Mahalo for supporting Honolulu Star-Advertiser.  Enjoy this free story! 

Kneeling on the grass in the noonday sun, more than 100 Kamehameha students rocked back and forth in a seated hula Monday, guided by leaders of the aloha aina movement, their voices rising in unison to nearby classrooms, Read more

Kneeling on the grass in the noonday sun, more than 100 Kamehameha students rocked back and forth in a seated hula Monday, guided by leaders of the aloha aina movement, their voices rising in unison to nearby classrooms,

The chant, “O Hanau ka Mauna,” chronicles the birth of a mountain and is performed regularly on the slopes of Mauna Kea where opponents of the Thirty Meter Telescope have blocked construction for months.  This time it rang out at Kamehameha Schools Kapalama, as part of a daylong “Aha Aloha Aina” gathering staged by a new student club dubbed Kia‘i ‘Olauniu, or protectors of the wind that flows through Kapalama. 

Mahina Melim, a senior and the club’s president, said the goal was to help students learn about aloha aina and look beyond their campus. “ Aloha aina” literally means love of the land, and refers to the bond between Hawaiians and the land that sustains them. 

“I thought creating this club and having events like this one is a great way for students to come together in a way that is safe and express our aloha aina and keep up to date with the Hawaiian community outside rather than just internally,” she said. 

“A lot of these people either don’t know about issues in the Hawaiian community or they don’t really care,” she added. “ It’s kind of like they’re getting exposed to it.” 

The event, which featured panel discussions, workshops and hands-on activities, started as the brain­child of the club’s advisers, Hawaiian-language teacher Kahanuola Solatorio and Piliuaikekaiohilo Keala-­Quinabo, who teaches Hawaiian culture and history.  At first they thought it would be just one panel discussion, but it grew as students took leadership. 

“This particular event is not about TMT or Mauna Kea, although we do have a lot of people very involved in the Mauna Kea movement,” Keala-Quinabo said. “ It’s purely aloha aina.  We didn’t want to narrow this to a TMT/Mauna Kea issue.  Aloha aina is so much more than that, although that may be at the forefront of minds right now.” 

“We want to expose all of our students to these pockets of aloha aina that are happening in all these places in the community,” she said. 

The event was open to everyone at the high school, and teachers could choose whether they wanted to bring their classes to take part in some or all of the sessions.  Students and teachers also could sign up individually. 

More than 500 students and their teachers turned up over the course of the day out of 1,800 students in the high school. 

“Aloha aina is like the sleeping giant that was waiting to just reawaken,” Solatorio said. “ It was in us.  Now is the time to practice and show our students how to be aloha aina engaged.” 

The workshops quickly filled up, with topics such as “Leading Our Lahui Through Kapu Aloha,” “Inspiring Mele in the Aloha Aina Movement” and “Why is aina sacred?” 

“I’ve never been able to go to the mauna yet, so it was really cool to be able to experience it here on campus,” said Azure Nikora, a junior. 

Students led the activities on the lawn at midday, including a large star compass laid out on the ground to teach the movement of the stars.  At another booth, students worked with “cat’s cradle” yarn to fashion an image of Mauna Kea with their fingers as well as one that mirrored Makalii, the star cluster also known as the Pleiades. 

At one workshop, Kaho‘okahi Kanuha, a Kamehameha Schools alumnus and prominent leader at Mauna Kea, described what “kapu aloha” involves. 

“It’s not just what you say, but how you say it,” he said. “ You can push people away or you can pull them in.” 

“I’m proud that we stopped construction, but I’m more proud that according to the polls and all that, we’ve been able to convert the minds of many people.” 

Asked at the morning panel how she first got involved in the practice of aloha aina, Hilo native and kumu hula Kaumakaiwa Kanaka‘ole responded, “Well, I was born here — that’s how it happened.” 

“You born here, you drink the water, you breathe the air it provides, you’re obligated to aloha aina,” said Kanaka‘ole, a Na Hoku Hanohano award winner and kumu hula. “ How’s that?” 

But Kanuha said it was a more gradual process for him — an awakening in 2004 when he was a student boarding at the Kapalama campus.  The issue prompting marches then was the legal challenge to Kamehameha’s admissions policy that gave preference to Native Hawaiians. 

“I told myself that day as a freshman I would do what is necessary, what must be done, to move our lahui forward,” he said. 

The first panel discussion started at 8:30 a.m., and some students in the airy dining hall were less than focused. 

“Some of you are engaged right now, but some of you are clearly disengaged right now, not really listening to what we are saying,” said Presley Ke‘alaanuhea Ah Mook Sang, a Hawaiian- language instructor at the University of Hawaii. “ You need to recognize your privilege, recognize your kuleana in going to this school.” 

Later, as the sun beat down on the field and one chant led to another, a student asked out loud, “Why are we here?” 

“To learn,” his teacher replied. 

Correction: The statement by Kaho‘okahi Kanuha about moving the lahui forward was attributed to another person in an earlier version of this story.  Also, a photo caption in an earlier version misspelled Mahina Melim’s first name.