 March 27, 2023
Legacy of Colonialism A couple of years ago, Alaska and Hawaii held a virtual press conference at the Geneva Press Club to point out the UN's double standard regarding colonialism and the right to self-determination. It stirred up some spirited discussion and resulted a few months later with the Human Rights Council (HRC) passing Resolution HRC 48/7 titled: Negative impact of the legacies of colonialism on the enjoyment of human rights. The resolution calls on all UN bodies and UN member states to bring an end to the remaining vestiges of colonialism. The questions are: Is there the political will to do so? And if so, How to go about ending those vestiges of colonialism? In the open debate about implementation of Resolution 48/7 this past September, about 80% of the Council members made strong statements decrying colonialism. But not a single suggestion was made on how to end colonialism. They all said it will be a difficult, monumental task, thus rationalizing inaction, when actually, decolonization does not have to be complicated at all. From 2014–2016 the Decolonization Alliance a group that I chaired in New York, held a series of dialogs to jumpstart the United Nationsʻ decolonization process. Some of those talks were sponsored by the United Methodist Church asking what they could do to initiate acts of repentance to make amends for the damage they caused by their involvement in colonialism. The Methodist Church is a prominent denomination in Palau so a few days after one of those dialogs, I had a conversation with Ambassador Caleb Otto from Palau and asked him what he would recommend the church could do as an act of repentance for its role in colonialism. Without hesitation, he said, “breastfeeding”. I was taken aback and asked, “what do you mean, breastfeeding”? Ambassador Otto said that as an act of repentance, the Methodist Churches in Palau could start by encouraging young mothers and mothers-to-be, to breastfeed their babies. He said that the incessant decades-long campaign by milk-producing corporations (from colonizing countries) convinced Palauan mothers that baby formula was much better than breast-feeding. This has ruined the health of generations of formula-fed babies, and consequently ruined the health of his nation. If the church as an act of repentance was to promote breastfeeding it would immediately improve the health of children of Palau, and eliminate many later-in-life diseases, thus strengthening the nation. More importantly, it would serve to repudiate other insipid, manipulative colonial lies that were used to intimidate and subjugate people by denigrating their indigenous ways and introducing foreign ways that assert, “our way is much better than your way” and “we have come to free you ignorant savages from your miserable lives”... What are those lies they propagated? We are lazy. We are stupid. We are inferior. We are incompetent. Our language, culture and traditional ways are antiquated and irrelevant. Over time, this denigration developed into a deep and pervasive lack of confidence in one's very existence, which in turn developed into the “Stockholm Syndrome” where people lose their own identity, values, lifestyle, culture and take on the identity and attributes of their tormentors. Itʻs not complicated. As we approach the restoration of the Hawaiian Islands as a sovereign state, we need to huli (flip) the American colonial mindset and habits and restore our people's identity, dignity and confidence as Hawaiians in a Hawaiian nation... --------- Ua mau ke ea o ka ʻāina i ka pono. The sovereignty (life) of the land is perpetuated in righteousness. ------ For the latest news and developments about our progress at the United Nations in both New York and Geneva, tune in to Free Hawaii News at 6 PM, the first Friday of each month on ʻŌlelo Television, Channel 53. ----- SIGN THIS PETITION! Rename McKinley High School and remove the McKinley statue! McKinley was the president who turned Hawaii from a peaceful, neutral country into a major cog in America’s war machine. Sign this online petition NOW! Tell everyone you know to sign it too! – And remember, for the latest updates and information about the Hawaiian Kingdom check out the twice a month Ke Aupuni Updates published online on Facebook and other social media. ------- PLEASE KŌKUA… Your kōkua, large or small, is vital to this effort... To contribute, go to: • GoFundMe – CAMPAIGN TO FREE HAWAII • PayPal – Go to PayPal and send $ to: [email protected] • Other – To contribute in other ways (airline miles, travel vouchers, volunteer services, etc...) email us at: [email protected] "FREE HAWAII" T-SHIRTS - etc. Check out the great FREE HAWAII products you can purchase at... http://www.robkajiwara.com/store/c28/Hawaii All proceeds are used to help advance the cause. MAHALO! Malama Pono, Leon Siu Hawaiian National
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 March 11, 2023
The Pacific Way In the previous issue of Ke Aupuni Update (February 25) I spoke of the tragic 130-year long disconnection from the rest of the Pacific Island nations. This is particularly lamentable since Pasifika, not America, is our real, natural family. We have begun the process to be reunited with our Pacific family. Living in Hawaii, we donʻt realize how deeply colonized and enslaved we are by the American system, until we visit other Pacific Island nations. In the rest of our Pacific family, governments and the peoples are shedding the adverse aspects of colonial ways and actively engage in applying what is called the “Pacific Way” to address local, regional and even global issues. What is this Pacific Way? Itʻs doing things in ways that are mutually respectful, inclusive, consultative, consensual, flexible and allow for compromise. The Pacific Way is a set of ideas, visions and processes that are dynamic, renewing itself under new contexts while simultaneously grounded to the core values of the native culture. Simply put, its doing things island style. One of the most insidious and damaging aspects of the American occupation of Hawaii has been the ingrained belief that everything America does or has told us, is for our own good. The basic message to Hawaiians has been “Your way is OK, but our way is so much better...” This “our way is better” pertains to everything from government to land use and housing to the economic system to imported processed food to the health crisis to the contamination of our water and even to the current effort to outlaw mid-wives! This is the classic colonial method used to subjugate peoples and nations — to dismiss or denigrate or destroy the native way, and replace it with the colonizerʻs way. The nations of the Pacific were once subjugated under colonial rule. Now most of them are independent nations and have rebuilt themselves by reactivating and applying the Pacific Way. The good news is that we are now aware of the fact that Hawaiiʻs situation is not just the legal/political question, our real challenge is to renew the character, vision and life of the Lāhui... an independent nation, operating in not only the “Pacific Way”, but more importanly, “The Hawaiian Way”. --------- Ua mau ke ea o ka ʻāina i ka pono. The sovereignty (life) of the land is perpetuated in righteousness. ------ For the latest news and developments about our progress at the United Nations in both New York and Geneva, tune in to Free Hawaii News at 6 PM, the first Friday of each month on ʻŌlelo Television, Channel 53. ----- SIGN THIS PETITION! Rename McKinley High School and remove the McKinley statue! McKinley was the president who turned Hawaii from a peaceful, neutral country into a major cog in America’s war machine. Sign this online petition NOW! Tell everyone you know to sign it too! – And remember, for the latest updates and information about the Hawaiian Kingdom check out the twice a month Ke Aupuni Updates published online on Facebook and other social media. ------- PLEASE KŌKUA… Your kōkua, large or small, is vital to this effort... To contribute, go to: • GoFundMe – CAMPAIGN TO FREE HAWAII • PayPal – Go to PayPal and send $ to: [email protected] • Other – To contribute in other ways (airline miles, travel vouchers, volunteer services, etc...) email us at: [email protected] "FREE HAWAII" T-SHIRTS - etc. Check out the great FREE HAWAII products you can purchase at... http://www.robkajiwara.com/store/c28/Hawaii All proceeds are used to help advance the cause. MAHALO! Malama Pono, Leon Siu Hawaiian National |
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