LiC - Noho Hewa

I went to the Women's Studies colloquium on Noho Hewa. This actually was not a screening of the movie, but a discussion of four different scenes of note by the filmmaker, Anne Keala Kelly. The four scenes were:

1. UARC meetings at UH Manoa
2. Disruption of Native Hawaiian iwi (burial sites)
3. An interview with a homeless kanaka maoli in Waianae
4. Protests of the Akaka bill at Iolani Palace.

Anna Keala Kelly spoke about the spiritual and psychological breakdown that Native Hawaiians have experienced due to the continued occupation. She called her type of journalism "kuleana journalism", meaning that she felt a personal sense of responsibility to make sure that certain issues and stories were told to the world. Even as she took on this monumental task of making/editing this movie (which has taken her the last 6.5 years), she mentioned that she was often treated like the enemy. She faced opposition from the real enemy -- the occupiers -- as well as some of her fellow kanaka maoli.

One major thing she mentioned about language was the revitalization of Hawaiian culture that started in the 1970s and continued into the 80s. She said that the revitalization of Hawaiian language broke down doors and forced the voice of the people into the public space.