The Bucket
A plastic bucket sits quietly on the side of a mountain. Forgotten, yes. However, it remains there still- waiting to be rediscovered. If someone were to attempt to remove the pale, it’s sun worn integrity would crumble. Each try at retrieving the aged plastic provides the precedence for the object to divide once more. Revealing the depth of time well spent. Now, as minute as the pale’s existence may come across, it genuinely exists. The unfolding reality of the pale provides basis for understanding not only the object itself but also the story of Mauna Lahilahi.
Who is Mauna Lahilahi And Who Are Her Caretakers?
On the west side of O’ahu, Lahilahi sleeps quietly in Mākaha. Mauna Lahilahi is both the world’s smallest mountain, and it’s best teacher. Previously, a location of a Hawaiian temple and area for practice in various cultural affairs over time, the mountain now stands as a professor well learned in the relationship between mālama ʻāina and mālama kanaka. (Taking care of the land and how it relates to taking care of it’s people). With open arms, she invites those who come before us to rest deep beneath her soil. In addition to bearing vast historical wealth, she is also currently the home to many houseless persons, generational ties, and dreams of a near future- one that better intermingles Hawaiian culture with the people who live on Hawaiian lands. A relationship with the mountain most inspiring to myself is that of the Samson family’s. Kuʻuleilani Samson is a woman of incredible strength and leadership skills. Her family has ties to taking care of the land for generations. More recently however, after a pause in care, Kuʻu stepped up with the help of the surrounding neighbors to reinstate mālama for the Mountain. The Kiaʻi o Lahilahi, or the caretakers of Lahilahi, is a group that’s come together at a time of frustration in government inaction. Tears of neglect ran down the face of the mountain- trickling upon the roots of invasive species, and permitting crime to go unchallenged. Searching for a return of both order and effective resources aimed at assisting the homeless camp, the Kiaʻi o Lahilahi began their efforts in 2019. Meeting every first Sunday of the month, the group aspired to clean the mountain’s various cliffs of litter and debris. After years of work, the group was successful in forming “Mālama Rising“- a 501(c)(3) non profit organization aimed at “[advancing] the protection, preservation, and beautification of culturally significant sites, and provide programs promoting social welfare, community sustainability, food sovereignty, and environmental protection.” Areas of land that were once blanketed in trash and choking on invasive species can now be seen with a renewed sense of freedom. Even waters which have previously receded have begun their return.
To see this as a project solely aimed at picking up trash would be to misunderstand the foundation for which the problem has built itself upon. Lahilahi is not where homeless people go to throw trash. Lahilahi is where people with seemingly nowhere to go find home. It’s where they endure the negative effects of homelessness. Seeing the people for what they were- human beings, Kuʻu quickly realized in order to maintain a clean and safe space for all, she needed to connect with the community at hand. “Why are you here?” “Who are you?” are some of the simple yet transformative questions she asked of those living there. Offering a safe space to talk, Samson connected with everyone all while firmly stating that where they were currently living and the unsustainable prospects for which they had been living by could go no further. Each new Sunday was helpful in providing those living there with someone to talk to and different resources they may need to connect with. At the same time, however, the cleanups were disruptive and persistent. A firm reminder that Lahilahi is in the process of transformation; a future that resembles a past where culture and recreation thrive. The reason there are people without adequate shelter living at Lahilahi is due, in part, to the effects of colonization and the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi. A disproportionate amount of homeless persons on Oʻahu are native Hawaiians. A connection to the land flows through the blood of many of these people. Potlucks are held at the end of every clean up and although some may correctly attribute the incentive of food as partial motivation for some of the homeless to join the Kiaʻi o Lahilahi, others are capable of seeing a different motivator. The desire to mālama ʻāina simply in the name of caring for the land- native or not.
How To Help?
As an ever gifting and loving mother, it’s important that we as humans return the favor and are reciprocal to the planet that nourishes us. However, not everyone is able to make the trip out to Mākaha and that’s fine! Mālama Rising needs everyone’s help. Digital designers, weed whackers, story tellers. Whether it’s re-educating the public on Hawaiian values and practices, or assisting in pressuring the government to help the cause, you as a reader have a role to play. I was recently at a beach cleanup with Sustainable Coastlines Hawai’i working to sift microplastics out of the sand. At first, the job seems futile. With the sun blazing on your back, it’s easy to assume that sifting a couple pieces apart from their sand counterparts is hopeless. An incomprehensible amount of sand intermingles with an equally large number of plastics, and it leads one to question whether they are even making a dent. However, the perspective shifts immediately upon looking up. Hundreds of people working together to show love to the shore. Undisturbed coast now visibly groomed, freeing the sand of it’s clinging neighbor. Allowing the beach to resettle and get back to a place of comfort. I feel like this is representative of many things, yet easily applied to the project at Lahilahi. One person doing their best is helpful, yet the rewards a community can achieve together is astronomical.
Moving Forward
Slowly but surely, piece by piece, a woman sits on a mountain. In an attempt to display her love for her land, she begins by picking up trash. Most frustratingly, a bucket from a time before her own, crumbles with one touch. Patiently, she picks up all the pieces she can and moves along. The next day, she returns… this time with a friend. Together, the two sit in the same spot retrieving more pieces of bucket. As they do, the laughter of their many conversations fills the world with a sense of comfort. Fueling them to push forward, and confirming once more that together, we are better.
Because Lahilahi was such a prominent site for cultural practice, the goal for the mountain’s status moving forward, should not reside solely in cultural remembrance, but also continuation. Whether it be fishing, making lei poʻo or dancing hula, Lahilahi and her future must be viewed through a “Hawaiian lense”. Yes, the mountain resides within the boundaries of U.S. Territory. However, Lahilahi has been, and will forever remain on Hawaiian soil. Even to her core, there are Hawaiians that sleep eternally beneath the ground. Mauna Lahilahi’s lesson is one to take with you forever. So please, care for yourself. Care for your neighbor. Care for your land.
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Thank you Kuʻu for sharing your story with me. You will forever be an inspiration, and your wisdom and hard work is appreciated.