was created by a state constitutional convention and ratified at the polls. If not for the participation of justice-minded voters, this paper, Ka Wai Ola, would not be in your hands today.

Civic engagement is part of Hawaiian culture and worthy of being handed down. Like hula or mele, civic engagement must be taught. We must educate succeeding generations about its history and its practice. Voting is our right and kuleana as Native Hawaiians.

An election is coming on November 5. When you cast your vote, tell your keiki why it is important to make your voice heard. By voting, we can elect leaders and enact policies to address the needs of our growing lāhui. ʻŌiwi participation in the political process empowers us to define and achieve our vision for the future. Voters are raised, not born.

OHA is part of a coalition of community organizations and schools that is working to promote voter participation called Our Kaiāulu Votes. We know that developing familiarity with voting early is one way to grow lifetime voters.

Please join us at the nonpartisan Walk to the Box events listed below, and bring your completed ballot to drop in the ballot box. More importantly, bring your keiki. Visit vote.kanaeokana.net/ to learn more.

Our Kaiāulu Votes (OKV) is an inclusive, Native Hawaiian-led movement of ʻōiwi, kamaʻāina, and first-time voters standing together to change our destiny through voting. Nearly a dozen Native Hawaiian organizations are collaborating on this effort. With a focus on rallying ʻōpio and first-time voters, OKV is also partnering with Hawaiian culture-focused and serving kula across the pae ʻāina, and UH community colleges.