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Episode 65: Aloha ‘?ina to the future with Dr. Sam Gon

Welcome to the sixty-fifth and final episode of Aloha ‘?ina. Over the course of this series we’ve explored Hawaiian kinship with the natural world, looking at the ideals of aloha ‘?ina and a relationship with land that emphasizes reciprocity and reverence. We explored the history of the Hawaiian nation and the radical changes that have occurred since Captain James Cook sailed into Island waters. And we heard the voices of people who are working across Hawai‘i today, intent on restoring a sense of balance and honor to the human relationship with land. We give the final word of the series to Dr. Sam Gon.

“Taking us to modern days when people are talking about aloha ‘?ina again, kind of strongly: I think there’s a great hunger for a recapturing of the ancient relationships. But we live in a modern world and it’s hard to recapture those relationships in the same way that existed before contact. And yet one can, if one just lives in Hawai‘i—you don’t have to be Hawaiian to appreciate the history of this place, that which makes this place unique, and to assert to yourself that you will have a strong and protective and nurturing reciprocal relationship with those resources, so that you know that if you take care of them that that ecosystem in turn will take care of you. So that will be the key to true self-sustainability if that’s what we’re going for here—and I hope we are.” 

researcher, writter, and narrator of Aloha Aina. She is currently an editor at Hawai‘i’s largest magazine, Hana Hou!, where she has written and edited numerous award-winning articles about Hawai‘i. She was the founding editor of Honolulu Weekly. She holds a BA in Pacific history and journalism from the University of Hawai‘i at Mänoa and a JD from Stanford Law School.
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