Simba is a former Free Speech Radio News producer who has been traveling in different parts of the world for years now, photographing and reporting stories from the Middle East and Africa, focusing a lot of her work on indigenous peoples and women.  She’s now reporting from Thailand.  Simba epitomizes the future of journalism: independence.

A self-taught storyteller, she believes storytelling is a sacred calling.  And having spent many years in her late teens and early twenties living on the streets of NYC, working as a maid, and surviving, Simba’s insight about labor exploitation is a homegrown in the US of A schooling that informs the heart and soul and mind of her work. While she relies on donations to keep her online magazine, Migrant Stories, moving forward, her engagement with issues, such as labor exploitation and gender violence is fearless and generous.

Her latest issue of Migrant Stories features stories from ethnic Shan of Burma who are refugees in Thailand, a result of the Burmese government’s  long-standing military assault on them for their land.  And as is the case with many indigenous peoples forced to flee their […]

Jewel is a friend and inspiration.  A Samoan-American artist, and teacher at the University of Washington, she is phenomenally talented and generous with her mind and skills.

This project at the deYoung is a great opportunity for anyone lucky enuf to be in SF when this is going on from July 3 – 28. The project invites anyone to sketch or create some image of an ancestor that Jewel will use to create a painting that celebrates the community of ancestors that shows up for the making of this piece of art. I’m thinking of trying to get in via an email!

For more information call 415-750-3528, or email dmorrison@famsf.org

No sooner did I write the words “what Sai and Kaiama are doing is the only sovereignty related story unfolding” two posts beneath this one, then I remembered two things: on Maui and other islands that are NOT Oahu, there are pockets of resistance taking the form of refusing to use Hawaii “state” license plates on cars.  This isn’t new, but the fact that this expression of ku’e is picking up again is a story that would be followed if there was anything even resembling Hawaiian reporting and news production.

The other huge story that is in constant motion, albeit slow motion, is Kaanohi Kaleikini’s ku’e against the desecration of our iwi kupuna.  There simply is no one else representing us in the way she has been for years now. And I personally believe that if Hawaiians actually came together on this one issue, the sovereignty movement would find its pulse again.  What she (and others) said and did about the desecration at Walmart that appears in “Noho Hewa” is the backbone of the film.

In lieu of us having our own news show, which would rightfully feature regular reporting on the […]

Sightseeing in the Apartheid State: From Ben Gurion to the West  Bank

Spray painted onto the wall of a residential neighborhood in Hebron, this sign reads: Shalom Arabs! Gas the Arabs! JDL  (The unnamed man in the photo is a volunteer guide with the Temporary International Presence in Hebron)

Cindy Franklin is one of the brilliant professors in the UH English department, and she’s written a powerful, first person account of what it’s like these days in Palestine. I’ve attached the essay, published on Portside.  Also, Cindy will give a talk about her trip on Thursday, September 12th, 3PM, Kuykendall, Room 410. Save the date!

“This land, together with Gaza, is referred to by the United Nations and other international bodies as the Occupied Palestinian Territories, or oPt – Palestinian land under Israeli Occupation. We met with students and faculty members from five different Palestinian universities, toured towns and refugee camps in the West Bank…” Go here for the whole story: http://portside.org/2013-06-13/sightseeing-apartheid-state-ben-gurion-west-bank

There are two blogs in Hawaii Nei that are focused on Hawaiian issues.  One is Scott Crawford’s blog, http://www.hawaiiankingdom.info,a site Crawford has maintained for years; at times this one blog has been the only consistent source of current information about the Hawaiian sovereignty movement.

The other is Keanu Sai’s blog, http://hawaiiankingdom.org/blog.  Sai’s most recent postings have been about the work he and attorney, Dexter Kaiama, have been doing at the International Criminal Courts; they have filed War Crimes charges against the United States, naming Hawaii Island judges in the charges.  The most recent posting was about how Hawaii is targeted for nuclear strikes.  Interesting and provocative, at this moment, what Sai and Kaiama are doing is the only sovereignty related story unfolding,which is itself an indication of the state of the movement.

In January, Amy Marsh will teach a 10-day series of classes for those who want to study hypnosis and learn how to apply it to healing mind, body and spirit without having to erase your history and spiritual reality to do it! Probably the first of its kind, the course will present Oiwi and others with proven techniques for achieving wellness and clarity in, as Amy says, “the context of the history and present situation in Hawaii.” Who knew hypnosis could be so politically relevant? Uh…the mass media that’s hypnotizing us 24/7 into not being politically relevant!

The course leads to certification in the National Guild of Hypnotists.

There are two discounted scholarships available for Kanaka Oiwi. Go to:

http://www.hypnotistsanfranciscoeastbay.com/hypnosiscertificationngh/10-days-in-hawai-i.htm

This link is to a blog post my friend Amy Marsh published at her site: amymarshsexologist.  Sexology, by the way, is not nearly as sexy as the name implies.

The reason I’m posting the link here is because Amy and I had a very tough conversation about Deep Green Resistance, an organization I respect and often agree with, as they are consistently on the front line of resistance to the environmental destruction taking place all over the planet and they always stand with indigenous peoples. There is no other group with such fierce and brilliant analysis about the impacts of genocide and white supremacy.  However, Amy’s letter is in response to DGR’s position on the subject of transgender people.

This issue, like everything else that matters, is complex.  It reaches across all social, cultural, racial and economic boundaries.  Here in Hawaii, although inside the sovereignty movement there is very little gender and class analysis, which I believe is a large part of the failure of the movement at this time, although their numbers are small, transgender people are as much a part of our community as straight and gay people.  I think […]

In 2007 I had the opportunity to visit Nepal for a couple of weeks, half of which I spent in Kathmandu.  I happened to be in the city during a nationwide demonstration by the indigenous peoples of Nepal.  There are more than 50 distinct peoples who call Nepal home, and although they’ve been overrun by settlers for many centuries, at least 50 of those nations still have their languages and cultures despite being forced to speak Nepalese.  The motivation for their demonstration was, in part, because the Nepali Supreme Court ruled that the indigenous languages of Nepal would not be recognized and allowed to be spoken in the courts.

Here’s what I saw that day: a united, nationwide protest that shut down all airports, banks and businesses.  There were no cars, buses or trucks on the road that day, no one made any money because no one went to work.  It was the most well planned and executed protest I have ever witnessed, wherein all the different indigenous nations of Nepal were in solidarity and because of that solidarity they were able to control the country without firing a weapon or injuring anyone. They simply shut it all down, and Kathmandu, […]

Here are links to 2 really well articulated critiques of the film, one from the world of political activism, the other from the world of anthropology.

Deep Green Resistance News Service

http://dgrnewsservice.org/2012/10/19/film-review-noho-hewa-the-wrongful-occupation-of-hawaii/

The Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14442213.2011.568932#tabModule