Mokiha: Restoring Water and Prosperity Back to Indigenous Communities

Research Project Description

From a Native Hawaiian worldview, health encompasses a spiritual and familial connection with land, including freshwater. Thus, health is holistic and extends to include interconnected relationships between kanaka (humankind) and 'aina/kai (land/sea). In alignment with this worldview, wai, loosely translated as "fresh water," is the center of life.

Our project addresses the following research question: "How can we build community capacity to protect water resources and increase access to water through public trust lands to enhance the overall health and wellbeing of Hawai'i and its communities at large?" This study will be conducted in partnership with communities from Hawaiian Home Lands on the islands of Moloka'i and Maui. The Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1920 set aside 200,000 acres across the six major Hawaiian Islands (including Maui and Moloka'i) for the creation of Hawaiian Homestead communities.

For generations, these communities have been leading the efforts to seek water restoration. While these communities have been successful in navigating legal and political systems, sufficient wai has yet to be restored. Our project looks to invigorate a coalition by using the information gathered in this research to propose strategies for building "community capacity" to push systemic change across Hawai'i and throughout Indigenous communities. We envision working collaboratively alongside the community at every step to strategically create pathways for self-advocacy. As such, community capacity should be based on community definitions of capacity and empowerment to advocate for water rights and water resources-thereby fostering a culture of health while restoring ancestral knowledge. We see this project as a means to continue to build upon and reinforce this community's rich water legacy to forge pathways to justice through water restoration and return to abundant lands and healthy communities.