by
Kenneth R. Conklin, Ph.D.
November 28, 2017
In late November 2017 news media announced that the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) has had a Hawaiian Station Naming Working Group (HSNWG), which has developed a list of proposed names for the first nine stations to be constructed on the ewa (western) end of the railroad line where the elevated track has already been built. The news release announced that all 21 stations will eventually have Hawaiian-language names "using diverse community knowledge, oral accounts, and written history to bring to light forgotten place names, historic events, and significant sites in Hawaiian culture."
This webpage contains the following sections in the order listed; scroll down to find the section that interests you. More sections will be added as events unfold during the next several years.
A. Honolulu Star-Advertiser news report: November 23, 2017
B. Short news release from HART on November 22, 2017, used by media
C. Longer news release from the Hawaiian Station Naming Program on November 22, 2017,
with subheadings for: Mission, Program, Process, Names of the 6 committee members, List of meetings already held, Proposed Hawaiian Names for 1st Nine Stations with extensive explanations, One question soliciting public response
D. Ken Conklin's detailed response covering 5 topics:
The City Council resolution from nearly 9 years ago is now moot in view of turnover of Council members;
Hawaiian-language names would be unhelpful and confusing to both tourists and locals;
English language place names of current buildings or uses should be primary, while Hawaiian-language reminders of cultural or historical features should be secondary;
Philosophical analysis explaining that the demand for Hawaiian-language names is the weaponizing of Hawaiian language to gain publicity and political power in a struggle for racial dominance;
The Hawaiian-language naming of HART train stations is primarily a political power play rather than a display of respect for culture and language.
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A. Honolulu Star-Advertiser news report: November 23, 2017
http://www.staradvertiser.com/2017/11/23/hawaii-news/9-rail-stations-new-hawaiian-names-reflect-history-of-sites/
Honolulu Star-Advertiser, November 23, 2017
9 rail stations' new Hawaiian names reflect history of sites
By Nanea Kalani
The nine rail stations at the Ewa end of the city's mass-transit line have been given Hawaiian names that experts say are reflective of ancient place names and legendary sites along the rail route.
The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation last year convened a working group made up of Hawaiian-language experts, community leaders, educators and cultural practitioners to recommend a Hawaiian name for each of 21 planned rail stations.
The first set of station names, spanning from Kapolei to Aloha Stadium, was announced Wednesday, initiating a 30-day public comment period. After the comment period, the working group will formally recommend the names to the HART board for approval.
"Part of what we wanted was to make sure that the stations show Hawaiian presence," said community volunteer Mahealani Cypher, who serves as chairwoman of the working group. "Every station has a story to go with it. ... We hope this will be a great opportunity to connect our communities with the culture and history of the areas."
Educator and cultural advocate Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, who also serves on the working group, said a great deal of thought and research went into the naming of each station.
"It is an honor to contribute to an effort that will afford a greater level of dignity and respect and a greater level of integrity when it comes to the presence of Hawaiian names -- not just simply composed out of thin air, but actually derived from the history and the storied places, our wahi pana, of the project track," Wong-Kalu said.
She added that although the rail project has been a divisive issue among some Native Hawaiians, she chose to participate in the working group to have a voice in the process.
"My personal approach to this was that no matter what people feel about this as a mode of transportation, that I would get behind the opportunity for this to be ... a moving museum of knowledge and information," Wong-Kalu said. "This is an opportunity to teach people and to ensure that the presence and the face and the names and the very sound of our islands will echo through the articulation of our place names."
Kawika Farm, cultural planner for HART, said the Hawaiian names will be used as the primary station names. Placeholder names that have been used until now will be replaced.
The station names, and their cultural significance according to members of the working group:
>> Kroc Center station: Kualaka'i. The name in Hawaiian means "to show the way, stand and lead." It was the historic name for the coastal area near Kalaeloa.
>> University of Hawaii at West Oahu station: Keone'ae. Meaning the fine, soft, powdery sand, it is the name of a historic fishing village that once existed where Farrington Highway and Kualakai Parkway intersect.
>> Ho'opili station: Honouliuli. Meaning "dark bay," it's the name of the largest ahupuaa -- a traditional land division that extended from the uplands to the sea -- on the most southwest tip of Oahu. The ahupuaa is believed to have been named after a Hawaiian chief.
