May 13th follow up report from April 20th meeting
Aloha aina ia kakou pakahi a pau:
An apology to everyone for the delay in sending this message out. This is a very busy time of year, and it's only intensified since our meeting on April 20.
Since we met, we learned from Ghazali Ohorella, one of the two facilitators of the Pacific Caucus, that prior to the April 20th meeting, the 3 funded seats to the Alta meeting had already been allocated. Malia Nobrega had volunteered to take one of the seats and is bringing Hauoli Waiau. Also, Aliantha Lim-Tepper of Maui was proposed by the Global Indigenous Youth Caucus.
We had wanted to schedule a follow-up meeting to decide on other delegates, but we learned there wasn’t enough time: Alta is a few weeks away, the deadline for conference registration expired 11 days following the April 20th meeting, and plane tickets were almost gone. Because of the tight time frame and the interest expressed at the meeting in sending delegates, we’ve asked and OHA has agreed to fund Dexter Kaiama, whose name was raised at the April 20 meeting as a possible delegate, and Dr. Kalama Niheu to attend the Alta conference.
We would like to propose a meeting with Kalama and Dexter before they leave. This meeting would be a space for people to share their manaʻo with the delegates. This meeting will be held on a date TBA. Those who chose to gather do not need to decide on a single platform or statement, but the delegates will be able to hear the diversity of perspectives and the potential points of unity, so that they can carry those with them to Alta. Additionally, MANA has committed to organizing a report back session when Dexter and Kalama return from Alta, as well as future educational forums around some of the key questions that came up at the April 20th meeting at the Kanaina building, such as the issue of “decolonization” or “deoccupation” and “to be or not to be Indigenous.”
Finally, in regards to the letter that was read at the end of the April 20th meeting, we realize that some people wanted time to discuss it before signing or not. However, from correspondences before, immediately following and since the meeting we know that there is substantial support from many who were at the 4/20 meeting and within the larger community. We feel this justifies moving forward. We invite you to add your name to the letter and understand if you will not. The letter will be distributed only with the names of those who choose to sign on, and NOT in the name of the April 20th gathering. We believe the letter is fair and just and we stand by the principles outlined in terms of future representation of Kanaka ʻŌiwi in international fora. We also believe a diversity of opinion is healthy. Attached is a copy for review.
Aloha aina,
Organizing cmte (Ikaika, Jon, Andre, Noe, Ilima, Terri)
An apology to everyone for the delay in sending this message out. This is a very busy time of year, and it's only intensified since our meeting on April 20.
Since we met, we learned from Ghazali Ohorella, one of the two facilitators of the Pacific Caucus, that prior to the April 20th meeting, the 3 funded seats to the Alta meeting had already been allocated. Malia Nobrega had volunteered to take one of the seats and is bringing Hauoli Waiau. Also, Aliantha Lim-Tepper of Maui was proposed by the Global Indigenous Youth Caucus.
We had wanted to schedule a follow-up meeting to decide on other delegates, but we learned there wasn’t enough time: Alta is a few weeks away, the deadline for conference registration expired 11 days following the April 20th meeting, and plane tickets were almost gone. Because of the tight time frame and the interest expressed at the meeting in sending delegates, we’ve asked and OHA has agreed to fund Dexter Kaiama, whose name was raised at the April 20 meeting as a possible delegate, and Dr. Kalama Niheu to attend the Alta conference.
We would like to propose a meeting with Kalama and Dexter before they leave. This meeting would be a space for people to share their manaʻo with the delegates. This meeting will be held on a date TBA. Those who chose to gather do not need to decide on a single platform or statement, but the delegates will be able to hear the diversity of perspectives and the potential points of unity, so that they can carry those with them to Alta. Additionally, MANA has committed to organizing a report back session when Dexter and Kalama return from Alta, as well as future educational forums around some of the key questions that came up at the April 20th meeting at the Kanaina building, such as the issue of “decolonization” or “deoccupation” and “to be or not to be Indigenous.”
Finally, in regards to the letter that was read at the end of the April 20th meeting, we realize that some people wanted time to discuss it before signing or not. However, from correspondences before, immediately following and since the meeting we know that there is substantial support from many who were at the 4/20 meeting and within the larger community. We feel this justifies moving forward. We invite you to add your name to the letter and understand if you will not. The letter will be distributed only with the names of those who choose to sign on, and NOT in the name of the April 20th gathering. We believe the letter is fair and just and we stand by the principles outlined in terms of future representation of Kanaka ʻŌiwi in international fora. We also believe a diversity of opinion is healthy. Attached is a copy for review.
Aloha aina,
Organizing cmte (Ikaika, Jon, Andre, Noe, Ilima, Terri)