Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 16, Number 9, 1 September 1999 — World Indigenous Peoples Conference inspires action [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

World Indigenous Peoples Conference inspires action

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£ ala e Kahiki ē! E ala e Kahiki ē! E hume ka malo a 'ai ka 'ai! E hopu ka lima i ka hoe....A hoea! ĪHES TRADITIONAL chant resonated throughout the shores of Hilo where 4,000 delegates gathered to ceremoniously open the 5th Tri-annual World Indigenous PeopIes' Conferenee on Education (WIPCE). The chant calls on all nations to awaken, nourish themselves and take control of their destiny. That is exactly what the delegates did last week. The actual conference drew people representing indigenous nations around the world and eager to share their knowledge and experiences for the well being of all. From the very beginning we were given visual images of our past, present and future through the landing of the voyaging eanoe Makali'i. Participants

saw how our rich past is an integral part of our present and the motivation for our future. The conference challenged all delegates to get into the eanoe and chart a course that will advance our peoples through the use our cognitive and intuitive senses. nnmnr?j_ j.i

was "Aia nā Hā'ina i loko o Kākou" or "the answers he within us." By the end of the conference, that theme heeame self evident through formal panels, workshops, informal discussions and cultural exchanges. The result was the formulation of new questions and the finding of answers. WIPCE delegates reaffirmed the right to have meaningful, ■ empowering and cultur- B ally sustainable educa- B tion for indigenous peo-

ple as a fundamental human right that directly relates to our abihty to be selfdetermining. The delegates also recognized that to be indigenous is both a privilege and a birthright. Ah indigenous people are responsible to ensure that our respective cultures, phhosophies and ideologies eonhnue to prosper.

Eaeh of the 90 daily workshops focused on one aspect of our peoples' education and encouraged everyone to "look to the source" of our being for the answers. We learned of the tragedies and atrocities that suppressed and stole our learning base and knowledge. We

saw how the imposition of foreign/colonial educational systems distorted and retarded our peoples' abihty to learn. We raised questions that chahenged the very foundation of our current learning systems. And we found new strategies that would spring board our people to their rightful plaee as leaders of our indigenous nations. ^%itical was the idea m that our cultural knowledge and valI ues must be fuhy \*incorporated into

every aspect of curriculum. Teaching an indigenous "art" class as an elective or simply teaching "Western" ideology through an indigenous language absent the context of our cultural values is an incomplete learning experience. In many ways, that inadequate learning

base perpetuates the stereotypes and negative learning experiences of the "Western" system. We recognized that mueh of our own Hawauan eumeulum closely resembles the problematic models. The conference reminds us that we must scrutinize and question our work to eonhnue the growth of our indigenous knowledge and our people's weh being. The 4,000 delegates accepted the WIPCE chahenge and are now charting a cohective course toward education and self-determination. The conference reinforced our understanding that we must develop a healthy, hohstic foundation for our self-determination. For Hawaiians, we must resurrect the na'auao that has been suppressed far too long. WIPCE was a great success. In the early stages, OHA questioned its viabihty and purpose. As a delegate for Moloka'i, I saw the value and importance of W1PCE independent ofOKD\rs pohūeal divides. In fact, the level of fulfillment and the obvious gains far surpassed OHA's meager contributions or commitments. Therefore, we recognize and congratulate the Edith Kanaka'ole Foundahon and ah the WIPCE organizers for a weh planned educational experience. Mahalo nui, we needed that! ■

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