Na ‘Aikane o Maui Center Destroyed in Maui Fire

As I write this post, the death toll stands at 114 in Maui with a thousand people missing. The vultures (developers) watch closely because they want the land cheap. The loss of the Na ‘Aikane o Maui Center  on Front Street adds insult to injury.

ARTNews  writes,  “The center not only taught Native youth traditional art such as weaving and carving but also helped families fight for their rights to their ancestral lands. Hundreds of Native artifacts including 19th-century land deeds stamped in wax, traditional feathered capes, and old maps were lost in the blaze, along with legal documents that could have helped families in disputes against developers and others who laid claim to Native properties.”

The center kept Hawaiian culture alive and vital and it’s records supported their initiatives. They plan to rebuild, and with their philosophy  of “‘A’ohe hana nui ke alu ‘ia” which means “No task is too big when done together.”

I hope they succeed. You can donate here: https://naaikane.org/lahaina-wildfire-relief/

Meanwhile, we must kill the vultures who want to steal the land.

–Malcolm