>> West Loch station: Ho'ae'ae. Meaning "to make soft or fine," Ho'ae'ae is an ahupuaa between Honouliuli and Waikele. The area had terraces watered by springs.
>> Waipahu Transit Center station: Pouhala. Meaning "pandanus (hala) post" or pillar, the name refers to a historically important fishpond of the area. Today it is the name of a 70-acre tidal wetland in Waipahu that serves as a wildlife sanctuary.
>> Leeward Community College station: Halaulani. Halaulani can mean "heavenly halau" (meeting house) or "chief's house." It refers to an ancient land section situated between three ponds in the area: Hanaloa, Eo and Hanapouli. The land at one time had a heiau or temple called Ahu'ena or Ha'ena, which dated back to the era of Kamehameha I.
>> Pearl Highlands station: Waiawa. Meaning "milkfish water," Waiawa is an ahupuaa known to have the largest watershed on Oahu. It was cited in traditions and historical accounts for the area where Leeward Community College sits.
>> Pearlridge Center station: Pu'uloa. Meaning "long hill," Pu'uloa refers to the ancient land area that marked the entrance to Keawalau o Pu'uloa, meaning "the many bays of Pu'uloa," known today as Pearl Harbor. In Hawaiian folklore, the waters of Pu'uloa were protected by shark gods.
>> Aloha Stadium station: Halawa. The name means "curve," as in a road or along a beach. It is the last ahupuaa of the Ewa district. The area was once home to a sacred place known as Kapu'ukapu, or the forbidden hill, which implies the area once held religious and ceremonial significance.
"These Hawaiian names for our stations help anchor the rail project in the root culture of our island," HART Executive Director Andrew Robbins said in a statement.
The working group will next focus on names for the remaining 12 stations.
To provide input on the names, email info@honolulutransit.org.
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B. Short news release from HART on November 22, 2017, used by media
http://hartdocs.honolulu.gov/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-21438/20171122-nr-station-hawaiian-naming.pdf
** On official stationery: HART: Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transit
For Immediate Release November 22, 2017
HAWAIIAN NAMES FOR HART'S RAIL STATIONS
The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) announced today the Hawaiian names of the nine rail stations on the ewa end of the rail system as recommended by its Hawaiian Station Naming Working Group.
The recommended names are:
Kualaka'i (Location: Kroc Center)
Keone'ae (Location: UH West Oahu)
Honouliuli (Location: Ho'opili)
Hō'ae'ae (Location: Waipahu, West Loch)
Pouhala (Location: Waipahu Transit Center)
Hālaulani (Location: Leeward CC)
Waiawa (Location: Pearl Highlands)
Pu'uloa (Location: Pearlridge)
Hālawa (Location: Aloha Stadium)
"These Hawaiian names for our stations help anchor the rail project in the root culture of our island," said HART Executive Director and CEO Andrew Robbins. "HART extends a warm mahalo to the members of the working group for their dedication to this effort."
Members of the working group used diverse community knowledge, oral accounts and written history to come up with the names, and to bring back place names and significant sites in Hawaiian culture.
"We embrace and shed light on the histories and the mo'olelo of the ahupua'a by giving these stations their Hawaiian names," said Hawaiian Station Naming Working Group chairperson Mahealani Cypher.
The working group invites the public to contribute its stories, historic facts and knowledge of significant events about the station names over the next month. After 30 days, the group will meet to consider the public comments before finalizing the names and presenting them to the HART Board of Directors for review and adoption.
The Hawaiian rail station names are posted on the HART project website at
www.honolulutransit.org
Media Contact: Bill Brennan (808) 768-6197 cell: 228-1526
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C. Longer news release from the Hawaiian Station Naming Program on November 22, 2017,
with subheadings for: Mission, Program, Process, Names of the 6 committee members, List of meetings already held, Proposed Hawaiian Names for 1st Nine Stations with extensive explanations, One question soliciting public response
http://hartdocs.honolulu.gov/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-21439/20171122-hawaiian-station-naming-program.pdf
Longer news release from the Hawaiian Station Naming Program on November 22, 2017
Mission of the Hawaiian Station Naming Program:
The Hawaiian Station Naming Working Group (HSNWG) will propose appropriate Hawaiian place names for the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation's 21 stations using diverse community knowledge, oral accounts, and written history to bring to light forgotten place names, historic events, and significant sites in Hawaiian culture.
