WASHINGTON D.C. — Several hundred Hawaiians and supporters marched in the nation’s capitol Saturday to raise awareness of the Hawaiian sovereignty movement and call for return of native lands. Chanting “I ku mau mau,” or “Pull together,” the group marched
WASHINGTON D.C. — Several hundred Hawaiians and supporters marched in the
nation’s capitol Saturday to raise awareness of the Hawaiian sovereignty
movement and call for return of native lands.
Chanting “I ku mau mau,” or
“Pull together,” the group marched down Pennsylvania Avenue from the U.S.
Capitol to the Ellipse across from the White House.
The two-day
demonstration, which also included a 24-hour prayer vigil and talks at the
Smithsonian, was a success in terms of drawing national media attention to the
plight of Native Hawaiians, said organizer and Kaua’i resident Butch
Kekahu.
“The coverage was great,” he said. “The more people who know what
we’re doing, the better. We must continue.”
The march itself was
“colorful and lively” with many of the supporters dressed in traditional kihei
and kikepa, and it drew a lot of support from tourists, cars honking and from
police officers, spokesman Riley ‘Ehu Cardwell said.
“It was beautiful and
we won some hearts along the way,” Kekahu added.
One sad note: one of those
in the Kaua’i entourage died shortly before the event. The name of the man,
said to be from Koloa, has not been confirmed.
“We honored at the march,”
Kekahu said.
Another focus of the march, the organizers said, was
unification of all the different Native Hawaiian sovereignty
groups.
Unification was important in 1998, when the first Aloha March was
staged, but it is “absolutely critical” now, said Cardwell.
Kekahu said he
needs to sit down with Hawaiian sovereignty leaders “because we’re not going to
do this another 107 years.”
“It’s now or never.”
After returning home
Sunday, he said he will give himself some time “to see how we’re going to work
this out with the Hawaiian sovereignty leaders in Hawai’i.”
He said his
goal is to “see how much we can do in three to five years.”
AP contributed
to this report
Pulling togetherAloha March organizer and founder Butch
Kekahu led a procession of about 300 Native Hawaiians and supporters down
Pennsylvania Avenue in the nation’s capitol Saturday in an attempt to raise
awareness about Hawaiian sovereignty. (Photo by
Mollie Bigger)
