Last Updated on March 18, 2025
Gattin naran! Hantai!! No!!! ʻaʻole!!!!
I have heard enough of these chanting slogans.
I have seen enough of these raised fists in the air.
I have had enough of these heats of anger.
I have felt enough of these energies behind silence.
ENOUGH to be oppressed, repressed, and depressed.
ENOUGH to burn myself out of confusion, frustration, and infuriation.
I had enough.
My tears are dried out for those unhealed wounds.
My throat is choked up for those worldless words.
My face twitches with tensions.
My heart bursts with pressures.
Was I haunted…? NO.
Don’t tell me that I do nothing.
Don’t tell me what I am doing is just “in school.”
Don’t tell me my research makes no change “in real life.”
THIS is what I do.
THIS is what my ‘ohana[*] shared with me.
“You know, our family is not rich. We don’t have much property to leave you, kids. But remember, study hard and see the world. Knowledge you gain, nobody can take them away from you.”
Yuru harasu funi ya ninufa bushi miati
Wan nacheru uya ya wandu miati[†]
So… I studied. Studied harder than I could’ve ever imagined in myself.
Listening to fading native voices with one ear, imperial speeches with the other ear.
Looking at the changing landscape with one eye, thick books with the other eye.
My brain turned right and left, up and down, swirl around to digest them.
Finally, words came out of my mouth… no surprise.
Uchinaguchi, Nihongo, English, Pidgin, ‘ōlelo Hawai’i… all mixed up.
Well, I may no can speak any of them “properly.”
But I no worry.
I got choke[‡] friends in the world who get dat.
I may not be a good “intellectual.”
But I no worry.
I know these gentle smiles of Obaachan[§] when their native tongues get heard.
I know these proud voices of keiki[**] singing songs in shima kutuba.[††]
I know these passionate eyes of students wanting to learn more of moʻolelo[‡‡] of ʻāina[§§] they live.
I know these tight hugs of my shinkanuchā[***] from wherever their pikos are.
So Mom, am I doing well enough of what you could not do?
[*] Family in an extended sense (in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi).
[†] A ship sailing at night, gets its bearings from the North Star; My parents who gave me life, gets their bearings from me (in Uchinaguchi/Okinawan).
[‡] A lot (in Pidin).
[§] A grandmother and an elderly woman (in Japanese).
[**] A child (in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi).
[††] Language of community (in Uchinaguchi).
[‡‡] Story (in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi).
[§§] Land (in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi).
[***] Fellows, friends, and comrades (in Uchinaguchi/Okinawan).
Across the world right now, Indigenous peoples are facing a renewed assault on their lands, rights, and ways of life.
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