Part 2: Hawai'i – The End Of Indigenous Sovereignty (Ecosystems).
Beyond the tropical paradise that is Hawai'i, these islands hold a heart-breaking story of thriving Indigenous people forced to give up their land, displace their people, and destroy their ecosystems.
In part 1, I explored how the illegal occupation of Hawai’i by the U.S. government took away Hawaiian sovereignty. In part 2, I will explore how the destruction of wetlands in Hawai’i also contributed to taking away their sovereignty.
We can learn a lot by looking back at history and discover the ways our rights, freedoms, and sovereignty are at times stripped away by force, and other times stripped away quietly under our noses. Hopefully, you’ll also be inspired to continuously fight for your freedom as the Hawaiian people do.
Today, Waikiki – a neighbourhood in Honolulu, Hawai’i – is heavily developed with high-rise hotels and resorts, world-class dining, entertainment, and shopping centres. But it wasn’t always this way.
Waikiki Was Once Covered In Wetlands.
In the hands of Indigenous Hawaiians, wetlands created a rich natural habitat that allowed Hawaiian farmers to grow rice paddies, fish ponds, and grow taro (a root vegetable).
Wetlands helped to store excess water during heavy rainfall and avoid floods. They stored, filtered, and absorbed excess sediments and pollutants, reducing the pollution that ended in streams, oceans, and water systems. And they helped release water during droughts as well as promote biological diversity (like birds, fish, and plants).
But when the U.S. government took over Hawai’i, they decided “these [wetlands] aren’t sanitary.” So they created a law that would condemn the wetlands, push out farmers, cover up the wetlands, and legally build expensive real estate on top of them.
The best-known example of this in Waikiki is the development of the “Ala Wai Canal.”
Building The Ala Wai Canal At The Cost Of Losing Wetlands & The Natural Ecosystem.
Built between 1921-1928, the Ala Wai Canal was created to resemble the Venice canals and attract people of “private fortune” (aka the wealthy).
In order to build it, the U.S. government hired Walter Dillingham’s construction company to dredge the canal. These right also allowed Dillingham to “scoop up” over hundreds of acres of land and profit from real estate development. According to journalist Bianca Graulau, Dillingham’s fortune grew to one billion dollars in today's money. But in order for this to happen, Hawaiians had to lose their lands.
Today, the Ala Wai is a two-mile long, man-made waterway that forms the boundary of the Waikiki district, effectively separating Waikiki form the Makiki, Moilili, and Ala Moana areas of the city. As you can imagine, it played an important role in the development of the Waikiki district, which was initially a residential neighborhood before becoming a resort area.
The irony is that while wetlands were once labelled “unsanitary,” the Ala Wai Canal is now so polluted that the water is deemed “dangerous” to touch. Between the pollution from densely populated high-rise buildings, bacteria, heavy metals, pesticides, and sewage spills, locals avoid touching it as it can be hazardous to their health.
This begs the question: why would wetlands be considered unsanitary and illegal but not the Ala Wai Canal? It seems the Ala Wai Canal is more unsanitary than natural wetlands.
I suppose the answer lies in who it benefits and who it profits. The wetlands benefitted the Hawaiians, provided food source, traditions, culture, and ultimately their sovereignty. The Ala Wai Canal benefited businessmen and the government in monetary terms.
The ironic thing is that (it appears as if) no law is being passed to clean up and fix the harmful effects from the Ala Wai Canal.
Losing Natural Ecosystems Is Tied To Losing Sovereignty.
As a result of losing their wetlands and fertile land, many Hawaiians have become heavily dependent on imports. More recently, high food prices (mixed with a booming tourism and real estate development industry), have contributed to making Hawai’i unlivable for local Hawaiians.
Some Hawaiians today can’t afford to pay rent, get medical care, or eat nutritious food. Some even rely on charitable donations and food drives to eat fresh fruits and vegetables (as otherwise they couldn’t afford these nutritious foods). Others have been forced to leave their ancestral lands, the islands of Hawai’i, and move into mainland U.S.A.
Hawaiians remind us that the natural world underpins our economy, our culture, and our existence. Without a healthy, robust, and natural ecosystem we cannot function as free, independent, and self-sufficient human beings. Instead, we become dependent on those in power.
The Resilience Of The Hawaiian People Does Not Wither.
Over the decades, Hawaiians have witnessed the end of their Indigenous sovereignty through unlawful occupation, the appropriation of their land, and the removal of their rights and culture in favour of profits, progress, tourism, and real estate development.
Despite all these setbacks, Hawaiians remain resilient. The fact they continue fighting for their sovereignty in the face of oppression and exploitation is a testament to the strength of their undying spirits and the memory of their collective past.
“Queen Liliuokalani left a resilient legacy. Her commitment to her land and her people never wavered. And many Hawaiians continue to fight in her memory.” – Sydney Laukea, Native Hawaiian educator, Ph. D. in Political Science [emphasis in Hawaiʻi Politics]
There is still hope for sovereignty though. Hawaiians are finding new ways to grow their own food because they see agriculture as a way to be free, create their own energy, and restore their culture; as a way to reclaim sovereignty.
“If we break our dependencies, and we develop independent solutions, we don’t need anyone to tell us we’re independent. We will be independent.” – Hawaiian resident
One Final Word.
While the illegal occupation of Hawai’i and the destruction of wetlands were actions of past governments, they are recent enough that the people of Hawai’i continue to suffer immeasurably as a result. To some extend we participate in this when we allow laws to be passed without a rigorous and representative debate on what we do with lands and how we manage our resources.
When we allow those with power or money to influence decision-making against people’s sovereignty, we perpetuate systems of oppression. We deprive people’s right to be self-sustaining, independent, free, and dignified. We dehumanize them and become culprits too.
As I watch Hawaiians’ fight for sovereignty with hope and passion, I choose to share this story with you to raise awareness of the many ways we lose sovereignty. And to remind us all that accountability matters. That our lack of interest in money, in the protection of our environment, and other people’s freedom can circle back to us in more ways then we could imagine.
That’s why revisiting the past can be crucial to being better citizens of the world for the years ahead.
Questions I’m Pondering About:
Should agricultural abuse be a justice issue? A sovereignty issue?
Do we, in the West, care enough about the management of land?
How often are policies and laws passed in the name of “our well-being”, when in reality, they benefit our governmental leaders and their friends?
You can read Part 1: Hawai’i — The End of Indigenous Sovereignty (Occupation) here.
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Quotes to Remember:
“What we've experienced is the loss of our land, the decimation of our language and our culture, being overwhelmed, and becoming more and more of a minority in our own ancestral homelands.” – Kamanamaikalani Beamer, PhD, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
“This [man pointing to a river] is a lifeline. And that lifeline was broken. Broken now in the name of development.” – Pu’uhonua Dennis “Bumpy” Kanahele, Head of State of the Nation of Hawai’i
“The United States did not bring Hawai’i out of poverty. It did not bring Hawai’i into enlightenment. If anything, it crushed one of the most amazing, progressive places and indigenous-led Nations on the planet.” Kamanamaikalani Beamer, PhD University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa