Ka Hui Haumana o MANA

MANA (Movement for Aloha no ka ‘Aina) Student Hui
Mission Statement
Movement for Aloha no ka Aina (MANA) is a movement-building organization, established to achieve independence and social justice through direct action, political education, economic development, international diplomacy, and public advocacy, with a cultural and spiritual foundation.
Values

MANA follows in the history of Aloha ‘Āina in Hawaiʻi, and in the tradition of peoples throughout the world who struggle for liberation, freedom, and justice. We value ku’e (resistance); kukulu (creating alternatives); people power; collectivity; community; honesty and integrity; and fundamental human dignity. We agree that an Aloha Aina must be ”guided by great feelings of love.”
Student Statement

We want to bring MANA and its values to the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa. We owe it to those who have come before us to carry on the spirit of Hawaiian activism and resistance, groups on campus who fought for the rights of Hawaiians and all students. We want to bring that mana back because these issues have not gone away, issues such as being underrepresented in the student body and University of Hawai‘i faculty populations. With the current economic crises funding for our Hawaiian studies and Hawaiian student assistance programs are being threatened (as are most departments campus wide), we need to remind them that this campus is built on ceded lands!

We also need to say no and stand up against the duplicitous actions and partnerships of the University, actions and partnerships that affect all of Hawai‘i, because as students we are on the front line. Those actions include partnerships with multinationals which threaten our spirituality and the biodiversity of our islands by patenting and genetically modifying our sacred plants and open air crop testing crops that sustain some of our local economies. Partnerships with the occupying military through such plans as the UARC deal that had no support from UH students and faculty. This occupation continues to be expanded through the University with the recent opening of the Homeland security center (reported in Ka Leo Oct.16-18 issue) who under the guise of disaster response expands the militarization of our Islands. We will no longer be silenced and demand to be heard!

We ask you to please join us in our struggle to stop the hewa actions of our University. We need to bring back that sprit of resistance against colonialism and imperialism, a struggle that dates back long ago but even within the last 100 years with groups like Hui Kalai‘aina and the branches of Hui Aloha ‘Aina who formed out of the need to stop the U.S. annexation of our Hawai‘i, they traveled island wide to collect the renowned Ku‘e petitions against annexation. Or former students and our kumu who struggled for the formation of Kamakakuokalani Hawaiian Studies Center. Who also fought for tuition waivers for Native Hawaiian students. These Kupuna show us that the path of resistance is one that is pono. They have laid the groundwork for us, it is now our time to join the struggle, it is our kuleana and we owe it to them. It is out of this history and these issues that we see the need to form a student group.