Molokai, The Kahoolawe Story
March 10th, 2008 by 
jemakanu
You may remember that one of the stories Uncle Hano shared at Keawanui was about Uncle Walter Ritte and the “fight” for Kahoolawe. View Kahoolawe Story (viewing in QuickTime is best). On the blog, comment on AND ask questions about the video.
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23 Comments »
March 11th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
I enjoyed the movie but I have a question, Dont we have the right to say who and when they can take land and plus we had people living on that island so the people deserve it not the state.
March 12th, 2008 at 8:50 am
I think that it was really bad and disrespectful to come to hawaii to come and use one of our hawaiian island as a target for the navy. It also made all of the natives that live in hawaii really mad because it wasn’t really good for the ‘aina and it also made kahoolawe very ugly and made all of us hawaiians and natives it was really mad. It was also really good that they battled them for using kahoolawe as a bombing practice place. I just want to know why they chose kahoolawe as a bombing practice place and why did they continue when they knew that the hawaiians and natives was mad? I also agree with them they should just keep hawaii hawaii and don’t try and change anything to take the hawaiian culture out of our lives.
March 12th, 2008 at 9:02 am
I think that his knowledge and mana’o about Kaho’olawe is really strong. I think that he has really strong feelings towards the island too. After watching the video of him talking about Kaho’olawe, I really think that the people who used the island as target practice, should really regret doing it. But I am glad that it has stopped thanks too many courgeous fights and battles from the Hawaiian actavists. I know that it wasnt an easy ride to get the island back and to get people to stop using it as target practice, but it is much better now thanks to good people. A question that I have is, how many courts and trials did they have to go through to get Kaho’olawe back?
March 12th, 2008 at 9:03 am
I think that this was a very good story about his experience on Kahoolawe. He knows a lot and it is good that he put it into a video so that everyone else who wasnt there knows the real story and what really happened. I think that they all did what was right and tried to do everything to protect their ‘aina. I am very thankful for these people for having the courage to go and survive in Kahoolawe for 35 days. A question that i have is why the military was bombing kahoolawe and not somewhere else. Another question i have is how often do people go over there. Another question that i have is how long the military was bombing kahoolawe?
March 12th, 2008 at 9:03 am
I think that tis story was a very good story that really caught my attention. I learned that the guy had a very harsh experience on the island of Kaho’olawe and a crule time in jail and having to fight the battle. I am gald that they had him do tis video so that people can actually hear the real story and truley see the story in the eyes of the person that it happend to. It really tells you something about hawaiian people that were not afraid to do anything to pove a point or to do what we need and get it done no matter what it takes. A question that i have would be how big were the bombs that they used to bomb Kaho’olawe and why did they bomb the island?
March 12th, 2008 at 9:04 am
i thought the video was really good.
Hawaiians are always fighting for our land, but why should we fight for something thats already ours???
it was good that the 9 guys went to Kahoʻolawe. but it was junk that they got arrested and charged with trespassing. and Hawaiians should be able to dress the way they want. if thats the way they want to dress to court then they should be able to. i know thereʻs the law but weʻre in Hawaiʻi. and we should be able to do what we want with our land and make our own choices for ourselves.
March 12th, 2008 at 9:05 am
That must have been life threatening, when the bombs hit that close to you. Surviving for 35 days on Kaho‘olawe is a true native. Walter Ritte was talking about how lots of people went to Kaho‘olawe but not all survived. How come Senator Inouye listened to the Navy without double checking if there were any men left on the island?
March 12th, 2008 at 9:05 am
I think that the person that tells the story is mostly affected because he has to recollect what has happened, plus remember the bad things that happened. I think that kahoʻo lawe is the most historical place, but is really a damaged island because of all the bombing.
March 12th, 2008 at 9:06 am
I liked this video because they speaked the truth and they fought for their rights. They fought to stop the military from bombing Kaho’olawe because to us, we see the island as a child, not just an island. Uncle Walter Ritte and the other people that went to Kaho’olawe and fought for their island. They sacrificed alot and gave back to the ‘aina for doing this. Uncle Walter is very knowledgable and knows what he is saying. He taught me something very imporatant which is to always fght for your rights and give back to your ‘aina.
March 12th, 2008 at 9:07 am
ummm so this video was pretty good. umm like i didnt really understand like what this video is about really. I mean i know that that they were fighting for so not bombing on kaho’olawe. but what i didn’t get was why they got arrested for trying to protect THEiR land. like i mean it is hawaiian land, and like they shouldn’t get arrested for trying to do something good. Like idk, like why does the marines or something getto be bombing kaho’olawe. well yeah
March 12th, 2008 at 9:08 am
I agree that the Kahoʻolawe bombing was a bad idea and affected all of Hawaiʻi. When they were bombing Kahoʻolawe and when Uncle Hano told us about the story of the two Hawaiians on the island I thought that they really love Hawaii. They are risking their life on a target island for their love for the island. I think it was bad for the army to do that. They could pick another placebut not Hawaiʻi.
March 12th, 2008 at 9:09 am
This story was very interesting. You would think that a Hawaiian judge would favor the men but he didn’t. It was also very strange the the government would lie about the fact that they were taken off the island. One question I have is why did the government go to such lengths to get rid of them when they only wanted what was rightfully theirs? This story was very impacting and shows just how unfair our government can be.
March 12th, 2008 at 9:09 am
I think their passion for saving Kahoolawe was so strong and so intense, that’s why they won in the end. That is why Kahoolawe is now back in hands of Hawaiians and not in the hands of the millitary. The millitary looks super dumb because they were going to keep bombing the island when they knew people were on the island. The way our millitary tried to handle the sistuation is super disappointing and I just couldn’t believe that they wouldn’t listen. I believe that the millitary couldn’t find the 2 guys because they didn’t care and didn’t want to find them. They could say they tried but they propbably didn’t because it’s a small island. There is also no one to watch the millitary so they could of not been searching at all. I also don’t think the 2 guys who went missing just went missing. It’s possible that they were killed by millitary forces. I think it’s really brave of those people to fight so couragously for Kahoolawe by keep going back to the island even though they weren’t supposed to. The is true courage to do something about what you believe in.
March 12th, 2008 at 9:09 am
It is interesting to hear Walter Ritte’s side of the story on Kahoolawe. Those people are very proud of their Hawaiian culture and some of them gave their life for it. The government wasn’t doing the right thing in this situation. A question I have is why didn’t the government recognize the Hawaiians and hear their side instead of trying to cover it up.
March 12th, 2008 at 9:09 am
Wow I can’t believe him and his friend had to stay on the island for 35 days. I would be scared and lost because I can’t fish if I don’t have a net and pole. Plus the island is practically destroyed because of all the bombing on Kaho’olawe.
Why did the government have to take this all so serious, all they were doing was trying to restore the island?
March 12th, 2008 at 9:09 am
i feel that Kahoolawe shouldn’t have been bombed. A lot of significant history could have still been kept. And the people living there wouldn’t have been kicked off. The question i have is “Why did they choose Kahoolawe why couldn’t they bomb another island that wasn’t inhabited?”
March 12th, 2008 at 10:23 am
Why did the marines use kahoolawe as a bomb area?
Why didn’t they use some where else?
Why did the marines think they owened the Hawaiian land?
Why did the marines just take kahoolawe?
Why did the men get arrested on kahoolawe for being on their own land?
I think that the marines are not being fair about giving the Hawaiians their land back. I also think that the Hawaiians can maintain the island and make good use of it instead let the marines take it and abuse the area. If they gave Hawaiians back kahoolawe it would go into good use.
March 12th, 2008 at 10:24 am
i like how they use all the newspaper articles in story
Why did they stay on island?
i think that jugde should have been fired because he wouldn’t let them go in the court room
Why did the marines not let uncle Ritte stay and uncle George stay on Kahoolawe
Why didn’t the marines do it in the mainland?
Why did uncle ritte get in trouble for dressing like a true Hawaiian in the court room?
March 12th, 2008 at 10:27 am
To me, I think that the way you have put all of your references and all the pictures with the articles made it seem more important. This is a really good video and I think that the thing you guys were trying tom do is very important to us Hawaiians. A question I have is, What if a bomb hit where you guys were located, what would you have done?
March 12th, 2008 at 11:27 am
I think Uncle Walter Ritte is really trying to teach us about Kahoolawe and its past. I learned that Kahoolawe was used as military targets and practice. Also, many people were sent away to make sure no one gets hurt. Still, Molokai got some of the impact from the bombs hitting land. The military shouldnt have use our islands for practice….they shouldve used some very far desalate place where NOTHING lives. Like with Kahoolawe, there are islands completely surrounding it. One question I have is like why did the navy need to come to these islands? They could’ve gone somewhere else.
March 12th, 2008 at 11:33 am
This video shows the answeres that i had about kahoolawe. it helped me to understand more of what happened on that island and why they did it in the first place. It makes mme angry to hear what happened to kahoolawe. Hearing this was good for my knowledge. My only question about this movie was, why did they want the hawaiians off the island? I just dont get why. Other than that i loved this video.
March 15th, 2008 at 7:02 pm
I am extremely impressed with all your comments and questions. Rather than me give you the answers to your questions, can one of you give us any insights? Ask around, do some research if you like. Think about possible reasons why the military would choose Kahoolawe. Think about why they would treat the Hawaiians the way they did. Think about why the government reacted the way it did. He mana’o ‘oukou?
March 15th, 2008 at 9:21 pm
The Kaho’olawe video gave me some information on marines and on hawaiians and how the island was used.Others try to take advantage of us and steal our land. but i think that we should be able to have a word and stand up for what we want.
Some questions i have are:
Why was kaho’olawe used for targeting??
Is there any other place that could have been used?