"Keep hawaiian lands in hawaiian hands"

While our people live on land that is free to the public, we have others standing and awaiting to take action. Before our generation, our ancestors have been on an ongoing fight for the freedom of our identity, our land, and our freedom as people. I was watching this video which I think is called “1985 Waimanalo Eviction.” This is a very sad video, because you feel depress and sad for the ways that the Americans felt about our people living off the land. These families fight and fight for what is rightfully theirs. How wrongful is it that others want to take it away from them? I cried throughout this video, because it really is a sad way to watch people tear down homes and arrest people who are of Hawaiian ancestry who have the right to stay on open grounds. Native Hawaiians “IMUA” they shout while their own kanaka and others take apart the hale that they had. And continuously they yelled out “keep Hawaiian lands in Hawaiian hands.” Why should we feel the need to fight our lands? In the days, our kupuna could roam free on these lands when they felt like it.

Our people have been fighting from generations to generations for their identity and the rights of our kanaka of Hawai‘i nei. I feel for them, because it’s hard to see and watch the pain and suffering that these folks are doing to our kanaka. We cannot continue to live like this; all of our people will be gone by then. Kekuhi Blaisdell said by 2044 our native “pure” kanaka will be gone! No more!” These people call themselves the good people, “protector of the lands.” If their good, then why are they separating us from our culture, our identity, our rights as people, and our own home lands. What is there left for us to do? How can we live our lives in a place where we can’t do as we please on our own land? This is absurd. I don’t agree with anything that has gone on, because they take our lands away and give to the military or to businesses. That is not right at all. And what’s even worse, is that we have to sign up to qualify for Hawaiian homelands and when awarded we still have to pay for owning the land?? I don’t like it at all, not the signing up part, but the fact that we have to pay for it under an agreement that was made.

Sources:
-1985 Waimanalo Eviction
-Kekuhi Blaisdell