Culture clash

Now that the sculpture "Forgotten Inheritance" is back in full view at the Hawaii Convention Center, the urgent debate that rightly focused on the artist’s right to free expression should give way to a broader dialogue that also raises awareness about how Hawaii’s indigenous culture is depicted in art, commerce and daily life.

There was no hope of that occurring while the Hans Ladislaus mural was shrouded in heavy black cloth, but resolving the censorship issue opens the way to a deeper dialogue that goes far beyond objections to any single artwork.

"Essentially, what we’re seeing is Native Hawaiians reclaiming our own history, reauthoring our own narrative," said Maile Meyer, the founder of Native Books/Na Mea Hawaii, a bookstore and cultural resource center at Ward Warehouse, and a curator of ii Gallery in Kakaako. "We’re taking back ownership of our symbols, our language. There’s a decolonization process going on and we’re right in the middle of it, so we’re all learning how to navigate Hawaii in 2013."

Depictions and interpretations of Hawaiian culture considered acceptable 15 or 20 years ago are increasingly seen as cultural misappropriation, she said, citing as examples the use of images of Ku, the Hawaiian god of war, to sell candy or tourist knickknacks and a bank’s branding its checking accounts in the name of kalo, revered by some Native Hawaiians as the source of life. "When I notice these things and remark about them, I’m not censoring anybody," she said. "When we care more, we speak out more, and that causes people around us to care more, too. If we don’t say anything, this stuff just keeps getting cranked out."

Nanette Napoleon, a Native Hawaiian cultural consultant and freelance historical researcher, lectured on this topic at the Bishop Museum last year. "I look at how images of Ku show up in key rings, letter openers, all sorts of kitsch, and I am disgusted. It hurts me as a Hawaiian. I want to see that sort of thing stopped, but how do we do that without intruding on someone else’s rights? That’s a big question for us: Can we protect our cultural images and products in some way that doesn’t infringe on the constitutional rights and freedom of expression of others?"

One idea is to create a cultural trademark that would protect the work of Native Hawaiian artisans. A 2007 study recommended emulating the successful Maori Toi Iho cultural trademark program, which has the strong support of New Zealand’s government in upholding the quality and authenticity of Maori arts.

Napoleon, an organizer of the Save the Mural: Stop the Censorship group that was ready to protest at the convention center if the shroud did not come down, still wants a fuller explanation from Hawaii Tourism Authority President Mike McCartney about why he allowed Paulette Kaanohiokalani Kaleikini and her family to cover the 10-by-25 foot mural and conceal the artist’s name and the description of the artwork.

Kaleikini, an advocate for the protection of ancestral burial grounds threatened by development, said the artwork’s depiction of bones — symbolic representations made of plaster — was offensive and dishonored the native culture. Native Hawaiians traditionally believe that the bones of their ancestors, or iwi kupuna, hold spiritual power and treat them with reverence, shielded from public view. The artwork was covered from Sept. 4-19, when, after meeting with the artist’s attorney and lawyers from the Attorney General’s office, McCartney apologized and the shroud was removed.

"Ten people can be standing in front of the same piece of art and have a different point of view. That is true for Native Hawaiians, too," Napoleon said. "I think that we as the public still deserve answers about how this happened, but I am happy that the censorship is over and we can move on to this larger discussion."

Moses Haia, executive director of the Native Hawaiian Legal Corp., who represented Kaleikini in her successful lawsuit to protect iwi kupuna along Honolulu’s rail transit project, said he understands why daily news coverage of the convention center controversy focused on free speech — but he hopes that attention shifts now to gaining a fuller understanding of why Kaleikini had such a strong negative reaction to the piece in the first place, namely her deep connection to actual iwi kupuna.

"This is an issue that needs to be talked about so that people start to understand why we do what we do," said Haia. "For Native Hawaiians, the significance of all iwi kupuna — known or unknown — is deeply rooted in our sense of identity. In the Kumulipo, the Hawaiian creation story, Wakea and his daughter Hoohokukalani produce a stillborn offspring, Haloanakalaukapalili. From the burial site of this child grows a taro plant, Haloa — the first ancestor and elder sibling of the Native Hawaiian people. As descendants of Haloa, we are nourished physically by the fruits of the land and spiritually by the mana (spirit) of our buried kupuna.

"Our connection to our iwi kupuna is evident in our language — oiwi means native and kulaiwi means homeland. Those who came before us are literally the foundation upon which we stand. Naoiwi Hawaii have a responsibility to malama iwi in order to protect our ancestral foundation and preserve the balance of the generations-old relationships among our ancestors, the living community, and the aina itself. This is our liberty, our sovereignty. For these reasons, exposing, touching or uprooting burials is … viewed as an act of violence and degradation directed not only at the kupuna but also at his or her living family members as well as the larger community associated with that burial. At a spiritual level, it is desecration of the kind that one would direct against their enemy to destroy or subsume that person’s mana."

This deep connection makes iwi kupuna a source of inspiration for many artists, including Kapulani Landgraf, a Native Hawaiian whose multimedia exhibition "Ponoiwi" opened Saturday at the Honolulu Museum of Art. First displayed on Maui in 2011, the work, which translates to "Righteousness right down to the bone," laments the desecration of Hawaiian burial grounds and the development and loss of other native land.

Landgraf, Meyer said, is "another wonderful example of what we’re seeing in the universities, and businesses and the arts: Hawaiians who’ve grown up with a strong sense of identity and are catalysts for a greater cultural awareness throughout our whole society. Art is a beautiful way to express difficult constructs. I am inspired that it was a piece of contemporary art that brought this whole discussion out into public view, and helps us get to a deeper understanding, even if it’s sometimes a little painful along the way."