The word for this series is well chosen, however Ka Huliau (time of change) is not only happening now. Our ancestors in a chant called "Au a ia" predicted it. It spoke about foreigners arriving on these shores, and how our culture and land would be seized and our race would be scattered all over this world. When Capt. James Cook arrived in 1778, the prophecy came true.

Having studied the history of Hawaii and being involved in the Hawaiian movement for the last 31 years, this is a difficult time to be a Kanaka Maoli. The reason being that Spiritually and Culturally, we are the only group of people in the world that connect to these islands as children of the gods, Papa the Earth mother and Wakea, the Sky father. Our parents taught us at a very young age that because you have the "Koko"(blood), the blood flowing in your veins, this land would always be yours. That the land (mountains and oceans) cannot be mistreated or degraded that you always must "malama" take care of the land. As you grow up you find that not everyone respects the land as you were taught. They dig huge holes in it, bomb it, pour all kinds of chemicals on it, put concrete and asphalt to build hotels and condos, disregard the warnings of the Kupuna (elders). The life giving water from the mountains is polluted and we have to drink bottled water. Our loÕi (taro patches), which produce our staple food, is endangered because the water is being used for other crops, which are foreign. Many of our natural foods from the ocean are extinct because of the runoffs from the land and the heavy recreational use of the near shore waters.

Our people are at the top of the social ills in Hawaii and the Nation by being the poorest in health, the most in prison, the highest in drug abuse, homeless, education and the list goes on.

There are "wana-be-hawaiians", who under the guise of the United State Constitution want to create fear and discontent among our people by attacking what is due us from the Illegal overthrow of Queen Liliuokalani. Our Queen represented a legacy of indigenous rulers who ruled the dominion and domain of these islands for the last thousand years.

As present day Hawaiians our legacy to this islands must be recognized by at least the United States of America. The United Nations can recognize us, but will they defend our right to this land and insist that America "give back" what was taken. Not really.

It will take the efforts of, non-Hawaiians all over the world who have been helping us over these many years to truly make Hawaii and its Indigenous people a place where "Aloha can be truly shared by all"

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Ho`iho`i Mai

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