Aloha & Mahalo Haunani-Kay Trask! RIP
OBITUARIES, 12 Jul 2021
Jim Albertini | Malu 'Aina Center for Non-violent Education & Action – TRANSCEND Media Service
Haunani-Kay Trask, Hawaiian scholar and activist, died in the morning of 3 Jul 2021 on Oahu, Honolulu. She was 71. Tenured as a professor for more than 30 years at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, Trask worked in co-founding the contemporary field of Hawaiian Studies.
We send our sympathy and aloha to the Trask ʻohana, Ka Lāhui Hawaiʻi, the Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies, and the many other organizations and people that she inspired.
Trask wrote two poetry books — Light in the Crevice Never Seen and Night is a Sharkskin Drum — and a collection of politically provocative essays, From a Native Daughter: Colonialism and Sovereignty in Hawaii. She also co-wrote and co-produced the award-winning documentary Act of War: The Overthrow of the Hawaiian Nation, which premiered in 1994.
Haunani-Kay Delivers Powerful Speech at the University of Hawaii in 1991
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltaYNSyhodo
And here is an excerpt of Haunani-Kay Trask’s prophetic testimony in Hilo, April 20, 1978 at an EIS hearing on the Navyʻs use of Kahoʻolawe for target practice:
“Why does the military need Kahoʻolawe? Please try and consider this as a broader issue. If the military loses Kahoʻolawe, the struggle is gonna go on forever. They’re gonna lose Makua valley. They’re gonna lose Pohakuloa, they’re gonna lose Kaneohe Marine Air base. This is the beginning of the struggle. This is not the end. That’s why they need Kaho’olawe…
“Try and think about the fact that if the military loses Kahoʻolawe, a precedent will be set for getting back all the military lands. 26% of Oʻahu is owned by the military. That’s what the argument is. That’s what the fight is. That’s what weʻre talking about. We’re not talking about all this other stuff. Were talking about whoʻs going to get the land back, who it belongs to. It doesn’t belong to the Navy. It doesn’t belong to the Americans…
“When you listen to all the testimony tonight, remember this is the main thing: We are talking about totally opposed cultural values. They’re interested in war, theyʻre interested in destruction. We’re interested in nourishment, sustenance and protection.”
Let us honor and carry with us always Haunani-Kay’s passion, vision, and truth.
Stop Bombing Pohakuloa!
End the US Illegal and Unjust Occupation of Hawaii!
- Mourn all victims of violence
- Reject war as a solution
- Defend civil liberties.
- Ground the Drones! Say No to War!
- Oppose all discrimination, anti-Islamic, anti-Semitic, anti-Hawaiian, etc.
- Seek peace by peaceful means through justice in Hawai’i and around the world.
July 16, 2021 Hilo Peace Vigil leaflet – week 1033– Fridays 3:30-5PM downtown Post Office
___________________________
Jim Albertini is a member of the TRANSCEND Network for Peace, Development and Environment, a former Catholic School teacher, and long-time social justice activist since the US war on Vietnam. He has done research on the use of depleted uranium at Pohakuloa Military Training Area and is the author of “The Dark Side of Paradise: Hawai’i in a Nuclear World.” Jim is the founder and director of Malu ‘Aina Center for Non-violent Education & Action, a spiritual community based on peace, justice and sustainable organic farming on Big Island, Hawai’i – P.O. Box 489 Ola’a (Kurtistown), Hawai’i 96760. Phone (+ 808) 966-7622 Email: ja@malu-aina.org – website: malu-aina.org
Haunani-Kay Trask (3 Oct 1949 – 3 Jul 2021) was a Hawaiian nationalist poet, activist, educator, political scientist, author, and professor emeritus at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Trask co-wrote and co-produced the award-winning documentary Act of War: The Overthrow of the Hawaiian Nation, winning nine different awards in three different countries.
Go to Original – malu-aina.org
Tags: Obituary
DISCLAIMER: The statements, views and opinions expressed in pieces republished here are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of TMS. In accordance with title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. TMS has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is TMS endorsed or sponsored by the originator. “GO TO ORIGINAL” links are provided as a convenience to our readers and allow for verification of authenticity. However, as originating pages are often updated by their originating host sites, the versions posted may not match the versions our readers view when clicking the “GO TO ORIGINAL” links. This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.