"We Were Being Who We Are, And That Was the Story": Interview with Kēhaunani Abad

Abstract

"We Were Being Who We Are, And That Was the Story"Interview with Kēhaunani Abad Kēhaunani Abad (bio), Bryan Kamaoli Kuwada (bio), and No'u Revilla (bio) Kēhaunani Abad is a long-time activist, scholar, and community leader. As the head of Kealaiwikuamo'o, a division within the Kamehameha Schools, Kēhau oversaw and helped to shepherd the formation of Kanaeokana, a network of schools and organizations dedicated to aloha 'āina. Mahalo nui loa iā 'oe e Kēhau for sharing with us all of the tears and inspiration. June 19, 2020 Bryan Kamaoli Kuwada: Would you please share some of your background and how you came into this work? What was your role on the media team and how would you describe your relationship to the Mauna before and after? Kēhaunani Abad: I came into the work because of my connections with supporting Kanaeokana, and I guess there is a long string of things that ultimately placed me in that position, that ended up being relevant for sort of this assignment of a lifetime, like I could not have wished for a better assignment. So my role on the media team was to, I would like to think, support the work of the media team, in whatever it happened to need. It was everything from trying to talk with KS [Kamehameha Schools] leadership, doing some bridge-building to make sure that we weren't going to, by our boldness, stop our ability to continue the work. We needed to be able to continue the work, and there was always some delicateness in terms of how far we could push things, and yet they didn't want to censor us, and we certainly didn't want them to censor us. I was probably like third string—to be able to be like, okay, go film this. Everything from filling water to emptying trash and all those awesome things that made our little media hale function. I think that was the beautiful thing about the media [End Page 673] team. Everyone just did what needed to be done without having to think too hard about it. Everybody kind of knew their spots. If anything else, I was one of the writers. As were you, Kamaoli. There was plenty to write about, so there was never a lack of work. One of the most important pieces was thinking through strategy. And there were a whole lot of great minds involved in that, and just being part of those conversations was amazing. I learned so, so much. BKK: Do you want to talk a little bit about how you guys decided on strategy and just kind of what the process was for figuring out what you were going to do? How did you decide on the short- and long-term strategies? KA: We never went into this with a communications plan. The pace at which things were happening really didn't allow for that. The people at the front, all those kia'i, they were so amazing, so articulate, so strategic in their thinking, in everything they were doing, and then the lāhui as a main player, so to speak. I'm so proud of how everybody showed up. Just so proud. And so the strategy kind of emerged organically from what we were seeing. Things were changing and happening so fast. Nobody would have expected things to emerge as they did. I mean, just the physicality of the camp itself as an indicator. How it could go from just that little tent in the first days to like this whole village. There were some key points that anchored everyone's messaging. Of course, Mauna first, Mauna in front, always, always, always the why. Why are we here? And connecting that why to our roles and clarifying that. At the end of the day, everybody was there for a higher reason that superseded any kind of other set of laws or rules and regulations, and that is what differentiated this movement from so many others that we had. I think about back during the protests against the construction of the H-3 Interstate Highway through Hālawa Valley...