Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 17, Number 9, 1 September 2000 — Aloha March sends message of justice [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Aloha March sends message of justice

By Manu Boyd fOR 20 years, Kaua'i kupuna Butch Kekahu has been honing a mammoth grass-roots undertaking. Inspired by his unele, Charles Koani, the Aloha March,

I held last month in Washington D.C., was the result of a wise utterance. "If you're going to talk the talk, you better walk the walk," he used to say. These words are now the bedrock of the Koani Foundation over whieh Kekahu presides. The foundation's first march, staged in 1998 in Washington, D.C., was an impressive showing of Hawaiian solidarity. Aloha March 2000 was the subject of national and intemational coverage by the BBC, NPR, ABC television and radio news, Fox Network News, Pacifica and Westwood One radio networks, Associated Press, Gannet and numerous media across America, whieh helped bring to light the urgency of justice for Hawaiians. A day before the march, opening ceremonies at the

U.S. Capitol drew dozens of people from Hawai'i and across the continent. Oli were offered by Kumu Hula Vicky Holt Takamine and Pi'ilani Smith, both of the 'Ilio'ulaokalani Coalition, and ho'okupu were exchanged between Kekahu and Native American representatives. The march proceeded down Pennsylvania Avenue and ended at the Ellipse behind the White House attracting the attention and support of many. "As marchers

chanted the rallying 7 Kū Mau Mau carrying banners, Hawaiian flags and stalks of lā'ī (tī leaf), passers-by honked their horns in a show of support," reported Riley 'Ehu Cardwell of California, who has diligently worked on behalf of the Koani Foundation to promote the event and heivhten awareness of

Hawaiian issues. Shortly after his arrival in Washington, Bob Meyers, a Kaua'i kupuna who insisted on attending the march despite poor health, passed away "Bob's dismal health condition is eommon among Native Hawaiians," said Cardwell, citing the need for redress for Hawaiians. Of Meyers, Kekahu said, "We owe a debt of gratitude to a fellow kanaka maoli who is now a fallen warrior for this cause." The Koani Foundation is planning a third march in 2005, affirming again that the words of Charles Koani two decades ago did not fall on deaf ears. "The one who really planted the seed for the Aloha March wasn't Koani, but the 38,000 Hawaiians who, along with Queen Lili'uokalani, signed the kū'ē oetitions oooosine annexa-

tion. Although their voices were not heard in 1898, we continue a new chapter on their behalf," Cardwell concluded. On the cover: Photographs of Aloha March 2000 are byformer OHA Hawaiian Rights division officer Sebastian Aloot, currently residing in Washington, D.C. ■

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