Indigenous
"For all of us, becoming indigenous to a place means living as if your children's future mattered, to take care of the land as if our lives, both material and spiritual, depended on it." - Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass
kia kaha! 1. be strong, get stuck in, keep going. "Kia Kaha!" is a Maori phrase that means "Be Strong!" In my family, we often say it to one another when someone is in need of strength or is having a hard time, or to encourage each other. It is also the middle name of my nephew, Kingston Kia Kaha Aiono. Kingston was diagnosed with XLP and passed away in 2007, a few months before his third birthday. Yesterday would have been his 13th birthday. After his passing, I had Kingston's full name tattooed on my wrists and hands. They remind me of how blessed I was to be his Aunty. To never take life for granted. And to always cherish those close to you. Kingston will forever be in my heart. He was a gentle warrior who honored and changed our family for the better with his presence. For more information about XLP or to Donate to others with XLP please visit: FRIENDS OF KINGSTON
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Thinking back to our trip to Rarotonga, Cook Islands, with my brother Hagoth and his family last year. The people of the Cook Islands are Maori but with a more tropical infusion. In fact while we were there we saw the place where several of the Great Maori Canoes left and made the voyage to New Zealand. They felt like a Maori - Samoan mix just like me. The island itself was beautiful. Clear water, fresh coconuts, and tropical beauty all around. But the best part was seeing these three babies be right at home on the island. Cheeehooo! "There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish" - Michelle Obama "Women are the real architects of society." -Cher Happy International Women's Day! TO all of the Mothers, Daughters, Sisters, Aunties, Nieces, Grandmothers, and Friends...you are beautiful in every way. Your calling of womanhood is divine and essential to life. Always remember that you are of infinite worth and have a great capacity for goodness. "When you realize what people call paradise...you call home." -Hagoth Aiono My father, Ominae Luluali'i Aiono, was born in Fasito'outa, a village on the northwest coast of the island of Upolu in Samoa and was one of the village chief's (Mata'i) fourteen children. 2010 was the last time I visited my family's village a few months before his death. Life in the village is simple yet full of life and surrounded by beauty. In every village there seems to be an area where the boys play rugby, people get up early to take the buses to town for work, and Sunday mornings are filled with the smell of umus (underground ovens) filled with food for after church. But Fasito'outa is special to me because it is the village of MY aiga (family). It's where my father stared out across the ocean and dreamed of a life bigger than this tiny village, but returned at the end of life to the place he always considered home. “Having had the opportunity to travel abroad with our original concept, we have definitely experienced first hand the uniqueness and beauty of our Maori culture on the world stage. We enjoy having a business that promotes and celebrates our culture.” -Soldier Rd Portraits In 2014, my husband Greg, discovered this company called Soldiers Rd Portraits on Instagram. He liked, how they took culturally inspired vintage looking portraits of different Maori people, but what really caught our eye was how they infused Maori culture and blended it other cultures to show a mixed-identity modern portrayal of what it means to be Maori today. Being Half-Maori and Half-Samoan, this blended cultural portrait that would pay homage to my Maori roots in a vintage portrait really appealed to me and when Greg discovered that Soldier Rd would be in L.A. over the Thanksgiving holiday he quickly went to work to contact them. We had the pleasure of hosting them in our home and making some eternal friendships. We invited as much of our family as could come for Thanksgiving and in a very appropriate way reconnected with our indigenous roots and ancestors on that special day. Since then, Taaniko and Vienna Nordstrom have continued to grow Soldiers Rd and do amazing things to promote Maori culture both in New Zealand and internationally. We love them and champion the work they do and will always feel a connection to them. The art they produce appeals to the eye, but more importantly connects to the soul. “The portraits we take are a beautiful and positive portrayal of people, specifically Maori, and we’ve seen, heard and felt people’s reactions. They feel a sense of pride in themselves and in some ways, they feel closer to their tupuna.” -Soldier Rd Portraits "We can now see that there’s a generation, foretold as the Seventh Generation, that will fight to restore the balance of good in the world against that would destroy us and those to come in the future." -Nicholas Hummingbird On January 24, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order clearing the way for the Dakota Access Pipeline to proceed through lands held as sacred by the Standing Rock Sioux. Protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline have been going on since the project was approved back in July of last year, uniting the seven subtribes of the Sioux Nation, known as the Seven Council Fires, for the first time since the Battle of Little Big Horn in 1876. It has also become a historic rallying point for indigenous peoples all over the world and has sparked the largest gathering of Native American tribes in history. The Lakota have two prophecies that seem to be coming to pass. The first that a "Black Snake" would come to America with the power to destroy the world, or unify it. And second, "According to Crazy Horse, a revered mid-19th century Oglala Lakota chief who led tribes to victory at Little Bighorn, the Lakota people would undergo generations of spiritual genocide and environmental degradation following American colonization of the West. Then, a seventh generation would wake up and rise — a generation that would lead the healing and restoration