The Program:
Pursuant to Resolution 09-158 (Urging the Administration to Recommend the Use of the Hawaiian language in the Naming of Transit Stations), adopted by the Honolulu City Council on April 29, 2009 and Resolution 2016-16 (Relating to the Hawaiian Station Naming Policy of the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation), adopted by the HART Board in May 2016, HART has formed a HSNWG comprised of Hawaiian language experts, elders, community leaders, educators and cultural practitioners that will help to ensure culturally authentic and accurate information when proposing a Hawaiian name for each station. The HSNWG will meet to discuss appropriate Hawaiian names and the reason(s) for each proposal.
HART has committed to having a primary Hawaiian name for each station along the rail corridor. Hawaiian station names will help give voice to the land; further perpetuate the traditions, culture and history of Hawai'i; and help knit the Rail Project into the cultural and historic fabric of O'ahu.
The Process:
1. The HSNWG proposes a primary Hawaiian name for each station.
2. The HSNWG will send their proposal to HART's CEO for preliminary review, and approval to solicit public input.
3. Upon preliminary approval, HART will inform consulting parties, stakeholders and affected neighborhood boards on the HSNWG's proposals and post the HSNWG's proposals onto HART's webpage for 30 days to allow the general public the opportunity to submit comments.
4. The HSNWG will reconvene after the 30 day public commenting period has ended to discuss and consider all comments received prior to finalizing proposed Hawaiian names for each station.
5. HART will send the HSNWG's proposal to HART's Board of Directors for review and approval.
6. HART will inform the Mayor and City Council of HART Board approved Hawaiian station names.
The HSNWG Members:
1. Mahealani Cypher
2. Francine Gora
3. Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu
4. Shad Kane
5. Misty Kela'i
6. Keoni Kelekolio
Meetings:
The HSNWG convened three meetings in 2016 and one meeting in 2017. Meetings were held on:
1. February 20, 2016 – Commencement and introduction of Hawaiian Station Naming Program.
2. June 28, 2016 – Discuss and submit proposals for first six stations (starting west and moving east).
3. August 2, 2016 – Review prior proposals for first six stations and propose names for the next three stations.
4. October 26, 2017 – Review, reconsider and/or validate proposed names for first nine stations prior to releasing names for public comment.
Proposed Hawaiian Names for 1st Nine Stations:
The HSNWG's selection of the proposed Hawaiian names for the 1st nine stations was informed by the extensive cultural and historical data created for the Project in the Archeological Inventory Surveys, Environmental Impact Statements and the Traditional Cultural Properties Reports. These reports conducted by Cultural Surveys Hawai'i, SRI Foundation and Kumu Pono Associates provide geographic data, ethnographic research, and oral history studies that provide information on Cultural Context (wahi pana - sacred, legend and storied places; mo'olelo – traditions, historical narratives, stories; and inoa 'āina - land or place names) and Boundary Definitions (moku - district, section; ahupua'a - land division usually extending from the uplands to the sea; and 'ili - land section and usually a subdivision of an ahupua'a).
