Kamehameha Schools Song Contest
25 03 2007Imua Kamehameha e! I am a strong supporter of all things Hawaiian. I am in awe of the time and energy it takes to continue traditions year after year. Family traditions, school traditions, club traditions, religious traditions. It takes a lot of work and a lot of commitment, something that many people know nothing of. It requires maintenance, practice, and operates very much like a promise.
Although I am not a graduate of Kamehameha Schools, I enjoy watching their singing competition every year on television and have attended this annual event only once. I’ve always in some way, envied much of the student body at Kamehameha schools specifically because of their traditions and commitment to continue them for as long as this school can survive among many of Hawai’i’s differences in politics, ethnicities, educational backgrounds, everything if you must. The song contest for one has given much to our kupuna by honoring them with the continuation of our mele and culture, our ideals, our practices, our stories, our ways as a people of old who once thrived in this place we call Hawai’i.
Every year, I am interested in knowing the theme or person or event the singing competition evolves around. They’ve honored our Queen Lili’u and the overthrow, Aunty Helen Deshee Beamer, Aunty Lena Machado, Old Christian Hymnals, what it means to have inherited such a gifted genealogy of Hawaiian ancestry, and this year honoring Aunty Mary Kawna Puku’i. Although I am glad it celebrates Kamehameha Schools, and it is well deserving because they’ve put a lot of work and research, energy and time, into this occasion, we cannot forget the most important reason of all and that this celebrates the Hawaiian in Hawaiians.
And this is why I feel so torn between the idea of sending my child to this school that does not accept all Hawaiians.
I am sure we are all familiar with this criticism. I strongly feel you need to be Hawaiian to attend Kamehameha schools. I spoke with our bass player, graduate of Kamehameha schools Kalei Rapoza, who I like to call Kalei Eggs, about how so many students do not look Hawaiian. Some of them look part Hawaiian, but the majority of them look everything BUT Hawaiian. And although I agree its the inside that counts, and that if they have one drop of Hawaiian blood they should be a likely candidate to attend this institution. I still, however, feel that all Hawaiians should be able to attend this billion dollar estate. This is the division it has created among Hawaiians. I commented to Kalei that so many of the students do not look Hawaiian and he responded, “Well, that’s because these days there are not very many Hawaiians left and there are not very many Hawaiians that look Hawaiian.” I responded back, “Well, if you look at the public schools, namely Castle and Kapolei, Kailua, Wai’ane, there are many kids Hawaiian that “look” Hawaiian.” He looked at me with a sense of realization, “O’h yeah, that’s right.” Have people forgotten that there are so MANY Hawaiian kids out there? That there really are a whole lot of Hawaiian people? You just do not see us as much as you do other ethnicities unless you’re valeting your car, you’re ready to take your order at some restaurant, or in the newspaper going to jail, doing drugs, accident, sad yeah? But that is the general consensus is that there are not very many Hawaiians left, or not very many Hawaiians that look Hawaiian.
So I narrowed my viewing down to, either there are many Hawaiians that look Hawaiian that go to Kamehameha schools, but cameramen want to only show kids that don’t look Hawaiian so that more non Hawaiian kids can attend this school meant, deemed, and willed preferable to Hawaiians only, or Hawaiians that look Hawaiian do not apply for the school as much as Hawaiians that don’t look Hawaiian, or Hawaiians that look Hawaiian do not get accepted as much as Hawaiians who do not look Hawaiian. Its important because in a few decades, no one will look Hawaiian, maybe there will be no Hawaiians at this school and then what will happen to Kamehameha schools when there are so many Hawaiians that look Hawaiian continue to be in the poor social system of public education when they could have been attending an institution meant, deemed, and willed for us?
What is my point about looking Hawaiian and being Hawaiian? I feel America loves to put its stamp of approval on everything they feel validates success, money, power, because they , America, wants to sit at the head of the table in terms of those components. They’ve done such a great job creating confusion and misdirection especially in the area of what it means to be Hawaiian that now we have a student(s) attending the Kapalama campus that is not of Hawaiian ancestry. You cannot really tell one from the next. When we watch what America televises, the most powerful way of exposure, communication, and advertising/marketing, when it comes to anything Hawaiian it is the complete opposite of what Hawaiian is. We’ve seen it time after time with Hawai’i, Lilo and Stitch, Maui Fever, North Shore, Blue Crush, need I say more? We’ve seen this bend of truth, stamp of approval, cellophane wrap around the pineapple dance that sadly (I have to say) I think this is what is happening to the song contest when student announcers/speakers introducing our mele to the public and to the camera have to make it so theatrical. I can tell when someone is real about something they feel passionately about. And I can also see otherwise. I would think that an institution that has been under the microscope and telescope for so many years past, present, and more to come would do something to change the attitude that anyone can be Hawaiian, that anyone can be of a genealogy as rich, and old, as astonishing as ours. And sadly that is not the case.
So, will I send my daughter there because its a private school and the tuition is cheap? Those are the number 1 and 2 reasons why Hawaiians want to send their children there. I can simply say no. It is not because of the song contest, because I do respect and admire their traditions practiced and will for as long as I live, but I cannot see this establishment not accepting all Hawaiians. I will not swallow such a heartbreaking judgment. How many Hawaiian families receive letters where their keiki were disapproved acceptance? Thousands and thousands more to come, a million by now. There is more work to do, much more. This division and confusion settles among parents and their children.
