A Hawaiian tangata whenua says that 15 months on from the devastating Lahaina fires on Maui, surviving locals are slowly rebuilding their lives.
Shane Kahalehau, who works at local radio station KPOA on Maui, says they need the same kind of unity and indigenous activism that Māori are demonstrating to the world.
“We’ve been watching the Treaty, and the march… a few years ago we had a gathering ourselves on Mauna Kea… so we’re watching Aotearoa and are very inspired to see the unification and what you guys are doing, and it’s something that the Lahaina people really need at this time,” says Kahelehau.
Shane Kahalehau says guaranteed access to water is emerging as the single biggest issue for locals.
With water scarcity and extremely wealthy foreigners reluctant to share their water rights—once belonging to the mana whenua—resources are stretched thin.
