This episode is about the Great Mahele or The Great Divide in Hawai’i. We emphasize how the Great Mahele was a GOOD thing and helped to ensure that Hawai’i was protected in case of a foreign takeover. We also highlight how the translation from ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi to English and how the use of language changed the meaning of these important land documents. We also emphasized that Native Hawaiians in fact OWN LAND and how giving it to that mindset of “Hawaiians didn’t own land” disempowers our people whether you meant to or not. All in all this was a very complex topic and we both really tried our best to break it down and help to urge you folks why it is so important to know these things today especially when our own people are struggling to reclaim land back that’s rightfully ours. If anyone of you are truly interested in learning more about land tenure in Hawai’i, go checkout Chinen and Kuykendall as a good primary source to look at.