The following are the HSNWG's proposed Hawaiian names for the 1st nine stations (placeholder names used for planning, design, and construction purposes are italicized):
1. Kualaka'i (to show the way, stand and lead) is the coastal area near Barber's Point and Kalaeloa in the ahupua'a of Honouliuli. There was once a spring just inland of Kualaka'i named, Hoakalei (reflection of a lei). Mo'olelo speaks about Kauluakaha'i (the breadfruit tree of Kaha'i) as being the father of Nāmakaokapāo'o and planting a breadfruit tree at Kualaka'i where royal garments were also deposited. Kauluakaha'i is a story about travel, navigating and wayfinding. (East Kapolei)
2. Keone'ae (the fine, soft, powdery sand) is a historic fishing village that once existed in the area known today as the intersection of Farrington Highway and Kualaka'i Parkway. (UH-West O'ahu)
3. Honouliuli (dark bay) is the largest ahupua'a on the most southwest tip of the island of O'ahu. In one tradition, Honouliuli is believed to be named after a chief of the same name, who was the husband of Kapālama. They were the parents of Lepeamoa and Kauilani, two heros in ancient tradition. Historically Honouliuli was known as one of the driest and hottest lands on O'ahu. Honouliuli is cited in numerous Mahele claims that were generally awarded as taro lands. The Kuleana Act of 1850 resulted in Honouliuli changing into an area once known for ranching, then the growth of sugar cane, followed by the presence of the United States military into what is currently becoming one the fastest growing residential and commercial areas on the island. (Ho'opili)
4. Hō'ae'ae (to make soft or fine) is an ahupua'a situated between Honouliuli and Waikele. This ahupua'a had a moderate-sized area of terraces watered by springs inland of West Loch and Pearl Harbor. A wahi pana (sacred and storied places) of the area is Huliwai Gulch. (West Loch)
5. Pouhala (pandanus post) historically was an important fishpond of the area and land division near Pearl Harbor. Today it is known as a 70 acre marsh between Waipahu Depot Road and West Loch that is a wetland habitat for birds. (Waipahu)
6. Hālaulani (heavenly halau, chief's house, name of a star) is an 'ili situated between the ponds of Hanaloa, Eō and Hanapōuli, and the government road. There was situated in the land of Hālaulani, the heiau called Ahu'ena or Hā'ena, which was used in the time of Kamehameha I, and last cared for by John Papa 'I'i, who was granted fee-simple interest in the land during the Māhele. (Leeward Community College)
7. Waiawa (milkfish water) is an ahupua'a known to have the largest watershed on the island of O'ahu. A noted wahi pana of the area is Hā'upu also known as Haupu'u. This was a low hill rising from the shore, where was once an ancient village site, a kahua maika ('ulu maika game field), and a heiau (temple). When the Gods Kāne and Kanaloa walked the lands of 'Ewa, giving life and sustaining resources to those people who were worshipful, they traveled to and stood atop the summit of Hā'upu. From their vantage point they looked out across landscape and Kāne called out in a chant describing the scene, naming noted places and resources of the land. Among the noted places were the fishponds of Kuhialoko, Kuhiawaho; the salt beds of Nīnauele; the coconut grove of Hape; the kalo patches of Moka'alikā; the spring of Ka'aimalu; and the 'awa patch of Kalāhikiola. Hā'upu is the site where the Ewa mission church (Protestant), Kahikuonālani, was situated. Named in traditions and historical accounts (now the area of Leeward Community College). (Pearl Highland)
8. Pu'uloa (long hill) this land was traditionally an 'ili of Honouliuli, and marked the entrance to Keawalau o Pu'uloa (The many bays of Pu'uloa - Pearl Harbor, Pearl River or Wai Momi). The waters of Pu'uloa were protected by the shark goddess Ka'ahupāhau, her brother, Kahi'ukā, and the little shark god Ka-'ehu-iki-manō-o-Pu'uloa. (Pearlridge)
9. Hālawa (curve) is the last ahupua'a of the 'Ewa district before traversing into Moanalua, the first ahupua'a of the Kona district. Here you will find the wahi pana, Kapu'ukapu (the forbidden hill) which by name implies the area once held religious and ceremonial significance. (Aloha Stadium)
Questions for Public Input:
[** Ken Conklin's note: There was only one question offered, as follows]
1. Relevant Historic Facts/Significant Events - Is there a historic fact(s) and/or significant event(s) associated with the proposed Hawaiian name(s) or places that is important to you and should be shared?
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D. Ken Conklin's detailed response covering 5 topics:
1. Apply the legal concept of "laches": The City Council Resolution 09-158, not implemented for almost 9 years, should be regarded as expired and is now moot in view of turnover of Council members, and no longer imposes any legal or moral obligation on today's Council.
2. The primary purpose of a transit station's name is to quickly inform passengers where they are so they will know when to get off. The name should be immediately recognizable upon a single glance at a sign or upon hearing a verbal announcement. Hawaiian-language names would be unhelpful and confusing to both tourists and locals.
