Advocates push for more understanding, recognition of Native Hawaiian holidays

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – As the holiday season approaches, many native Hawaiians and locals are making time to celebrate and learn about indigenous holidays often overlooked by Western culture.

La Kuokoa is celebrated to remember the Hawaiian Kingdom’s independence and those who fought hard and continue to fight against oppression.

Dr. Noelani GoodYear-Ka Opua, professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, believes indigenous holidays like La Kuokoa are purposely forgotten due to white supremacy and a power often utilized within western colonialism.

“So around the world, Thanksgiving is not a holiday that others celebrate. So similarly here in Hawaii, we didn’t celebrate Thanksgiving, we celebrated La Kuokoa. And so the replacement of La Kuokoa with Thanksgiving was part of the cultural kind of work and change that the white supremacist oligarchy was trying to engage in,” Ka Opua said.

Ka Opua says reclaiming this holiday helps restore native Hawaiians’ identity, especially those who are coming back home or have been ashamed of their culture.

Kalawaia Nunies, a UH Manoa student who is native Hawaiian, believes there should be more funding for celebrations of Native Hawaiian holidays and indigenous activities.

“The University of Hawaii at Manoa established in their 2002 strategic plan that this place shall be deemed a Hawaiian place of learning, however, within the last 21 years now, I believe that the university hasn’t done a good job and it’s evident through their community outreach and what they have done to kanaka Hawaii,” Nunies said.

La Kuokoa is not an official state holiday that allows government employees to take time off from work, but Gov. Josh Green signed in April of this year a bill recognizing La Kuokoa every year on November 28th.

Wikuki Kengi, a visitor from Aotearoa, the indigenous name of New Zealand, believes holidays celebrating sovereignty should be celebrated nationally.

“Independence is really what we call rangatiratanga which is your sovereignty and your chieftainship and your Tapu and Mana which is really about having total authority,” Kengi said.

For Ka Opua, she says in past years there’ve been an increase in celebrations and people celebrating kanaka holidays, especially for keiki exploring their heritage.

“My kids at school, they’re printing shirts and having their own kind of celebrations. Actually now even at Kamehameha, it’s an official holiday on the school calendar so they have the day off,” Ka Opua said.

La Hoihoi Ea is the sister holiday of La Kuokoa which celebrates the restoration of Hawaiian sovereignty and the Hawaiian Kingdom, which is celebrated on July 4th.

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