Mālama ‘Āina, Kalo, and Ho‘opili: Growing a Third-Way Environmental Relationship

Abstract

During the first six months of 2006, ‘Ōiwi Maoli activists in Hawai‘i protested three patents issued to the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa and the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources ("CTAHR") for "new" kalo plants. I use this controversy as a vehicle to explore the hidden assumptions held by CTAHR and the ethical principles contained within the ‘Ōiwi Maoli notion of Mālama ‘Āina. Through the methodology of a critical narrative genealogy, I explore both the narrative genealogy of the Western-trained scientists at CTAHR and the resulting deepened assumptions that occur after this narrative interacts with the social force of capitalism. I also explore the cosmogenic and the narrative genealogy of the ‘Ōiwi Maoli, revealing the ethical principles that undergird their defense and protection of the ‘āina as encapsulated in the movement of Mālama ‘Āina. I then return to the intellectual tradition of CTHAR and identify an alternative narrative genealogy that would result in the recognition of very different assumptions giving rise to ethical duties and obligations owed to Earth Others. These ethical obligations demand care and standing-with or ho‘opili relationships (the Third-Way relationship) with both ‘Ōiwi Maoli and their kin, the ‘āina, and mandate a careful recognition of the limited kuleana of non-‘Ōiwi Maoli and the need for constant self-reflection and experimentation as embedded withnin the notion of pono. The Third-Way relationship also allows non-‘Ōiwi Maoli to make better and more fruitful use of the space of conflict, turning the space from one of destruction of ‘āina and culture to one of respect.