Posted at 5:51 p.m., Thursday, August 9, 2007
Native Hawaiians observe Indigenous Peoples' Day
Advertiser Staff
Native Hawaiians are joining with other indigenous peoples today to observe Indigenous Peoples' day, according to Lilikala Kame'eleihiwa, a professor in the Center for Hawaiian Studies at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa.She said prayers to ancestors and ancestral gods today mark "our firm commitment to self-determination."
Kame'eleihiwa said the prayers "ask the world's governments to support the passage of the original draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples at the United Nations' General Assembly.
"As the world experiences traumatic climate change and facing overwhelming natural disasters, many people are turning to the wisdom of the indigenous ancestors and traditional knowledge for the healing of mother earth and father sky," she said. " We hope that the members of the United Nations will support the human rights of Indigenous Peoples and their gift of traditional knowledge by voting for the passage of the declaration of the rights of indigenous peoples."
