from the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development |
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JAFSCD is the world’s only community-supported journal. JAFSCD content is open access (free) thanks to the generous support of our shareholders: the JAFSCD Shareholder Consortium, Library Shareholders, a growing number of Individual Shareholders, and our six JAFSCD Partners: |
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Revitalizing Indigenous food systems through research and knowledge-sharing |
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TRIBAL FOOD SYSTEMS RESEARCH FELLOW PAPER |
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Efforts led by Native Hawaiians to protect sacred lands and waters reveal forms of Indigenous survivance and resistance to the logics of settler colonialism. The Hawaiian Renaissance of the 1970s saw a reawakening of pride in Hawaiian culture in the context of rapid changes brought by statehood in 1959. The thrust of Americanization and the physical displacement of rural communities spurred young Native Hawaiians into action to defend their right to live as Hawaiians in their own homeland. As a result of their activism, the 1978 Constitutional Convention reaffirmed Native Hawaiian rights previously codified by Kingdom law, which include a unique public trust doctrine grounded in Indigenous land and water management.
In a new JAFSCD article, Hāloa: The long breath of Hawaiian sovereignty, water rights, and Indigenous law, Dr. Puanani Apoliona-Brown grounds her research in the moʻolelo (oral histories) of nā kūpuna who were once the “radical” activists of the Hawaiian Renaissance. Their stories shed light on a history unaccounted for in standard textbooks and reveal a genealogy of Native Hawaiian resistance that was reawakened under the banner of Aloha ‘Āina (reciprocal love of land).
KEY FINDINGS -
The diversion of rivers and streams for plantation agriculture that began conditionally under the Hawaiian Kingdom tripled in the decade following the illegal overthrow and annexation of Hawai‘i in 1898, when American sugar planters took control of government. This uprooted wetland kalo farmers from their ancestral lands and forced them into the cash economy. This pattern continues today, as private interests continue to divert water from traditional Native Hawaiian communities for commercial use.
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Following statehood in 1959, Hawai‘i saw a tourism and development boom that brought a wave of evictions of rural local communities to make way for an influx of wealthy Americans. The start of Hawai‘i’s ongoing issues of housing and food insecurity can be traced to this period when agricultural land and water—monopolized by plantations—were repurposed, and the Indigenous infrastructure that supported traditional foodways was destroyed and replaced with expensive residential subdivisions, luxury resorts, exclusive golf communities, and marinas.
- In 1971, Kalama Valley evictions triggered uprisings across the islands where young organizers honed their political analysis on the front line, informed by movements for social justice on the continent. Questions about Hawaiian land and sovereignty naturally emerged as the number of groups grew and Native Hawaiians began to recover the fast-disappearing remnants of their culture and history.
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In 1966, William S. Richardson became the first Native Hawaiian Supreme Court Justice of the State of Hawai‘i. His landmark decisions reversed the trend of the Territorial Period (1900–1959) by recognizing Hawai‘i’s unique cultural and legal history, and a system of laws based upon Indigenous practice that legally continued in force when Hawai‘i was made a U.S. territory and state.
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On Moloka‘i, Hui Alaloa formed to regain rights of access to traditional trails encircling every island that protected subsistence hunting, fishing, and gathering rights. Members of Hui Alaloa later formed the Protect Kaho‘olawe ‘Ohana organization to end the U.S. Navy’s use of a sacred island as a bombing range. During the Hawaiian Renaissance, the island became a focal point and symbol of the U.S.’s abuse of the Native Hawaiian people, history and culture.
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The 1978 Constitutional Convention reflected the decade of activism and change. All 34 proposed amendments to the state constitution were passed, including the protection of traditional and customary rights and a unique public trust doctrine grounded in Indigenous practice, which mandates the protection and management of water for present and future generations. Every provision had its origin in the protests of the Hawaiian Renaissance.
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The devastating fire that swept through Lahaina on August 8, 2023, impacted a community on the brink of achieving greater protections for the use of water for traditional and customary rights. West Maui’s designation as a Surface and Ground Water Management Area was a result of decades-long efforts utilizing Hawai‘i’s unique water laws to stop the overexploitation of water by private interests. The fire also exposed structures of settler colonialism in conflict with Native Hawaiian–led efforts to protect and preserve freshwater as a cultural resource connecting past, present, and future generations to ‘Āina (that which feeds).
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR POLICY, PRACTICE, AND RESEARCH -
There should be inventory and forecasting of the appurtenant water rights in Maui Komohana (West Maui) and better resourcing of the Hawai‘i Commission on Water Resource Management to uphold its constitutional mandate.
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As Lahaina looks ahead to how it will rebuild in the aftermath of the fire, there is an urgent call for its future to be decided by community leaders, not land development companies.
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The restoration of the wetlands of Lahaina, Mokuhinia, and the island of Mokuʻula would be a powerful example of what is possible through Indigenous leadership and the restoration of traditional food systems.
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As water scarcity is fast becoming a global challenge, First Nations fighting to protect precious freshwater sources, remove dams, and restore streams are revealing a path forward grounded in the rights of nature and a sense of responsibility to our non-human relatives.
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Future research that brings together food studies, Native studies, and law would benefit by examining the intersection of Indigenous foodways, treaty rights, and environmental protection.