I’d rather not deal with that heartbreak and because I have ‘ike of what it means to be Hawaiian, I should not have to send my child there for her to learn what I already know to teach and share. I stand on the mana’o that Kamehameha schools should continue to use generated revenue to build more kula in order to reach this goal of accepting ALL Hawaiian children!
Na’u no,
Mailani K. Makainai
Written by Mailani - Visit Website
greetings people of mighty j land.... i come in peace. i've come to BREAK the SILENCE in this SHOUTBOX!!!!!!! Hope all is well where you are! 
it's friday!!!!!!
I feel you Mai. My dad felt pretty much the same about Kamehameha schools. It didn’t help that he always grumbled that as an Alumnus they never accepted his only son, while he had cousins and friends with multiple children in. As far as Ha’e, PUNAHOU I’m sure it’ll work itself out
I am not of Hawaiian ancentry and therefore I cannot say i know what its like to be “Hawaiian”, but I hear and acknowledge your plea, Mailani … and if Punahou is not the right fit for Ha’e … She can always be a Raider and attend … I-I-I-O-L-A-N-I …
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this controversial and moving topic …
Aloha ~
JRoq, Zaysha, and T are familiar with who I am so they might be able to help with my introduction. Just wanted to drop a quick comment….
Your concerns are felt by alot of people, and you should feel good about the message you are carrying by voicing your concerns.
I am currently teaching Highschool students at a Hawaiian Charter School in Manoa Valley, Halau Ku Mana. I’m not sure how old your daughter is but it might be an option to consider that allows your ohana to perpetuate Hawaiian culture. Our school is grades 6-12 but there are other Hawaiian Charter Schools (both bi-lingual and not) that run from k-12. There is no tuition and they offer a culture and environment based curriculum including olelo Hawaii and hula (check out the website for more details http://www.halaukumana.org).
If you have questions or want to come visit our campus please contact me at casey@halaukumana.org. We are currently accepting applications for the 2007-2008 school year. If you know of any Hawaiian ohana’s looking for a solid education that is free, and will guarantee the child will know how to perpetuate Hawaiian culture through hula,oli,olelo, and other Hawaiian traditions please point them in our direction. We are need of students next year.
Our school year will begin in July at our new location on
Makiki Heights Drive.
Look forward to the chance to talk with you more.
Aloha
Casey-Girl
Punahou?
Well, I mean only if she wants Ha’e to go to the best school on the planet.
glug glug glug
I do feel that Kamehameha Schools should serve all hawaiians, but the fact is that the school doesn’t have enough money to reach out effectively to each hawaiian. The school is great because it is able to offer so much to each student, but when the school must pay for thousands more, then the school can not offer as much to each student, then the school will be like any other public school and will not be helping the hawaiians anymore.
I go to the school, so I see the hawaiians that don’t look hawaiian but I never paid attention to that until the two years ago, when I was in the 9th grade, I was going to Kamehameha Shopping Center, and there were other students from a different school there and as I was walking past them they said, there’s a hawaiian, everyone else in McDonalds with the Kamehameha t-shirts do not look hawaiian. That made me feel proud, but sad at the same time because it’s true that the less hawaiian someone is generally means that their parents will teach them more, but this doesn’t go for everyone since, there are a lot of smart people from Wai’anae, Ewa Beach, and Waimanalo, the sadder part is that there are many more smart hawaiians in those parts that don’t get in because some have parents that don’t care to take them through the admissions process.
Just a thought to ponder…In today’s society, you’re considered Hawaiian if you had an ancestor living in Hawaii before 1778, before the arrival of Captain Cook, so really a lot of people are considered Hawaiian, but they aren’t, so that could explain the Hawaiians that don’t look Hawaiian.
This is such a great topic. I’m not exactly sure how their process works, but I’m sure it could use some adjustments. I have twin nephews and my sister applied for Kamehameha pre-school here in Maui. We received a notice, mailed in seperate envelopes, that one was accepted but not the other. I’m still not sure what made one more qualified than the other. Maybe if a picture was sent with their application, then they would both get in. My nephews only have 1/8 hawaiian, so their skin is quite fair.
I think that just starting the process can be overwhelming for some parents. With the creation of campuses on neighbor islands, I would assume that the process would be easier for the Kapalama campus. Maybe if the school offered parents assistance with filling out the forms, then you may see more hawaiian-looking hawaiians in uniform. Or maybe they should just hold class at the beach.
As far as the perception of Hawaiians in the media, I’ve had issues with that subject for a long time. I was watching DOG one night, and I started laughing to myself for a moment because they had subtitles for a local guy who was speaking english. Granted, it was pidgin english, but english nonetheless. Then I started to think about it, and it was a little upsetting because in that moment, they presented an image of a Hawaiian as ignorant, hostile, and uneducated. I think the only way to break those kinds of stereotypical images is to have local people creating their own shows and movies. Let’s take OC 16 nationwide!