#kuleana

Let me start by saying this: I went into the Lilo & Stitch remake fully expecting to roll my eyes. I grew up with the 2002 film. I knew it was good, and I didn’t need Disney trying to “live-action” their way through another piece of cultural memory just to print money. But then I actually watched it. And what I got wasn’t a nostalgia-bait cash grab. It was a re-grounded, culturally re-centered…

by Rae Mariz

I learned how to cook in the kitchens of Portland punk houses in the late Nineties. Where three to four people were signed onto the lease, but eight kids were stumbling out of bedrooms and rolling off couches, sun high in the sky, looking for breakfast. That was where I got my foundations in meal prep. The first step in probably like 86% of all my cooking starts with sautéing finely chopped garlic in olive oil. My chaotic cooking style can be traced back to those communal kitchens. With spilled coffee grounds speckling the countertops, arms reaching over heads to grab spices off the rack. That was the environment where I learned how to chop vegetables, season generously, and top it all off with Sriracha. (I kind of just realized why I always write stories about feral kids raising each other.) My first encounter with the secret ingredient in nearly all my current dishes took place there. Lacinato kale, dinosaur kale or black kale. It’s so beautiful. A marvel. We punk kids would sing its praises. Watch the water collect like bright opals in the leaves’ textured folds. De-rib the stalk and thinly chop and it’s ready to add into anything.

Rae Mariz is a powerhouse of an author. This essay on how we learn about food via family, community, our children, & our ancestors is no exception. Reading it changed how I think about my relationship to food & the planet, and I bet it'll change you, too. This essay is accompanied by a recipe for a homemade vegan version of Spam (along with some less-vegan fixings) to make a generous, satisfying rice bowl. In this recipe, Mariz weaves a whole life and a whole world into a single meal. Go check it out and get cooking!

First, lemme say, as malihini (foreigner, guest) in Hawai'i nei, to learn ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi is our kuleana (both privilege+responsibility). Given the history and ongoing illegal occupation, learning even just a little ʻōlelo and doing our part to renormalize its day-to-day use is the least - and I do mean the bare minimum - I or anyone else visiting as tourist or living on this 'āina can do. And it should be done with respect for nā kānaka oiwi, their culture, and their ʻāina as language is not separate of these things.

I am no expert and clearly I still have a lot to learn and need all the help I can get, but if anyone else is eager to learn too, I'm happy to share some of the resources others have shared with me to supplement my online classes. Many are free and available online! 

Now, having said that, e kala mai! Please don't take this as an invitation to roast me but if you're kānaka and/or nā po'e ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, please do feel free to offer feedback! I am always eager to learn and practice with others!! I am truly humbled by the opportunity to do so. 

As Lunar New Year festivities continue, I spent the weekend enjoying continuation of new traditions too:

Welcoming group of visiting High School students from across Okinawa / Ryukyu Islands who are visiting Hawai'i for a Geijutsu / performing arts cultural exchange program!

Excited for them and the opportunity for all involved to reflect on what it means to be Shimanchu, what our ancestral sukubun / kuleana is to our precious land, water, traditions, and to each other.

Spent time reflecting on this as I prepped the leaves and when meeting up with my shinshii and some classmates from Uchinaa Udui to braid lei la'i to welcome these visiting students. As we combined our harvested ti leaves to create these braids - twisting each piece with the next and combining to create something more beautiful and stronger than any one piece - I smiled about the multiple layers of metaphor there...

I stand in solidarity with Mauna Kea Kia’i. 私はマウナケアのプロテクターと連帯しています。 Me solidarizo con los protectores de Mauna Kea. Sou solidário com os protetores do Mauna Kea. As Shimanchu, the indigenous peoples of the Ryukyu Islands (Amami, Okinawa, Miyako, and Yaeyama), we stand in solidarity with the protectors of Mauna Kea and all who seek to defend their rights as first people in their native land.

