The last Hawaiian monarch, Queen Lili`uokalani said to her people, “oni pa`a” – stand strong. Last week, around 100 Molokai residents did just that.
The meeting, called Hawaiians Ku`e, called for a return to traditional Hawaiian protocol and a Hawaiian voice to the table when it comes to resource management within the state and county.
“It’s hard to participate when don’t know what you’re participating in,” said Walter Ritte, one of the meeting’s organizers. “We don’t want to participate in [a] haole process.”
The meeting began with `oli kahea, where those invited to speak – Hawaiian or not – asked for permission to enter. This is a simple practice which allowed ancient Hawaiians to coexist in limited spaces, said Ritte.
“Protocol very important if we are to survive on the island of Molokai,” Ritte said. “Us Hawaiians …cannot, will not survive without natural resources.”
Natural resources they hope to protect – such as agricultural land proposed to be used as a wind farm.
The Wind Farm Issue
Representatives from the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT) as well as wind energy company First Wind shared potential benefits of building a wind farm on Molokai.Malama Minn of DBEDT said she understood Oahu is a huge load, but because entire state is energy inefficient and oil dependent, residents throughout the state must help each other out.
However, many in the audience didn’t agree