3. English language place names of current buildings or uses should be primary, while Hawaiian-language reminders of cultural or historical features should be secondary. If it is desired to "educate the public" or to convey a feeling of respect for Hawaiian language or for ancient place-names, that objective could be achieved by placing a plaque on the station wall; or placing the Hawaiian name in smaller lettering below the commonly used English name in a sign, or following it in a verbal announcement.
4. A general philosophical analysis explaining that the demand for Hawaiian-language names is the weaponizing of Hawaiian language to gain publicity and political power in a struggle for racial dominance. Imposing a name upon a person, place, creature or object is a political act -- an assertion of dominance. See a large, detailed webpage "Hawaiian Language as a Political Weapon" at
http://tinyurl.com/668vqyz
5. Specifically: the Hawaiian-language naming of HART train stations is primarily a political power play rather than a display of respect for culture and language. Of special relevance to the train station-naming project, see the subpage "Using Hawaiian language as a political weapon by demanding that the names of places and streets must be Hawaiian -- historical background and 5 case studies: Thurston Ave.(Kamakaeha), Barbers Point (Kalaeloa), Dillingham Military Reservation (Kawaihapai), Fort Barrette Road (Kualakai), Dole St. (Kapaakea Street)" at
http://tinyurl.com/39dqn32
Some members of the Hawaiian Station Naming Working Group are Hawaiian sovereignty activists with a long history of working for race-nationalism. HART, and the transit project, should not be used as pawns in such an endeavor.
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To:
Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transit
info@honolulutransit.org
From:
Kenneth R. Conklin, Ph.D.
46-255 Kahuhipa St. Apt. 1205
Kane'ohe, HI 96744-6083
tel (808) 247-7942
e-mail Ken_Conklin@yahoo.com
Re: Hawaiian names for train stations
Date: November 28, 2017
Responding to the mission statement of the Hawaiian Station Naming Program
http://hartdocs.honolulu.gov/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-21439/20171122-hawaiian-station-naming-program.pdf
and the media news release of November 22, 2017
http://hartdocs.honolulu.gov/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-21438/20171122-nr-station-hawaiian-naming.pdf
Those documents try to make it appear that it has already been decided that the train stations must have Hawaiian-language names, and that the only question remaining is what particular name each station should have.
But no! There are good reasons why Hawaiian names should not be the primary names displayed or announced; and even more good reasons why Hawaiian names should not be given any official role at all.
Mayor Mufi Hannemann said we must keep in mind the difference between "need to have" and "nice to have." And I am adding here: considering how Hawaiian language is being used as a political weapon, Hawaiian station names might not be nice to have at all.
Here are 5 points which the HART board of directors should consider before proceeding to adopt Hawaiian-language names:
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1. APPLY THE LEGAL CONCEPT OF "LACHES": THE CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION 09-158, NOT IMPLEMENTED FOR ALMOST 9 YEARS, SHOULD BE REGARDED AS EXPIRED AND IS NOW MOOT IN VIEW OF TURNOVER OF COUNCIL MEMBERS, AND NO LONGER IMPOSES ANY LEGAL OR MORAL OBLIGATION ON TODAY'S COUNCIL.
Resolution 09-158, calling for Hawaiian-language station names, was adopted on April 29, 2009 -- nearly 9 years ago! There was hardly any publicity back then despite its potentially controversial nature.
The membership of City Council has turned over many times between then and now. Council Member Ann Kobayashi might be the only current member who was on the Council when the resolution was adopted. Perhaps she will recall the large controversy that erupted in 2009, at the same time when this resolution was adopted -- Hawaiian activists were trying to get the Council to take away all the existing street names in the former Barbers Point military base (which had recently been turned over to Honolulu as surplus federal lands) and replace them with Hawaiian names. Old-time residents of the area, including military veterans, sent written testimony and appeared at several hearings to demand that the military heritage names be kept; and the Council decided to keep the names. It seems plausible that Resolution 09-158 was adopted merely as a ploy to mollify or calm the activists in view of the rejection of their demands to abolish military/English-language heritage names. One of the Hawaiian activists in that controversy, Shad Kane, is now a member of the current Station Naming Working Group, thus showing that his primary motivation is probably related to the politics of Hawaiian sovereignty. Furthermore, one of the proposed station names now (Kualakai) is the same as one of the proposed replacement street names from 2009, despite being a considerable distance away; which raises doubts about cultural/historical authenticity of a name that should be uniquely specific to the station's location. See topics #4 and #5 below for more information about the old street name controversy and how it illustrates the use of Hawaiian language as a political weapon -- naming something is an assertion of power or ownership.