Mauna Kea:  Lā 168, Oura Bay: Day 2000

Today - December 27, 2019 - is Lā 168 for the Mauna Kea Kia'i here in Hawai'i & the 2000th day of continuous sit-ins for protectors of Henoko's Oura Bay, back in the Ryukyu islands (what is known today as “Okinawa”) - my place of birth and maternal ancestral homeland. 

To pause and reflect on what this means and the parallels of the histories of these islands and our resilience in the face of both physical and cultural genocide is something I find to be bittersweet... 

Together, we rise!

I created this image as I reflected upon the continuous work being done and sacrifices being made by brave and fiercely loving Kia'i / protectors - day in and out - embracing their ancestral sukubun / kuleana to protect our precious land, water, and all life. It breaks my heart that we must do so; in fact, this was quickly pulled together earlier this week when Kia'i at Mauna Kea were bracing under threat of impending arrests, before the current moratorium was negotiated. And yet, despite the twinge of sorrow in why we must fight for our indigenous rights, for our right to self-determination, and for the protection of our lands and waters, there is so much beauty to see how we still rise and rise! 

This image is a small offering but made with immense gratitude to honor the beautiful way in which Mauna Kea is bringing together kanaka as a nation while simultaneously building transpacific solidarity and ultimately inspiring and uniting people all over the world as we (re)dedicate ourselves to protect all our precious land and water. It has been truly humbling and transformative to stand together with the Lāhui here in O’ahu as well as up on the Mauna and to find ways each day, however small they may be, to support this indigenous led movement. By sharing this image, I am inviting you to do the same. As Norman shinshii so beautifully said, "Although we stand on separate shores, distant valleys, or even separate mountain tops, we are emboldened and ultimately liberated in knowing that we stand together."

Aloha from Amami • Miyako • Okinawa • Yaeyama

The hands you see here are based on a photograph of my own hands with  traditional Ryukyu hajichi, specifically from where my maternal grandfather’s family is from in Shuri, the royal capital of the Ryukyu Kingdom. The main text in this image is from the solidarity statement Norman Kaneshiro shinshii wrote on behalf of Shimanchu (people of #Okinawan/#Ryukyuan descent) to the Mauna Kea Kia'i.

The complete solidarity statement, written in English, Español,  Português, and 日本語 is available here: http://bit.ly/MaunaKeaRentaiSeimei

A Note to Fellow Shimanchu/ Uchinaanchu / Okinawans:

If the sentiment of this image resonates with you: 

Please share and/or use this image to raise visibility. It’s sized so you can use it as your Facebook cover photo. 🙏 (I'll try to make twitter-sized version shortly... Feel free to message me if you’re interested.) 

Sunday, November 17, 2019 Kia’i ke Kahaukani: Lā 84 Mauna Kea: Lā: 129

Today, many of us have Kalaeloa / Kahuku on the forefront of our hearts/minds. As part of our hui will be making their way out to Kalaeloa tonight to answer the kahea and stand in solidarity, I'll be praying for all who continue to put their bodies on the line because of their ancestral sukubun / kuleana to mālama 'āina  - including all the kia'i at Kalaeloa, Hūnānāniho, Kahuku, and Mauna Kea.   I also continue to hold close to my heart and in my prayers all those across the Pacific and back on Turtle Island who who are working to protect and heal our precious land and water. In my dreams last night, I saw the tears and laughter lines on the faces of some of our brave elders holding the line at Henoko. They couldn't hear me when I tried to speak to them,  but they smiled when I joined hands with the kia'i and fellow Shimanchu here on these islands and sang... On that note, the crew here at Bachman continue to hold protocol 3x daily, every day at 8am, noon, and sunset*. 

At 4pm today, some of Kumu Snowbird's haumana will be leading our weekly workshop. If you're in the area, come join us to learn/practice the hula, mele, oli, and pule used in protocol for the Mauna. 

*Quick reminder that sunset 'aha here at Bachman / Wise Field will now be held at 5pm, starting today.

Ku Kia’i Mauna! Rise For Henoko! Together, We Rise!!