Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 22, Number 8, 1 August 2005 — Loeal producers seeking donations for demilitarization film [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Loeal producers seeking donations for demilitarization film

By Sterling Kini Wong The producers of a 60-minute documentaryaboutthehistorical presence of the U.S. military in Hawai'i and its effect on Native Hawaiians are seeking about $45,000 in donations to finish production of the film. The documentary, titled Noho Hewa Ma Hawai 'i Nei: The WrongfuI OeeupaUon of Hawai'i, chronicles the history of the U.S. military in the islands, from its involvement in the 1893 overthrow of the kingdom of Hawai'i to its ongoing land grab. The military's most notable plans to acquire lands - more than 24,000 acres combined on the Big Island and O'ahu - comes through its proposal to bring the controversial Stryker Brigade to Hawai'i. This land grab continues while the military already controls about 20 percent of the total land area in Hawai'i, roughly 56 percent of whieh are ceded lands, according to the documentary's website.

All of this, the film's producers say, has been detrimental to Native Hawaiians. "From psychological and spiritual trauma to cultural and environmental destruction, the story Noho Hewa Ma Hawai'i Nei tells is of the Hawaiian experience with America's military industrial complex, an industry that has been like a spear thrown through the heart of a nation and its people," the website says. Native Hawaiian journalist Anne Keala Kelly, the film's producer and writer, recorded the community's most recent struggles with the military for the show, including protests against the Stryker Brigade in 2003 that resulted in several arrests. The documentary also features a segment on the controversial proposal to allow classified military research at the University of Hawai'i. For more information about the documentary, to view clips from the film or to donate money, visit www. nohohewa.org.

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Nū Hou

One of 92,000 pieces of ordnance removed during the Kaho'olawe eleanup is detonated nearthe former Navy eamp at Honokanai'a. The upcoming documentary will trace the U.S. military's activities in Hawai'i since the overthrow of the kingdom. Photo: KWO Archive