It is inappropriate to expect today's members to feel bound by such an old stealth or "sleeper" resolution. We've all seen science fiction horror movies where a long-dormant mummy, zombie, or vampire is awakened and wreaks chaos upon a hapless community. We would do well to let it remain asleep -- or better yet drive a stake through its hart (pun -- intentional misspelling!)
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2. THE PRIMARY PURPOSE OF A TRANSIT STATION'S NAME IS TO QUICKLY INFORM PASSENGERS WHERE THEY ARE SO THEY WILL KNOW WHEN TO GET OFF. THE NAME SHOULD BE IMMEDIATELY RECOGNIZABLE UPON A SINGLE GLANCE AT A SIGN OR UPON HEARING A VERBAL ANNOUNCEMENT. HAWAIIAN-LANGUAGE NAMES WOULD BE UNHELPFUL AND CONFUSING TO BOTH TOURISTS AND LOCALS.
People must be told the easily recognizable English name of a currently-existing building or shopping center or neighborhood -- not the ancient Hawaiian name of a long-forgotten chief who lived there once upon a time -- not the ancient Hawaiian name of a geological feature which is no longer visible because of large buildings now in the way.
99% of local residents, and 100% of visitors from the mainland, will have no clue whether to get off when they see or hear some of the Hawaiian-language place-names under consideration.
Some of the names actually proposed by the Committee are extremely confusing even to local residents, because the names are contrary to actual place names already in use. One anonymous commenter to a newspaper report said the following: "So the "placeholder names" that future riders can actually associate with locations they know "now will be replaced" with these new names. Hence there will be no Pearlridge Center Station but instead there will be a Pu'uloa station that is next to Pearlridge Center but miles away from Pu'uloa Road. Really? And the station smack dab in the center of the new Ho'opili subdivision will no longer be called the Ho'opili station but instead will be called the Honouliuli station, even though the Honouliuli neighborhood is actually more directly accessible from the West Loch station, which itself will be renamed the Ho'ae'ae station. Hmmm..."
Consider how The Bus currently announces each stop. Suppose you change Puakea Nogelmeier's recorded announcement "Kane'ohe Library and Kane'ohe Police Station" to "Hale Waihona Puke o Kane'ohe a me Hale Maka'i o Kane'ohe"? Huh? Wat dat? Wah choo sane?
Recently a half-mile-long object from outside our solar system passed by at high speed -- the first such interstellar visitor known to humans. News media reported that a committee of Hawaiian language experts held meetings to figure out what name to give it, because the right to name it belongs to the astronomical observatory on Mauna Kea that discovered it. The committee dredged up the word "'Oumuamua" which, they tell us, means leader or scout. Does that word have kaona (hidden meaning) intended to imply that creatures from outer space will soon be invading and have sent an advance party to scout our defenses? How many people, even in the community of Hawaiian-language experts, ever heard that word before now? Why not choose the somewhat more commonly heard name "'Elele" (messenger), as in the 'olelo no'eau "He 'elele ka moe na ke kanaka." (A dream is a messenger to a person) Or choose even the very commonly heard name "malihini" (visitor or guest), which also does not carry any of the hopohopo-inducing ominous kaona associated with "scout" or "messenger." What we had with "'Oumuamua" was a gang of language experts dredging an obscure word out of the same abyss from whence came the interstellar object. That process resembles what is being done by the transit station naming committee. Neither local residents nor tourists will have a clue what the name means when the initial publicity fades away after a few weeks. Eventually those names would make good questions in the game "Trivial Pursuit" or perhaps a Hawaiian version of "Jeapardy."
Consider how transit stations should be (re)named in other parts of America to evoke their Native American heritages, following the lead of the committee in Honolulu:
The transit station at the bottom of Manhattan, and/or the embarkation point for the ferry boat, should be (re)named "Kioshk" which was the Indian name of what is now called Ellis Island.
