LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Aloha. My name is Kamaka Pili, Owner of Now & Then Tours Hawaiʻi.

I am a Native Hawaiian/kanaka maoli/kanaka whose ancestors come from the ‘āina of Oʻahu and Maui.

I would like to begin by acknowledging that the ‘āina on which we gather, Waikīkī, is part of the larger territory recognized by Indigenous Hawaiians as their ancestral grandmother, Papahānaumoku.

I recognize that her majesty Queen Lili‘uokalani yielded the Hawaiian Kingdom and these territories under duress and protest to the United States to avoid the bloodshed of her people. I further recognize that Hawai‘i remains an illegally occupied state of America.

I acknowledge that each moment I am in Hawai‘i she nourishes and gifts me and every other person here with the opportunity to breathe her air, eat from her soils, drink from her waters, bathe in her sun, swim in her oceans, be kissed by her rains, and be embraced by her winds. I further recognize that generations of my ancestors’ knowledge shaped Hawai‘i in sustainable ways that allows all of us to enjoy these gifts today. For this I am grateful and as a Native Hawaiian/Kanaka maoli/kanaka, I recognize my kuleana – both my responsibilities as well as my dear privileges – to care for this ‘āina for the many generations yet to come. I also recognize my kuleana to invite each of you to help me in this most important endeavor and I do so at this time. 

Mahalo,

Kamaka Pili