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WE ARE ISLANDERS AIKO YAMASHIRO & NOELANI GOODYEAR-KA‘ÖPUA The majestic female figure on the cover of this book is artist John “Prime” Hina’s depiction of Pele, the fiery deity who currently resides at Halema‘uma‘u on Hawai‘i Island. In his rendering, Pele holds an ‘umeke—a bowl typically used for containing food—on her right hip. The ‘umeke poi is an important symbol in Hawaiian culture. In many families across the islands, the ‘umeke has traditionally been the center of any shared meal. Once the ‘umeke is uncovered no harsh or injurious words are to be spoken, as the poi will soak up that negative energy and transfer to those who consume it. Traditionally, the bowl was never emptied. Any remaining poi from a meal would be saved. Later, fresh poi would be mixed into the existing contents, so that the food always contained some of the beneficial microorganisms that develop in the fermentation process. An intergenerational mixture of probiotic flora. Here, Pele does not hold an ‘umeke poi, but rather a bowl overflowing with lava and steam. Fire, earth, air, water: all the elements that create land are loosed. Having opened the calabash, this image creates the space for conversations and interactions about the well-being and the futures of Hawai‘i. The words offered within this book are similarly intended to open space for productive discussion about how to protect, enhance, and create value in our islands. Unlike poi, the lava does not keep us from sharing critical opinions or hashing out difficult and contentious issues. The lava does remind us, however , that such conversations can be both destructive and creative. Powerful. When telling us, the editors, about this image, Prime explained that he intended the bowl to symbolize a kind of social contract. This “different kind of contract,” or perhaps, compact of mutual obligation contrasts sharply with the contracts that have allowed the (over)development of urban, suburban, and resort construction in ways that do not typically balance social, environmental , cultural, and spiritual impacts against the financial bottom line. One way to see this ‘umeke is as an agreement between land and people to care for one another. By placing her at the center, the artist reminds us that our compact with Pele, with the earth herself, is always present whether we 2 INTRODUCTION choose to see it and honor it or not. One thing this book argues is that if we do not do better at balancing our human needs and desires with the natural resources and forces of these islands, the ‘äina will hold us accountable. And we love her for it. BACKGROUND Like the book you hold in your hands, the first volume, The Value of Hawai‘i: Knowing the Past, Shaping the Future (U of Hawai‘i P, 2010), was a collection of short essays written for a general Hawai‘i audience, on issues ranging from education to prisons, agriculture to the military, the economy to climate change, and more. That first volume set out to help readers understand the current state of the islands through a firm understanding of history. “How did we get here?” the contributors asked. This volume takes that foundation as a point of departure for a new central question: How can more of us protect and enhance what is precious about Hawai‘i for coming generations? How will we feed ourselves? Take care of one another? Negotiate and celebrate differences ? Share resources? Craig Howes and Jon Osorio, editors of the first volume, asked passionate experts in each field to bring these wide-ranging issues together to provoke and ground public conversations about what we value, where we are headed, and what we need to do to change course. As part of this commitment to conversation and change, a copy of the book was given to every sitting State Legislator in 2010. The book was taught widely at various campuses of the University of Hawai‘i, Chaminade University, and Hawai‘i Pacific University , as well as in various public and private high school classes. A visual debate card game was developed with the help of Mililani High School students, asking youth to create images and arguments about how to work across issues to solve problems they saw in Hawai‘i. And with kökua from innumerable individuals and community groups, dozens of talk-story events were organized in 2010 and 2011. The voices gathered in this second volume are hopeful about the future, and they...

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