I acknowledge Hawaiʻi as an indigenous space whose original people are today identified as Native Hawaiians. The ‘āina on which we gather, teach and learn is part of the larger territory recognized by Indigenous Hawaiians as their ancestral grandmother, Papahānaumoku. We recognize that her majesty Queen Lili‘uokalani yielded the Hawaiian Kingdom and these territories under duress and protest to the United States to avoid the bloodshed of her people. We also recognize that Hawai‘i remains an illegally occupied state of America. Furthermore, we recognize that generations of Indigenous Hawaiians and their knowledge of systems shaped Hawaiʻi in a sustainable way that allows us to enjoy her gifts today. For this, we seek to support the varied strategies that the Indigenous peoples of Hawai‘i are using to protect their land and their communities, and we commit to dedicating time and resources to working in solidarity.