The bus stop nearest to Lake Superior in Duluth Minnesota should be (re)named GitcheGumee which is the Indian name for the lake, as we know from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's famous poem "Song of Hiawatha" ("By the shores of Gitche Gumee, By the shining Big-Sea-Water, Stood the wigwam of Nokomis, Daughter of the Moon, Nokomis. ...")
In Chicago, "Navy Pier" juts out into Lake Michigan; therefore the transit station serving it should be (re)named "Mishigami" from that lake's Indian name (Ojibwa or Algonquin).
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3. ENGLISH LANGUAGE PLACE NAMES OF CURRENT BUILDINGS OR USES SHOULD BE PRIMARY, WHILE HAWAIIAN-LANGUAGE REMINDERS OF CULTURAL OR HISTORICAL FEATURES SHOULD BE SECONDARY. IF IT IS DESIRED TO "EDUCATE THE PUBLIC" OR TO CONVEY A FEELING OF RESPECT FOR HAWAIIAN LANGUAGE OR FOR ANCIENT PLACE-NAMES, THAT OBJECTIVE COULD BE ACHIEVED BY PLACING A SEPARATE EXPLANATORY PLAQUE ON THE STATION WALL; OR PLACING THE HAWAIIAN NAME IN SMALLER LETTERING BELOW THE COMMONLY USED ENGLISH NAME IN A SIGN, OR FOLLOWING IT IN A VERBAL ANNOUNCEMENT.
The primary purpose should be to give people practical information quickly and accurately in terms they can understand to get to their destination; but it is only a secondary purpose to educate them about historical or cultural factors which are not immediately necessary and might be of little interest to them.
If you have cancer and go to a doctor for treatment, you need to know where to go for surgery or radiation; or get a prescription for drugs. You do not need a lecture on the history of improvement in the design of scalpels, or how Marie Curie extracted radium from pitchblende, or how tamoxifen gets processed by the liver; although you should certainly be helped to get that information if you want it.
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4. A GENERAL PHILOSOPHICAL ANALYSIS EXPLAINING THAT THE DEMAND FOR HAWAIIAN-LANGUAGE NAMES IS THE WEAPONIZING OF HAWAIIAN LANGUAGE TO GAIN PUBLICITY AND POLITICAL POWER IN A STRUGGLE FOR RACIAL DOMINANCE. IMPOSING A NAME UPON A PERSON, PLACE, CREATURE OR OBJECT IS A POLITICAL ACT -- AN ASSERTION OF DOMINANCE. SEE A LARGE, DETAILED WEBPAGE "HAWAIIAN LANGUAGE AS A POLITICAL WEAPON" AT
HTTP://TINYURL.COM/668VQYZ
It is a political act -- an assertion of power or dominance -- to impose a name upon a person, place, creature, or object. According to the Bible, God gave man dominion over all the creatures of the Earth, including the right to name them as a sign of man's dominion over them. Parents who adopt a baby have a right to (re)name the baby and to get a new birth certificate reflecting the chosen name. Owners have the right to impose a name on any property they own; conversely, imposing a name is an assertion of ownership, authority, and power.
"He who pays the piper calls the tune." Thus corporations pay megabucks for the naming rights to a sports stadium. Medical buildings and university buildings are named after the donors who endowed them. The many Billions of dollars for the Honolulu train system come from the taxpayers, not from an ethnic group claiming victimhood status reflected in allegedly low incomes and therefore low contributions to the taxes that finance the project. Seizing the naming rights to the buildings in the Honolulu rail project is a theft of the property rights of all the taxpayers in general.
According to a Hawaiian proverb: "I ka 'olelo no ke ola, i ka 'olelo no ka make" which means: In language there is life, in language there is death. Thus naming streets or train stations is a way of asserting ownership and authority over them through an act of political power. Streets, places, or buildings with haole or Hawaiian names mark the territory as being haole or Hawaiian in the same way as an animal urinates on a place to leave a scent mark asserting control of it, or a graffiti artist paints his indecipherable tag on a wall.
