Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 24, Number 3, 1 March 2007 — Hawaiian students put their thoughts to rhyme [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Hawaiian students put their thoughts to rhyme

Iam happy to feature in my eolumn the following writings found in He Makana no Pauahi that haumāna at Kamehameha Schools have written in honor of our Ke Ali'i Bernice Pauahi Bishop. Mr. Todd Takahashi, speech conununications instructor at Kamehameha Schools Kapālama, says it best when he states, "It is my greatest hope that the na'au of these haumāna will resonate within your hearts. I hope you will leam from these haumāna, as they have put to paper 'truth' taken from their na'au." I mua Kamehameha! Back Then Hnpfe No buildings, no keys That's the way it used to be. What hoppened then? What happened when? The people eame; our land wūs unahle to defend. Our Kūpuna was gone, tradition went with them Hawūiian land disappeared, it is owned by the white men. The land haek then, was lush with green The land we know now, gives pollution to the sea. How ean we remember the ways Our Kūpuna had haekin the days? To practice things that was easily forgotten Would be as hard ūs making ū quilt out of pure cotton. When you look at the land now, what do you think? Do you think of nothing, or do your feelings sink? To know that you'll never see how it was back then, ls a sad feeling to feel, but a message to send. The message reaches Kamehameha and the fun starts. Through the classes we have, Hawaiian culture is the target for darts. It is what the students learn that matters the most Because in the future, it is we who are the host. To teach other people is what we could do To preserve the culture, for me and you.

To Face the Struggle Kyndall Mūi-Simenna Struggle. A word that defines our lives. A challenge Hawaiians face eaeh day. They struggle for their culture. Their culture every day. They struggle for their language. Their language to be passed down. They struggle to be "Hawaiian." But yet again what does being "Hawaiian" mean? As Hawūiians we should know, but do we? For we know one thing is true. Our future is unsure. I am Hawaiian Kainoa īoriki I AM HAWAIIAN Now until forever So you better get used to it 'Cause we'll never die out, never l'm not special to you But l'm special to me So take a good look And soon you will see You ean take our lands You change our rules But there's one thing you cannot take And that's our Kamehameha Schools From the east to the west From every side and any side There's another thing you cannot take And that is our Hawaiian pride We've eome ū long way And we plan to keep going So take a step back homie 'Cause this culture is growing Since the beginning of time These lands were ours But it's gone to waste Since you put up your high towers You may think we're racist But you don't know the half 'Cause soon there will be a day When we'll be speaking on your behalf We'll be here forever As strong as ū lion So believe me when I say That I AM HAWAIIAN □

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