“Mahikihiki mai ka Opae Oehaa a Hihia i ka Wai”

Abstract

Like the ʻōpae ʻoehaʻa, some ʻŌiwi reside in brackish water. Kanakademics (ʻŌiwi Academics) swim in the muliwai, a turbid estuary filled with both English and ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi. Flicks of the tail disturb the surface of thought in this fertile place where ʻike from the island flow into what ocean currents bring from afar. ʻŌpae ʻoehaʻa benefit from applying the common reminder heard in mele interpretation, “pua does not always mean flower,” to all fields of study. This ʻōpae on the pae of philosophy humbly seeks to mahiki i kahi mea ʻāpiki. Following the overthrow of the Aupuni Hawaiʻi, genocide thrives in educational institutions as Americanization facilitated through linguicide and epistemicide. As a result, many ʻŌiwi are seeking to (re)member themselves to a sovereign nation and not an aupuni noho kuokoa. This essay asks that we consider if pua does not always mean flower, then perhaps, nation does not always mean aupuni, and noho kuokoa may not mean sovereignty.