A Dash of Calabash

Blogs sponsored by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii (GRIH) include:

This one, A Dash of Calabash. It is our central blog, so to speak. Your thoughts and comments are so important to us that we have put your ability to interact with us as the centerpiece of our website.

Your Voice Matters.

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Akaka Talka. As you might guess this one is focused on the proposed Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act of 2005 (S147 H309) otherwise referred to as the Akaka Bill. It is a part of "Sunshine on the Akaka Bill" on the upper left of this homepage.

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Education Beat Hawaii is a separate website that invites your comments. Click here to get the latest on Education Reform.

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Feature - Projected State Spending Growth

Friday, July 29, 2005

What they don't know

On the way to Kipahulu, there's a patch of ancient lo'i that have been brought back into production by local families, right next to the road (on "state" land, I think, but they don't seem concerned whose land it is). Over the lo'i flies an upside down Hawaiian flag, which is a symbol of distress, and is commonly used by Hawaiian nationals to express the occupation of their country. The fellow who is the main coordinator of the lo'i restoration was there with his kids the other day when I drove by, and I stopped to talk story. I was curious to get his take on current events, so I asked him what he thought about the Akaka bill. I was surprised when he said he had never heard of it.

The Honolulu Advertiser on July 14, 2005 used front page headlines, two articles, and the lead editorial to discuss the Akaka bill. In one article, Sen. Craig Thomas (R-WY) is quoted in answer to whether he was going to vote for it: "I need to talk and think and read more about it. I'm a little concerned about it in that it seems like - it's quite a different thing than sovereignty of Indian tribes. I am undecided about it because I'm uninformed."