Hula

by Jasmin Iolani Hakes

Good ole America. They have all the colonial answers. Slave trade taught them so much. One percent African American might make a guy Black, but if they used the same ruler to measure American Indian, they’d be writing checks until their fingers bled.

One percent Black, you Black. One percent Hawaiian, nah, you nothing. When the U.S. government is making the rules, there is only one guaranteed winner.

By the year 2044, it’s said, there won’t be a single full-blooded Hawaiian left. That’s a lot of blood lost. Not lost, gone. If we were a seal or a whale, there’d be a worldwide effort to save our species. They wouldn’t be able to touch us. If we swam up to the beach they’d put cones around to protect us.

Land of aloha. Alo, to share. Ha, breath. Aloha, to share breath. How to share breath with those without breath?