Aloha ʻāina kākou! As I reflect upon this season of gratitude to the wāhine in our lives, I think of the pillars of our lāhui, our ʻohana, our kaiāulu. The ones we are born from, the ones who raise us, the ones who inspire us, and those we are blessed to raise up for the next generation.
The Office of Hawaiian Affairs’ (OHA) Haumea Report mentions how, traditionally, Native Hawaiian women exemplified hoʻōla (giving life) to their communities and ʻohana on multiple levels – but that social, political, and economic changes in Hawaiʻi have transformed many ways which wahine maintain their fullest wellbeing.
May 5 marks the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit People (MMIWG2S). In 2021, the Hawaiʻi Legislature passed HCR 11, establishing the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Task Force, co-chaired by OHA and the Hawaiʻi State Commission on the Status of Women – becoming the only task force led by a government women’s commission and a Native advocacy agency, rather than law enforcement. This unique leadership structure broadens the perspective on addressing this crisis.
A year later, in 2022, the Task Force fulfilled the first part of their kuleana with the Holoi ā Nalo Wāhine ʻŌiwi Report. This report affirms that Native Hawaiian women, girls, and māhū are not only part of this crisis today but have been historically impacted by it as well.
For ʻŌiwi, the ocean is a pathway that connects us to our mauli, our akua, and to other nations and peoples. While foreigners saw our oceans as pathways for the commodification of our land, natural resources, bodies, and labor, Holoi ā Nalo Wāhine ʻŌiwi offers a historical timeline of such exploitation here in Hawaiʻi, how this history continues to impact our lāhui today – including statistics revealing that wāhine ʻŌiwi represent more than a quarter of the girls who are missing in Hawaiʻi.
It is vital that we not only address the immediate needs of MMIWG survivors and their families but also work to perpetuate our cultural values, which have long centered on community and a deep connection between people, land, and sea. Strengthening the cultural fabric of Hawaiʻi is not just a cultural imperative; it is a way to reclaim our mauli ola and ʻohana.
Team Ahuna has had the privilege of establishing meaningful relationships with steadfast hui who focus on mauli ola, preventative care and education, rooted in culture. In attending such spaces of engagement, we are fortunate to hear from a variety of health organizations. The work of leaders like Kauaʻi’s Lorilani Keohokalole and Torio Kapule of Kūkulu Komohana o Anahola helps to teach youth in their community about food security and cultural diversity through the wisdom of ʻike kūpuna.
Aunty Lynette Paglinawan, a respected kupuna and haumana of Kumu Mary Kawena Pukui, shared with us at the Hoʻi i ka Hale conference that “ʻike kūpuna is everlasting, and so we must maintain that relationship.”
We were also able to attend and present hoʻokupu of lei and haʻi ʻōlelo at the inaugural Nānā i Ke Kumu Event at Bishop Museum to honor and give gratitude to Kumu Pukui, an amazing wahine mana, keeper and sharer of knowledge, and foundation in many a kānaka’s life.
All these stories of true aloha ʻāina across our beloved pae ʻāina, and especially these wāhine, resonate and move me to bring further awareness to what our Lāhui Kānaka carry. We cannot address the crises we face as Kānaka ʻŌiwi without strong foundations in moʻomeheu and ʻike kūpuna; our guiding lights back to mauli ola, our healthiest selves.
