AHA ALOHA 'AINA 2016 MOKU O KEAWE

Press Release February 15, 2016 from www.AhaAlohaAina.com

Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiians) will be holding public meetings in February to discuss their political status as a people and as an occupied nation.

A coalition of 21 Native Hawaiian community organizations and sovereignty groups are holding a series of public meetings in the month of February that include three on Hawaiʻi island. This ʻAha Aloha ʻĀina series is to identify the very broad movement in the Hawaiian movement for Independence and educate the community on the various initiatives. The Na’i Aupuni ʻAha is taking place throughout the month of February in Kailua on the island of Oahu and is attempting to claim that they represent the Kanaka Maoli community when it excludes 80% of our people.

Hawaiʻi Island  (LINK: Flyer)

• Hilo: Tuesday, February 23, 2016, 6 pm – 8 pm UH Hilo, UCB100
• Waimea: Wednesday, February 24, 2016, 6 pm – 8 pm Kanu O Ka ʻĀina, Hale Puke
• Kona: Friday, February 26, 2016, 6 pm – 8 pm, West Hawaiʻi Civic Center - Community Hale

There will also be ʻAha Aloha ʻĀina 2016 forums on Maui and Oʻahu. (LINK: Sunday Feb 21 on Maui)

The goals of the ʻAha Aloha ʻĀina 2016 are:

1) Reaffirm our Independence

2) Resist and oppose Na`i Aupuni’s claims to be the representative voice of our people

3) Reject the current DOI endeavor to Federally Recognize nā Kanaka Maoli as a Native Hawaiian Tribe

4) Unite our people and reveal the many different ways that our people have been building and rebuilding our Nation over the past several hundred years up to the present

Kapu Lambert, a Hawaiian Kupuna and one of the organizers of Protest Naʻi Aupuni and ʻAha Aloha Āina 2016 says, “Our planned gatherings are a presentation of true self-determination, not State-sponsored predetermination, we are holding these meetings to determine how to unite and further the education of our people on the nation building efforts that have been ongoing since before and after the US overthrow and takeover of the Hawaiian Kingdom.”

The ʻAha Aloha ʻĀina came out of the Hālāwai Aloha ʻĀina informational community meetings that were held from October-November, 2015 statewide (see www.protestnaiaupuni.com for more information). These informational meetings, organized by Native Hawaiian community leaders, educated the public and facilitated and recorded discussions on the “State of Hawaiʻi” sponsored Naʻi Aupuni and the US DOI proposed rule changes to federalize Hawaiians. In response to the comments collected from the public, the ʻAha Aloha ʻĀina is being organized to provide an alternative to the State funded and controlled Naʻi Aupuni ʻAha, and to provide a venue for unity and nation building dialogue unhampered by any State or Federal agendas.

Dr. Kalama Niheu, a Protest Naʻi Aupuni member and the lead organizer of the ʻAha Aloha ʻĀina, stated, “Our goal is to safeguard future Kanaka Maoli rights and claims to National or Hawaiian Kingdom lands for future generations. “

Dr. Kū Kahakalau, one of the Hawaiʻi island ʻAha Aloha ʻĀina organizers, states “ʻFor me as an educator, the ʻAha Aloha ʻĀina means bringing together the many successful efforts initiated by people, organizations and communities throughout Hawaiʻi to create our own culturally-driven, family-oriented, community based, sustainability-focused system of education.”

All of the ʻAha Aloha ʻĀina community meetings planned for the islands of Oʻahu and Hawaiʻi are free and open to the public. For more information on ʻAha Aloha ʻĀina and the position of the coalition go to www.AhaAlohaAina.com and check out the declaration.

ʻAha Aloha ʻĀina 2016 Sponsors and Press Conference Attendees

• ʻAhupuaʻa o Polipoli a Ahikuli
• Aloha ʻĀina o nā Koʻolauloa
• Aloha ʻĀina Party
• ʻĀina Lāhui
• Destination Restoration
• Hawaiian Studies Department, Windward Community College, the University of Hawaiʻi
• John Munn Kahikina Kelekona Foundation
• Kai ʻUla Ponoʻī Texas Hawaiian Civic Club
• Ka Lei Maile Ali’i Hawaiian Civic Club
• Kingdom of Hawaiʻi (Free Hawaiʻi)
• Kū-a Kanaka, LLC
• Kūʻē Petition Organizers Moku O Keawe
• The Koani Foundation
• Moana Nui
• Nā Kūpuna a me Nā Kakoʻo o Hālawa
• Native Hawaiian Organization Charity
• Nā Wahine Aloha ʻĀina University of Hawai’i at Hilo Student Group
• ‘Ohana Arts and Hula Studio LLC
• ʻOhana Koa-Nuclear Free and Independent Pacific
• Order of Kamehameha
• Protest Naʻi Aupuni