Oli Makahiki, Chant Composed as a Gift for My Daughter Kalea-Qy-Ana During Makahiki, the Rest Period from October through January, 1994: Keia Mana'o Ho'okuku 'Ohana Kakou (This is the Opinion Regarding Our Family Symbols)

The name of this chant is a response to a collection of poems and commentary written and given to me as a Christmas gift by my eighteen-year-old daughter, Kalea-Qy-ana. The title of that body of work is "Find Me a Mountain." Translated into Hawaiian, her request is interpreted as "Demonstrate" or "Show" the "Family Mountain." As I become older, learn more about being Hawaiian, and allow myself to feel more Hawaiian, I begin to appreciate the vast differences in the culture as reflected in the Hawaiian language, which was not officially recognized until 1987.

Traditionally, Kánaka Maoli, or Native Hawaiians, would find it impolite or maha'oi(aggressive) to request something in a demanding tone as the word "find" might suggest. Also, Hawaiians were detailed in their prayers and requests. If a person's prayer was recklessly prepared or inappropriately phrased, the request might result in something undesirable. The phrase "Find Me a Mountain" (as expressed in English) implies "any" mountain, and thus leaves an opening for "finding" one where people killed themselves, or a place where there were poisonous spiders, or a mountain weighted down with condominiums that no longer maintained "mountain-ness" in the Hawaiian sense. Therefore, in interpreting the mana'o ho'okuku(metaphor), "family mountain" is closer to the heart of what the request is really about.

As a mother who has consciously guided both my daughters—perhaps too much and too often out of fear that "enough was never enough"—I interpret the title of Ana's first adult work (and gift to me) as a lei, a garland or collection of items in Hawaiian and represents a symbol in our deep relationship. For the first time in a long time since she lay in my arms or on the bed next to me noisily chatting about this or that, she is again sharing her mana'o, her deepest thoughts with me. This gift is complemented by written commentary she completed during her first few months at college. Because she is enrolled in the field of environmental studies at Evergreen State College, I felt somewhat reassured, expecting that through integration of scientific data, history, Native culture, creativity, and community involvement in her academic work, Ana would have an opportunity of remembering/learning how to be Hawaiian.

How could a Native Hawaiian young woman "learn to be Hawaiian" in the Northwest? Are there other peoples who can help? My own experience has shown me that many of the sources for learning and help can be found within indigenous communities. It is not surprising, for example, that Native Hawaiians and Native Americans are mirrors for each other. On one of my trips to Hawaii, I had a conversation with Hank Raymond, a Colville Indian from northeastern Washington; he used this mirror image to describe the way he "sees" himself among Native Hawaiians. I have found the same to be true among Native Americans in California. As a Native Hawaiian, when I am with Native Americans, there is a unique perspective that is slightly sharper, something like an intimacy I can only describe as "a feeling" that we share something in common. We are comfortable with each other's intent, respectful of each other's talent, well-being, and ability, cognizant of each other's histories. ¹ This feeling comes from the realm of trust and belief. There is a Hawaiian saying I ka 'ólelo no ke ola, i ka 'ólelo no ka make, "In the word life; (or) death."

Recently, I read a story...