SHARE ON YOUR SOCIALS -
The Hawaiian Renaissance of the 1970s resulted in strong protections for Native Hawaiian traditional and customary rights—like the use of water for growing kalo, the staple food of the Hawaiian people. So why are Native Hawaiian communities, including those greatly affected by the Lahaina fire, still fighting for these basic rights? Read the @JAFSCD article for free: https://doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2024.141.021
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How the Lahaina wildfire exposes structures of settler colonialism, and a legacy of Native Hawaiian water rights that have yet to be fully realized. #olaikawai #waterrights #foodsovereignty #indigenouslaw #hawaii @puabrown Read the @JAFSCD article for free: https://doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2024.141.021
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Photo above: Figure 10 from the article: A press conference held by Protect Kaho‘olawe ‘Ohana (PKO) in Hawaii on January 31, 1977. Featured in the foreground are Leimomi Apoliona (left) and Dr. Emmett Aluli (right). Source: Honolulu Star-Bulletin photo by Terry Luke provided by Leimomi Apoliona. |
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SEEKING NEW JAFSCD PARTNERS
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JAFSCD would appreciate your assistance in finding one or more new JAFSCD Partners to support its transformative work — emphasizing accessibility, equity, and engagement, and progressive editorial policies such as triple-rigor* and positionality or reflexivity statements. Other JAFSCD efforts include our Food Policy and Practice Briefs program, Voices of the Grassroots essays, author mentorship programs, and the Indigenous Food Sovereignty Editorial Circle and its new quarterly column. The additional income from additional partners (@ US$10,000 annually) would support these efforts and allow us to bring a new editor-in-chief on board. This is an advantageous time, as we are preparing to migrate JAFSCD to a new peer-review and publishing platform (Scholastica).
We would like additional JAFSCD Partners to join our current prominent partners:
- Food Systems Research Center at The University of Vermont
- Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future
- Kwantlen Polytechnic University's Institute for Sustainable Food Systems
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The Inter-institutional Network for Food, Agriculture and Sustainability (INFAS)
- Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS) & the University of North Carolina Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention (in a joint partnership)
We’d like to recruit a partner in the Midwest or West Coast of the U.S., as well as one outside of North America. Moreover, we would like to add a national or international nonprofit organization, especially one that represents the interests of less privileged voices.
Please contact Duncan Hilchey if you are engaged with an organization that might be interested in becoming an ongoing JAFSCD Partner. He can provide additional information to share with colleagues or you can share this info sheet.
JAFSCD has great potential to contribute to a better world, and having a talented editor-in-chief is a key to unleashing it. Please help us find one or two new JAFSCD Partners to make this happen.
* Credit for the triple-rigor concept goes to the late Christine Porter of the University of Wyoming; see her 10-minute presentation here.
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POSITION OPENINGS FROM JAFSCD SHAREHOLDERS |
NOTE >> Deadline EXTENDED to February 10!
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The Food Connection at the University of Kentucky (TFC) is seeking a Postdoctoral Researcher to conduct applied research on value chain coordination (VCC) in local and regional food systems. This is a unique and high-impact postdoctoral researcher position, created in partnership with TFC, the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) Local and Regional Foods Division (LRFD), and the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development (JAFSCD). The postdoctoral researcher will lead a novel multi-institution research initiative that results in scholarly publications, stakeholder-facing technical assistance resources, and policy recommendations at local, regional, and national scales.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS OR TO APPLY |
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The successful candidate will develop and lead externally funded research and extension programs that support and strengthen the viability of the New Jersey agricultural sector and individual farms. Through active engagement with the agricultural community, the Specialist will identify existing and emerging opportunities and needs, conduct applied research to assess what technical assistance and policies would help farmers take advantage of these opportunities, and provide educational outreach in the agricultural community across different scales of operation, commodities, and production systems.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS OR TO APPLY |
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The Department of Agricultural Economics, Rural Sociology, and Education (AESE) at The Pennsylvania State University is seeking candidates for an Extension Program Specialist who will conduct Extension programs, develop enterprise budgets, and create and update publications for the Penn State “Ag Alternative” series. The role includes supporting research projects and offering expert advice on risk management. The candidate will effectively build solid connections with stakeholders and their organizations. This position requires a master’s degree plus three years of relevant experience or equivalent work experience.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS OR TO APPLY |
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Building Strong Retail Systems for Local Farmers and Local Food
With about one dozen farm stops now successfully up and running and several more approaching launch, now is the perfect time to gather, learn from one another, share best practices, and envision the role we’d like to see farm stops play in our local food ecosystems.
Whether you operate a farm stop already, or think that you may one day want to open one in your community, our goal is to provide content useful to you as you move forward. With that in mind, we are putting together an ambitious slate of local food thought leaders, and planning a full lineup of panels on everything from fundraising and marketing, to farm relations and merchandising, while also leaving plenty of time for networking.
Speakers and panelists include Philip Ackerman-Leist, John Ikerd (JAFSCD columnist), Kate Krauss, Debra Tropp, Michelle Miller, Kathryn Barr, and many others. |
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This email is sent to you as a notification of the newest JAFSCD articles and other occasional JAFSCD news. |
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JAFSCD is an open access, community-supported journal! Your library, program, or organization can become a shareholder to help keep JAFSCD's content available to all, regardless of their resources. We welcome anyone to become an individual shareholder; donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
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