Protesters in Chicago march against Aloha Poke

Hawaiian chanting and the sound of a conch shell trumpet reverberated Monday through the rows of skyscrapers in the bustling streets of Chicago as nearly 200 protesters rallied against Aloha Poke Co., the mainland business that trademarked “Aloha Poke” and sent threatening letters to companies bearing similar names.

The protest was meant to raise awareness of “an egregious example of cultural misappropriation” and compel the Chicago-based company, which operates seven fast-food poke restaurants in the metropolitan area to rescind its trademark, retract its cease-and-desist letters and issue a “true apology to the Native Hawaiian people.” Besides putting a “financial strain on their operations,” activists said they are also pursuing legal action against the fast-food chain.

“They’re oblivious to the impact their actions have had not just on Native Hawaiians,” said Lanialoha Lee, a Native Hawaiian born and raised in Chicago who runs the Aloha Center Chicago, an arts and culture organization. She said American Indian tribes and other cultural groups have also rallied to their cause. “It’s the exploitation of our culture and our language. We have all suffered from that and we continue to clearly today. The issues surrounding this Aloha Poke is much larger than this one business owner; it continues to address intellectual property and trademark issues that don’t protect Native Hawaiians.”

In response to the march, Aloha Poke Co. CEO Chris Birkinshaw said the company fully supports “the expression of free speech and their right to protest in a peaceful manner.” But he didn’t respond when asked whether the company plans to rescind the letters or change its name. The company has been the target of negative publicity on social media — including Yelp.com, Facebook and an online petition that has garnered nearly 168,000 signatures in support of removing the words “Aloha” and “Poke” from the Chicago restaurant’s name.

Monday’s march began at Millennium Monument Park and ended with a rally in front of one of Aloha Poke’s locations, with protesters shouting “Ku‘e Aloha Poke,” which means to oppose or resist Aloha Poke, and holding signs that read, “Aloha Is Not for Sale,” according to a video posted on the Office of Hawaiian Affairs’ Facebook page. The group plans to march to different Aloha Poke stores throughout the city until Wednesday.

The protests were organized by the Aloha Center Chicago, the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement and the ‘Ilio‘ulaokalani Coalition, a political advocacy group led by kumu hula Vicky Holt-Takamine, as well as OHA.

“Hawaiians chanting in the middle of Chicago going down the roadways, everybody was saying, ‘What the heck is going on?’ It just echoes throughout the city. You can hear it from blocks away,” said Kuhio Lewis, CEO of the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement. He said there were extra security guards in front of Aloha Poke’s restaurants to keep protesters at bay. “I’m sure they’re trying to see if this blows over. Grass-roots activism is alive and well. They are empowered.”

One small business in Anchorage, Alaska, that received a cease-and-desist letter from Aloha Poke Co. recently re-branded to Lei’s Poke Stop to avoid litigation. Lei’s Poke Stop owner Tasha Kahele flew to Chicago from Alaska to participate in the rallies.

“To be a part of something so great, greater than ourselves, greater than our ohana, greater than our business is just so powerful, so humbling,” she said in a Facebook post Monday.

“We went to three different locations and an address that was listed on their business license. It turned out to be a residential address with a suite number that didn’t even exist,” she said, urging the company’s CEO to meet with the group. “I would love to meet up with you and just share our aloha with you. Aloha was definitely felt here in Chicago. We could feel the mana (power) and pule (prayers) coming in from all over the world. It was definitely powerful, and I know that the people of Chicago heard us and if Aloha Poke Co. didn’t hear us, they will hear us.”