Being a good ancestor in the present

Repost from April 25, 2024

Anishinaabe water protector, activist, educator, politician, and community leader Winona LaDuke calls on us to "be the ancestor your descendants would be proud of." As I continue to learn of new uprisings and encampments in support of Gaza across the U.S. continent, Winona's wisdom is ever present. But what does it mean to be a good ancestor today? What does it look like? 

Personally, I see this call to action as a demand to protect land and water and prevent the extinction of the more-than-human world. It is a demand to safeguard Indigenous life, including those who cannot speak for themselves.

This year marks the 29th convening of the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) Exercise off the shores of Hawai'i in June and July. It is a devastating international military practice that impacts marine life beyond the summer months. In 2022, about 38 maritime vessels and 25,000 military personnel traveled to Oʻahu for the exercise, which is held at the Pearl Harbor-Hickam bases that the U.S. military currently occupy. While some may argue that this exercise is necessary to protect national security and Hawaiʻi's future, what about the future of our water? Our marine relatives whose lives are threatened during diving exercises or explosive ordinance trainings? What of the environmental costs and the carbon footprint required to host the exercise in Hawaiʻi, one of the most biodiverse and sensitive ecosystems on the planet? How can we be the ancestors our more-than-human relatives will thank if we continue to harm them?

In addition to persevering in the struggle for Gaza, Indigenous Peoples and allies of the Lāhui Hawaiʻi must continue fighting for demilitarization. Kanaka ʻŌiwi have made remarkable strides in ending military leases for land and the protection of water from pollution by the navy. But we must spread the word. We must continue to challenge dominant ideologies that military presence is necessary and good in Hawaiʻi. We must voice our history and our truth about Kahoʻolawe, Mākua Valley, Puʻuloa, Kapukākī, Pōhakuloa, Maunakea, Mauna Loa, Papahānaumokuākea, and so much more. 

I believe militarization and multiculturalism are two of the biggest threats to Indigenous self-determination and sovereignty in Hawaiʻi. However, I do not think it is impossible to dismantle their dominant status. As Noelani Goodyear-Kaʻōpua reminded me during a panel for Lā Kūʻokoʻa in 2023, empires fall. Every empire has experienced its rise and fall. Every day, through daily acts of resistance, we witness cracks and crumbles of empires around the world. Through resistance, action, solidarity, learning, and unlearning, we can be the ancestors our descendants will be proud of.