At a time of climate crisis, dwindling resources and unfettered capitalism, the decades-long Native Hawaiian struggle for sovereignty has gained a renewed sense of urgency following the August wildfires that incinerated west Maui.
“When we talk about sovereignty, it’s about literally, physically and spiritually taking up space that we were forcibly removed from,” said Noelani Ahia, an Indigenous activist and healer in Lahaina who has been organizing mutual aid initiatives for fire victims.
Real estate agents were cold-calling survivors just days after the fire with aggressive offers for their ancestral homes, prompting the governor, Josh Green, to explore a moratorium on property sales.
The grassroots sovereignty movement grew out of demands to reclaim the nearly 1.8m acres of kingdom lands that the US took, said Jonathan Osorio, the dean of the Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.
In west Maui, the issue of sovereignty featured most prominently in long-running disputes over water and land access, through grassroots campaigns to return diverted streamwater and restore cultural practices like taro farming.
When state and federal aid lagged in the days after the fire, Indigenous-led and faith-based organizations stepped up to provide shelter and resources to survivors, said Tamara Paltin, a West Maui county councilmember.
The original article contains 1,198 words, the summary contains 208 words. Saved 83%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
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At a time of climate crisis, dwindling resources and unfettered capitalism, the decades-long Native Hawaiian struggle for sovereignty has gained a renewed sense of urgency following the August wildfires that incinerated west Maui.
“When we talk about sovereignty, it’s about literally, physically and spiritually taking up space that we were forcibly removed from,” said Noelani Ahia, an Indigenous activist and healer in Lahaina who has been organizing mutual aid initiatives for fire victims.
Real estate agents were cold-calling survivors just days after the fire with aggressive offers for their ancestral homes, prompting the governor, Josh Green, to explore a moratorium on property sales.
The grassroots sovereignty movement grew out of demands to reclaim the nearly 1.8m acres of kingdom lands that the US took, said Jonathan Osorio, the dean of the Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.
In west Maui, the issue of sovereignty featured most prominently in long-running disputes over water and land access, through grassroots campaigns to return diverted streamwater and restore cultural practices like taro farming.
When state and federal aid lagged in the days after the fire, Indigenous-led and faith-based organizations stepped up to provide shelter and resources to survivors, said Tamara Paltin, a West Maui county councilmember.
The original article contains 1,198 words, the summary contains 208 words. Saved 83%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!