What is it?
Amid the era of endless zoom meetings and classes we currently endure, we are unable to physically gather together as we would annually. Kole aku kole mai is our attempt to create a safe space where we can converse and share what is happening in our communities globally. What does Kole aku kole mai mean? In ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, Kole is commonly known as a tasty and desirable reef fish. However, when reduplicated, kolekole is an informal talk story. With its directionals, Kole aku kole mai becomes a reciprocation of stories we share amongst each other!
Participants and Speakers:
In this new series so far, we hosted a total of three webinars! We were honored to host friends Cynthia Ford and Rosa Laucci and team from the Tolowa De-ni’ nation. They spoke to their Indigenous marine stewardship practices and how they utilize ancestral knowledge to inform their Harvest Title and how they are building enforcement capacity.
In our second webinar , we were joined by the wonderful Tamara Archie of Qwelminte Secwepemc in British Columbia. Our dear Tamara shared
how their various nations navigate “walking in two worlds,” and protect natural resources through the modernity of western science with the guidance of their traditional practices. She spoke to the importance of the way we recognize one another and how this plays a vital role in our advancement into the future.
Most recently, prominent land and water advocates and founders of the Indigenous World Forum on Water and Peace, Darlene Sanderson and Mona Polacca left our network gathering inspired to further their mission leading various Indigenous communities in exercising sovereignty through water declarations. As Indigenous peoples, we understand the vitality of our water sources in our daily and spiritual existence. This however is not understood by many who continuously over-exploit and threaten the existence and quality of our sacred sources that give us life. These declarations are proclaimed in the nationʻs native tongue and express that there is no separation between ourselves and wai and that its perpetual existence and purity is necessary for future generations.
Their empowering experiences with the Tsilhqot’in Nation Water Declaration they shared have challenged our network to envision a water declaration of our own that would demonstrate our pilina to wai. Without water, there is no life! #Olaikawai #Shutdownredhill
Kole aku kole mai serves as a powerful reminder to us that we are not alone in our experiences. We are resilient and continue to stand in unity with our Indigenous communities across our beloved honua. Stay in touch with our monthly webinars to hear more from friends and those we are connected to along the way!
View past Kole aku kole mai episodes here: Kole Aku Kole Mai
A hiki i ke aloha ʻāina hope loa,
Kalehuakea Kelling
Kalehuakea is a soon-to-be graduate of Political Science and ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi and a first-year Masterʻs candidate in Political Science from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Her roots to ʻāina in Hawaiʻi stem from her various ʻohana experiences on kuleana lands in ʻIolekaʻa and throughout her primary education as a graduate from Ke Kula ʻo Samuel M Kamakau, a PreK-12 Hawaiian medium charter school. Kalehuakea continues to cultivate her aloha to ʻāina in her work with Kuhiawaho and academic areas of interest that include but is not limited to: cultural resource management, ʻike and ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, and demilitarization.