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5. SPECIFICALLY: THE HAWAIIAN-LANGUAGE NAMING OF HART TRAIN STATIONS IS PRIMARILY A POLITICAL POWER PLAY RATHER THAN A DISPLAY OF RESPECT FOR CULTURE AND LANGUAGE. A SUBPAGE HAS SPECIAL RELEVANCE TO THE TRAIN STATION-NAMING PROJECT: SEE "USING HAWAIIAN LANGUAGE AS A POLITICAL WEAPON BY DEMANDING THAT THE NAMES OF PLACES AND STREETS MUST BE HAWAIIAN -- HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND 5 CASE STUDIES: THURSTON AVE.(KAMAKAEHA), BARBERS POINT (KALAELOA), DILLINGHAM MILITARY RESERVATION (KAWAIHAPAI), FORT BARRETTE ROAD (KUALAKAI), DOLE ST. (KAPAAKEA STREET)" AT
HTTP://TINYURL.COM/39DQN32
SOME MEMBERS OF THE HAWAIIAN STATION NAMING WORKING GROUP HAVE A LONG HISTORY OF WORKING FOR RACE-NATIONALISM AS HAWAIIAN SOVEREIGNTY ACTIVISTS. HART, AND THE TRANSIT PROJECT, SHOULD NOT BE USED AS PAWNS IN SUCH AN ENDEAVOR.
Black activists Malcolm Little, Cassius Clay, and Lou Alcindor discarded their "slave names" to become Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, and Kareem Abdul Jabbar. A Hawaiian activist whose name on her Ph.D. dissertation was Lily Dorton gave herself the heroic name Lilikala Kame'eleihiwa -- she speaks with pride about her Hawaiian mother but never her haole father.
The boy Collin Kwai Kong Wong who graduated from Kamehameha School in 1990 gave himself the powerful female name Hinaleimoana when transitioning to the woman Hinaleimoana Kwai Kong Wong-Kalu, who has been head of the O'ahu Island Burial Council and culture director at a Hawaiian-focus charter school noted for the aggressive involvement of its students in lobbying or disrupting city and state government agencies.
Mahealani Cypher (aka Denise DaCosta) has been President of the O'ahu Council of Hawaiian Civic Clubs writing testimony on all sorts of state and federal legislation related to Hawaiian sovereignty. For example, she repeatedly wrote bills introduced in several legislative sessions that would have turned over Ha'iku Valley (Kane'ohe) to a race-based consortium under the jurisdiction of OHA to be then automatically transferred to the Native Hawaiian tribe anticipated to achieve federal recognition. And now here she is, continuing her political activism as chairperson of the HART Hawaiian Station Naming Working Group.
It's interesting that at least two of the five members of the Working Group -- Chairperson Mahealani Cypher and Francine Gora -- are residents of Ko'olaupoko and have served as Presidents of the politically aggressive Ko'olaupoko Hawaiian Civic Club, despite the fact that the train will never serve the Ko'olaupoko area and these two women probably have very little knowledge of historical names or cultural usages of the areas where the train stations will be located. Their participation on the station-naming committee is purely political as they do not have cultural or historical expertise on the station areas.
Racial activists and transgenders, like those on this committee, understand very well that choosing a new name is an intensely political action, an exercise of power, and a way of converting an aspiration into an apparent reality. The race-nationalist political motive of the HART Hawaiian Station Naming Working Group is clear from their backgrounds.
City Council, and also some neighborhood boards, have previously considered and rejected efforts to remove English-language street names and replace them with "politically correct" Hawaiian names. There might be one or two Council members who lived through some of those struggles. See details of five case studies: Thurston Ave.(Kamakaeha), Barbers Point (Kalaeloa), Dillingham Military Reservation (Kawaihapai), Fort Barrette Road (Kualakai), Dole St. (Kapaakea Street). Those case studies are on a webpage at
http://tinyurl.com/39dqn32
Note that the name proposed for one of the train stations (Kualakai) is the same name unsuccessfully demanded in 2009, in a bitter battle before City Council, to replace the name of Fort Barrette Road, and was (and still is) the name of another street in that area. Note that Working Group member Shad Kane was one of the activists back then who appears to now be seeking to re-fight that old issue. Interestingly, resolution 09-158, calling for the use of Hawaiian language in naming the train stations, was adopted by City Council on April 29, 2009, at the same time when the battle was underway before the Council to change Fort Barrette Road to Kualaka'i.
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