With its paper-thin petals and ephemeral flowers,
native ‘ilima tells a story of precarity and perserverance.
Living in Hawai‘i, we think of ourselves as being well-connected to our Pacific Rim neighbors. At least half of us have family roots in Pacific islands or Asia yet...
Before the arrival of humans, the Hawaiian archipelago was a radical laboratory sequestered in the center of Earth’s largest ocean.
These stories, and many others, continually unfurling from the legacy of imperialism and exploitation that has only continued since that infamous mushroom cloud billowed into the atmosphere 59 years ago.
For decades, Micronesians have risked and even sacrificed their lives fighting for the United States, despite not being U.S. citizens. As they begin to retire, these islanders are finding that their unique immigration status leaves them in limbo.
“Fiction is the lie through which we tell the truth.” - Albert Camus
Ambivalently understood, the phrase “Hawaiian sense of place” is heard everywhere from the tourism industry to design sector. The islands’ traditional place names, however, often remain silenced. Can one truly honor places without acknowledging the importance of inoa ‘āina?