Note, added 8/11: No blog post until September. I’m taking a few weeks off before the start of the next school year. Mahalo.
Maui and Hawai`i have been on my mind this week. I’ve been riveted by the news of wildfires devastating parts of Maui and the Island of Hawai`i. People who know me even mildly know I have deep ties to Hawai`i. I grew up there and still consider it home. While I didn’t grow up on the Island of Hawai`i or Maui, they are deeply embedded in our family story, and in times like this regionalism evaporates – we are all connected to the people and places.
I’m using this platform and blog to amplify, give some context, and direct resources to a place many visit but may not understand deeply. I still have a lot of learning to do, especially learning from diverse Native Hawaiian perspectives.
“Cry for the people, Cry for the land that was taken away, And then yet you’ll find Hawai’i” — Hawai’i 78, sung by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole
It is cliché to say Maui will rebuild. They will, but for the moment, people are stunned. Many of us not on the island but connected to Hawai`i are reading the news, internet-tab hopping and social media scrolling to look for new video clips, seeing where the grassroots fundraisers are happening, and texting with people back in Hawai`i to make sure they are safe and ask how we can help.
For many Hawai`i is a vacation spot visited for days or if lucky longer amounts of time. It is a place where life is a little easier for a short while and the sun, glorious beaches, and a laid back welcoming attitude are in abundance. Now Maui needs that aloha and kōkua back. This isn’t a matter of charity, if you’ve ever vacationed in Hawai`i, contributed to climate change, eaten a SPAM musubi or Hawaiian plate lunch, watched Moana, contemplated naming your child or pet Malia, or romanticized about Hawai`i now is one of many times for you to give back to the Kānaka Maoli and the ‘āina.
Here are ways you can help:
Donate to reputable organizations, see the list below. If you have friends or family on Maui pass them funds to use at their discretion. They might need temporary housing or know someone who is displaced and needs money to make life more bearable. Grassroots help is often quicker and nimbler than government aid.
Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement
Maui Humane Society — please consider fostering a pet to make room for others
Pacific Birth Collective – added 8/11
Public Schools of Hawai’i Foundation — added 8/11, an Instagram post from the Hawai’i Dept of Education said all gifts made through 10/1/23 will be designated solely for Maui students.
Chef Hui — added 9/1 feeding many on Maui right now
Hawaii Farmers Union United — added 9/1
If you have a second house on Maui that is vacant (vacation homes, ADUs), allow someone to rent it. Housing is already tight in Hawai’i and with the thousands of people displaced and needing to rebuild it will become harder to find rentals. The Governor of Hawai’i has already put out a call for people to open their housing to others. I remember after Hurricane Iniki (Kauai), many had to find rentals while they rebuilt their houses.
Donate blood. Burn victims need a lot of blood products to recover. While there hasn’t been an official call for this yet, it doesn’t hurt to donate at your local blood bank anyway. Many of the blood banks work in concert with each other, so while your blood may not be sent to Hawai`i it will backfill for other important needs.
Learn about Hawai’i. For many Hawai`i is a vacation destination, but it is more than that. For a very quick primer that doesn’t do justice to the important history of Hawai`i start here. I also encourage you to read Detours, a Decolonial Guide to Hawai’i. I just pulled out my copy tonight and re-read parts of it to give more context and meaning of what is happening on Maui. Lāhainā, the town on Maui that burned, has a very deep history tracing back to the Hawaiian Ali’i.
Follow the lead of the Kānaka Maoli and the Kapunas. This is their āina and their ohana.
*Note – I purposefully did not put English translations next to ‘ōlelo words. Doing so would make it easy to default to Western meanings versus the intent and spirit of Hawai’i.
A few definitions here:
Kānaka Maoli or Kānaka Oiwi – Native Hawaiians, Indigenous people of Hawai’i
Kapuna – Elders
Āina – Land or water, not just a physical place but also the spirit of the land
Kōkua – contributing selflessly as part of a community
Ohana – family, often seen as inclusive of others not just blood family
Ali’i — Royalty
Finally, Ua Mau ke Ea o ka ʻĀina i ka Pono, Hawai`i state motto May the Life of the Land be Perpetuated in Righteousness.
Additional note, Hawai`i is written with the ‘okina. The ‘okina is not an apostrophe. The ‘okina adds an emphasis, glottal stop, in the written Hawaiian language.
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