of the planet, rejuvenate a forgotten spirituality, and create harmony among people of all colors and creeds." These Water Protectors belong to different organizations and may have different reasons for being there - indigenous rights, civil rights, environmental awareness - but they are united in the cause to prevent the pipeline from crossing the Missouri River just miles away from Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. They are brave protectors who have endured horrific human rights violations at the hands of the local law enforcement of the area. My reasons for supporting the Water Protectors have more to do with protecting the rights, lands, and cultures of indigenous peoples. I believe that the United States should honor their treaties with the various Native American tribes and start addressing the problems of the most marginalized group of people in the U.S. As a woman of Maori descent, I sympathize with the loss of lands and culture that the indigenous people of this land have faced. My Great-Great-Great Grandfather, Piripi Te-Maari-o-te-rangi, was also a water protector and "was consistently concerned that Maori landowners should lose none of their rights. This concern led him into the great battle of his life, the struggle to prevent settler encroachment on the rights and lands of the owners of the two Wairarapa lakes." I am proud to be descended from this brave Water Protector and also so proud of my niece Kaitlyn for traveling to Standing Rock with supplies last November and continuing this legacy. Even though I am unable to travel to Standing Rock and be on the front lines, there are other ways to contribute to the fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline. #NODAPL YOU CAN : DONATE TO THE SACRED STONE CAMP FUND OR LEGAL FUND 10 WAYS TO HELP THE STANDING ROCK SIOUX "There are many battles being fought right now: Standing Rock serves as a flame now burning brightly, now dimming, waiting for the people to come back to it and give back the fire within our hearts so that it will burn brightly once more." -Nicholas Hummingbird This sculpture of a baby in a coconut shell is titled "Niu Born". The word "Niu" is a Polynesian word for coconut. A play on words for New Born. Coconuts float in water and travel thousands of miles. When they land on ground, they take root and flourish across the land. This sculpture represents how Polynesians have flourished throughout the world bringing their deeply rooted traditions, family values, and culture. -Lilo Tauvao (Artist) My husband and I saw this sculpture years ago, before we were married, attending an event promoting Polynesian Artists at Cal State Long Beach. It was a night filled with film, music, poetry, spoken word, and various art mediums, but this sculpture was so striking that it made a powerful impact on both Greg and I. Last year, around my son's first birthday, the artist (Lilo Tauvao) made the sculpture available for purchase and after reading his beautiful description the piece spoke to me so much that I knew we needed this piece in our home. It makes me think of my father, leaving his small island home in Samoa, with a dream to one day be able to build a home for his parents. His dream took him first to New Zealand where he met a beautiful Maori Maiden, and sprouted roots by started his own family. New Zealand afforded him the opportunity to accomplish his dream and build his parents a home back in his village of Fasito'outa, Upolu, Samoa. But my father continued to dream and like the coconut travelled thousands of miles to The United States, which he called "The Land of Milk and Honey" to afford his children greater opportunities. I'm so grateful for my immigrant parents for having the courage to sprout new roots in a country far from their island homes while having the strength to stay rooted in their traditions, family values, and culture. I can see this piece becoming an heirloom to our children. A piece that sparks conversation and brings to our remembrance that no matter how far we travel from the islands, the islands will always be a part of us. -John Turi-Tiakitai (Author, Whatu Kākahu: Maori Cloaks) "Beautiful kākahu (cloaks) were worn by people of rank. Cloaks included kahu kurī (dog-skin cloaks), korowai (cloaks decorated with woollen pompoms or tags) and kahu huruhuru (cloaks made with bird feathers). A fine kākahu could take several years to make. They were treasured, and were sometimes exchanged for important items or services" (Te Ara) “When you put a kākahu [cloak] on, that Io [The Creator] is against your skin and the aho, the connection with all of those elements that you live amongst and learn from, and you then hand that knowledge on it’s all there when you put the kākahu on…it’s that image in your mind that you’re in contact with the Creator every time you put your kākahu on.” -Toi Te Rito Maihi -Kukupa Tirikātene (Ngai Tahu) "The Korowai has it's own Wairua, or Spirit..."A few years ago my sisters and I started making Korowais for special family occasions for anyone in our family to use. When we make a Korowai it's with the intent of creating a connection between our ancestors and our living family. We sing songs (waiata), pray and bless them (karakia), and tell stories and reminisce about our mother and family (whanau). It is a labor of love and we put our MANA into each one and the wearer both gives and receives MANA from it. Weavers of the past often had signature stitching or designs that were unique to them. My sisters and I always try to incorporate a few charms woven into the lining of the cloak that represent the specific meaning and purpose the Korowai was created for. We call them our CHARMED KOROWAI. What we love about making Korowais is that they can be used for so many special occasions and being far from New Zealand and our extended family, we are able to be connected to them, our mother, and our ancestors during these special times. “The tapestry of understanding cannot be woven by just one strand alone. It takes the working together of strands, the working together of such weavers to complete such a tapestry. “ -Kukupa Tirikātene (Ngai Tahu) |
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