Kumu Kapulani Antonio

Welcome to the 2013-2014 school year! I’m looking forward to meeting and working with the Senior class of 2014. I’m also very excited about debuting my new curriculum which I’ve been working on since last semester. Basically, it let’s the haumāna discover history on their own. We start off with a central historical question – one that is intriguing and can have more than one answer. I provide the primary documents and structure the flow of the class but the haumāna take it from there. They become the historians – reading, probing, asking questions, deriving plausible accounts. Hopefully they will be interested and engaged. For more information, see my syllabus on the page entitled No Ka Papa. I makahiki kula maikaʻi loa iā kākou! Let’s have a great school year!

Starting all over again with my new batch of haumāna. Getting things rolling with our first unit – Ke Au Kahiko – Ancient Times. We’ve been discussing scientific migration theory, the Mele a Pakuʻi and Kumulipo. Next up Paʻao and the changes he brought, contributing to the evolution of Hawaiian society. These are great kids who love a good discussion!

The splendor of the Kalākaua era is over. Power has shifted, been wrestled away by the conspiratorial acts of a group of missionary descendants, merchants and businessmen. The Queen, adamant that not one drop of Hawaiian blood be shed yielded to the “superior force of the United States of America until such time that its representatives shall undo its actions and reinstate [her] as Queen.” The coup de’tat would not have been successful were it not for the help of John L. Stevens, U.S. Minister to Hawaiʻi who, having conspired with the Thurston faction, landed marines from the U.S.S. Boston to intimidate the Queen.

That was January 17, 1893.

1898 Hawaiʻi is annexed illegally not by treaty but by joint resolution of Congress. Despite native protest evidenced by the 38,000 signatures collected in the petitions against annexation, the U.S. rushed to take us for our strategic position in the Pacific which would give them political advantage in the Spanish American War being waged in the Philippines.

Auē nō hoʻi ē.

E kūpaʻa mau a hiki i ke kanaka hope loa, no ke ea o ko kākou ʻāina aloha. Always stand fast, down to the very last Hawaiian person for the sovereignty of our beloved land.

Pehea kou manaʻo?

Now that Fall Break is just a memory, it’s time to refocus and get back to business. Students have been asked to concentrate on and practice these 3 habits of mind in class. They also work for improving personal relationships as well. 1) Ask questions/pose problems, 2) Respond with wonderment and awe, 3) Remain open to continual learning.

As far as content goes, we just finished learning about Kauikeaouli, Alexander Liholiho, Lot Kapuāiwa and Lunalilo. We also picked up Helena Allen’s, The Betrayal of Liliʻuokalani and have selected readings from it.

Next up is the Kalākaua Dynasty. We’ll start up with some basic research by the students. They will share their findings with each other. There will be a culminating assignment based on everyone’s favorite, meaʻai/food! Stay tuned.

I haven’t updated the blog recently only because I don’t know if anyone is reading it. Since my last post, we’ve been busy studying the arrival of Kāpena Kuke and his subsequent death. One of the questions I always get, mostly as a joke is, “Did we, Hawaiians eat Captain Cook?” Well what do you think? (Here’s where I’m fishing to see if anyone is reading my posts. If you are, please give me your input.)

After finishing the delicious section on Cook, we delved into the many paths to power, prior to birth and into adulthood that eventually gave Kamehameha an advantage over all other warrior chiefs. Soon we’ll end with his death and Liholiho’s succession to the throne.

A huge event for us on Maui was Kalolopahū, also known as the Olowalu Massacre. Students have a hefty assignment on this event.

We’ll finish up the unit with a look at the missionaries.

That’s it for now. Aloha.

The students are reading the Story of ‘Umi from Ruling Chiefs. The point of this is to delve into ancient chiefly society. I want them to envision what life was like for early chiefs. ‘Umi was important because of his humble beginnings. He was able to assume the throne because he cared for the god and the people.

Where did Hawaiians come from? Depends who you ask. We weren’t officially Hawaiʻi (Hawaiians) anyway until we were conquered and unified by Kamehameha in 1810. Prior to that we had our own unique distinctions according to the islands from which we hailed.

But where did the first people to settle here come from and how did we evolve into the modern people we are today? Scientists will cite the migration theory showing that the central Pacific was colonized thousands of years ago from people of S.E. Asia. Over many more thousands of years, they moved out, settling other islands. There were two major migrations to Hawaiʻi. The first from Nukuhiva in AD 300-600. The second from Tahiti in AD 1000-1300. Dates will vary especially now as new data continues to be collected but these are the dates I run with for now.

But what of the indigenous perspective? If you asked a kanaka of say Kamehameha’s time, he or she would likely reference the Mele a Pakuʻi, otherwise known as the story of Papa & Wākea. Within this moʻolelo, you find moʻokūʻauhau or genealogy of the gods (ancient ancestors). You’ll also find cultural understandings of our familial link to the ʻāina and our stable food the kalo. It is here that we find lessons of aloha ʻāina and mālama ʻāina.

The relationship between humans and the entire universe is expressed in the Kumulipo. In this cosmogonic chant of procreation, we examine the beginnings of our world and everything in it. Some say that it demonstrates a higher level of thinking of time, space & evolution. Kumulipo differs from evolution however in that we don’t evolve from one species to the next. We are simply born in a certain order. The fact that humans do not arrive until the second half of the mele shows that we are subservient to nature, not born to dominate or control it. We are junior to all plants and animals that come before us but as humans we have a special kuleana to respect and mālama them. We can speak for them. We can protect them and should continue doing so especially today in this modern, somewhat messed up world we have created.

We started off the first two weeks of school discussing what it means to be a Hawaiian. Students tackled issues such as blood quantum – where it it come from, does it matter, how it’s detrimental to us as a lāhui, more Hawaiian/less Hawaiian – is there such a thing?, Hawaiian at heart & the giving away of identity and much more. Their brains were challenged to think hard about the issues that we face. More importantly, they were charged with the kuleana of improving the lot of those of us who are poor, uneducated, unhealthy, and more likely to end up in prison. Our king said “I mua.” That is what we intend to do. I mua! Forward! It is a charge that we will fulfill for ourselves, our families and our lāhui.

It’s the start of a new school year. Welcome Seniors and ʻOhana members! I look forward to a great semester with all of you.