Kanaka maoli have always been rooted in the ʻāina and especially on Earth Day, we honor the land from which we grew. When I was in fifth grade, I learned an ʻōlelo noʻeau that has stuck with me through today: he aliʻi ka ʻāina, he kauwā ke kanaka (the land is a chief, man is its servant). The present state of our planet is in distress; landfills cover sacred land, pollution fills the atmosphere, pipes and oil rigs dig through soil producing suffocating liquids, and plastic floats through the ocean and stuffs the bellies of our ʻaumākua. We are quickly destroying the land our ancestors so carefully loved and if we don’t protect and nurture the ʻāina, there will be nothing left for future generations. On this Earth Day, I hope for a cleaner planet where human inhabitants conserve and respect every living piece Papa and Wākea created.
