No More Military Leases: Building a Future Grounded in Hope

By Bronson Azama, Dianne Deauna and Aree Worawongwasu, for Ka Lāhui Hawaiʻi

Last month’s cover story, “To Cede or To Seed,” explored potential outcomes of what could happen when the leases for nearly 30,000 acres of state land currently used by the U.S. military expire in 2029.

The lands in question are stolen Hawaiian Kingdom crown and government lands that were violently seized without the consent of Kānaka Maoli; lands that are now being used as footholds and training grounds for the U.S. and its allies to maintain colonial control of Hawaiʻi and its geopolitical position in the Pacific.

Because the article did not reflect this historical and legal reality, it inadvertently blinds us to a perspective absent of the Aloha ʻĀina victories that stopped the bombing of Kahoʻolawe Island and Mākua Valley, and that prevented the Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) from entering into lease renewals for Pōhakuloa until the Army complies with their current lease terms.

Our fears of what might happen under a Trump presidency should not stop us from reimagining a radically new future for Hawaiʻi – a future beyond the reach of imperialism.

The pending U.S. administrative transfer of power and threat of executive land seizures should not limit us to watching the negotiations between the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) and the U.S. military from the sidelines and merely hoping for better, higher rents.

The expiration of these leases is part of the larger conversation regarding the return of stolen ʻāina, re-establishment of our kingdom, and requirements to restore our lands and waters.

With more than 750 bases in 80 countries, the U.S. military has contributed to thousands of environmental disasters across the globe. In an era faced with climate change, limited resources, ecological collapse, and more, do we have time for bad actors? The environmental degradation caused by the U.S. military demonstrates it is not a friend to Hawaiʻi or the planet.

On Oʻahu alone, the military occupies 23% of the island’s available land; yet their success in our “national defense” has consistently come at the expense of the health of our lands and waters, with multiple super-fund hazard waste sites and the destruction of natural resources, cultural sites, and wildlife locally and abroad.

We recognize our ability to pressure the United States military in the defueling of the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility. Thousands of residents and affected military families held the U.S. Navy accountable to defuel the tanks expeditiously. Although the fight continues to remediate Oʻahu’s sole source aquifer, every milestone in the journey is attributed to successful community organizing.

To a certain extent, the military needs public support to renew the leases. Yet many Kānaka Maoli and others vehemently oppose the ongoing taking and abuse of Indigenous lands.

Over the summer, approximately 600 community members attended and testified at the Army’s public hearings on their draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Kahuku Training Area, Kawailoa-Poamoho Training Area, and Mākua Military Reservation, released in anticipation of upcoming decision-making hearings on the lease renewals.

Thousands of written testimonies were also submitted in opposition to renewing military leases, reiterating the socio-environmental impacts that negatively affect our day-day lives.

In her testimony, Waiʻanae resident Bernadette Fernandez recalled living in proximity to the military. “Growing up we heard the bombs. Try [to] sleep, gotta go school the next morning with [the sound of] bombing coming over that mountain,” she said. “Wake up, walk to school, ashes falling your head.”

As we navigate a path forward, we must avoid being intimidated by fear and instead ask the people of Hawaiʻi and the world: with America’s far-right step, should it continue to forcibly guide the future of Hawaiʻi and our planet?

Let’s envision what a free Hawaiʻi can accomplish for our islands, the Pacific, and the world, responding by affirming our sovereignty rather than holding ourselves back from an opportunity for a better future.

Our kūpuna who lived at a time in which the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi was an international leader in innovation, education, and healthcare, signed the Kūʻē Petition to preserve Hawaiian sovereignty. Our small island nation demonstrated how governance can better society. We can still pursue this future today and change the trajectory of our lives on this blue planet.

Kūʻē! We should not give up our agency to the U.S. military or the BLNR without objecting. We need to resist narratives that will deflate our collective consciousness as we pursue pono for our people and our land.

The greatest gains for land back and the protection of our most precious resource, wai (water), were not made by elected leaders or government bureaucrats but by ordinary kānaka seeking justice. From the first landing on Kahoʻolawe in 1976 to the occupation of Maunakea in 2019, the Aloha ʻĀina movement has only grown stronger, its momentum undeniable. Ua mau ke ea o ka ʻāina i ka pono!

Gather with Ka Lāhui at the ʻOnipaʻa Peace March on Friday, Jan. 17, 2025, to observe the 132nd anniversary of the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian Monarchy and to honor the memory of Queen Liliʻuokalani who laid the foundation of kapu aloha and the peaceful path forward. ʻOnipaʻa is a call to remain steadfast in our commitment to positive change, to stand up against all forms of oppression, and to uphold the values of compassion, respect and justice.