July 9, 2021 Aloha & Mahalo Haunani-Kay Trask
Aloha & Mahalo Haunani-Kay Trask!
Haunani-Kay Trask, Hawaiian Scholar and activist died Saturday morning, July 3, 2021 on Oahu. She was 71. Tenured as a professor for more than 30 years at the UH Manoa, Trask worked in co-founding the contemporary field of Hawaiian studies. We send our sympathy and aloha to the Trask ʻohana, Ka Lāhui Hawaiʻi, the Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies, and the many other organizations and people that she inspired.
Trask wrote two poetry books — “Light in the Crevice Never Seen” and “Night is a Sharkskin Drum” — and a collection of politically provocative essays, “From a Native Daughter: Colonialism and Sovereignty in Hawaii.” She also co-wrote and co-produced the award-winning documentary “Act of War: The Overthrow of the Hawaiian Nation,” which premiered in 1994.
Here is an excerpt of Haunani-Kay Trask’s prophetic testimony in Hilo, April 20, 1978 at an EIS hearing on the Navyʻs use of Kahoʻolawe for target practice:
“Why does the military need Kahoʻolawe? Please try and consider this as a broader issue. If the military loses Kahoʻolawe, the struggle is gonna go on forever. They’re gonna lose Makua valley. They’re gonna lose Pohakuloa, they’re gonna lose Kaneohe Marine Air base. This is the beginning of the struggle. This is not the end. That’s why they need Kaho’olawe…
“Try and think about the fact that if the military loses Kahoʻolawe, a precedent will be set for getting back all the military lands. 26% of Oʻahu is owned by the military. That’s what the argument is. That’s what the fight is. That’s what weʻre talking about. We’re not talking about all this other stuff. Were talking about whoʻs going to get the land back, who it belongs to. It doesn’t belong to the Navy. It doesn’t belong to the Americans…
“When you listen to all the testimony tonight, remember this is the main thing: We are talking about totally opposed cultural values. They’re interested in war, theyʻre interested in destruction. We’re interested in nourishment, sustenance and protection.”
Let us honor and carry with us always Haunani-Kay’s passion, vision, and truth.
Stop Bombing Pohakuloa!
End the US Illegal and Unjust Occupation of Hawaii!
1. Mourn all victims of violence. 2. Reject violence & war as solutions. 3. Defend civil liberties.
4. Oppose all discrimination, anti-Islamic, anti-Semitic, anti-Hawaiian, anti-Black, anti-Asian, etc.
5. Seek peace through peaceful means and work for justice in Hawai`i and around the world.
Malu ‘Aina Center for Non-violent Education & Action P.O. Box 489 Ola’a (Kurtistown), Hawaii 96760 Phone (808) 966-7622 Email ja@malu-aina.org to receive our posts. For more information www.malu-aina.org
July 9, 2021 Hilo Peace Vigil leaflet – week 1032– Fridays 3:30-5PM downtown Post Office
