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In focus
NATIVE HAWAIIAN SOVEREIGNTY IN SHARP FOCUS AFTER MAUI FAILURES—Native Hawaiians are renewing their calls for sovereignty in the aftermath of the devastating wildfires in Maui, which razed the Hawaiian Kingdom’s capital. To many in the community, it’s the only way to ensure their children will still have a homeland and a tangible connection to their roots.
“When we talk about sovereignty, it’s about literally, physically and spiritually taking up space that we were forcibly removed from,” Noelani Ahia, an Indigenous activist and healer in Lahaina, told The Guardian’s Claire Wang.
- “The people in this movement have been fighting for our community, our land, our ocean for decades. It’s woven into the fabric of who we are and who we stand for.”
Don’t forget: Americans forcibly overthrew the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1893 to claim the islands, which were annexed by the U.S. five years later.
- Native Hawaiians have long suffered cultural erasure and disparate health impacts due to militarization. They are the only Indigenous group in the U.S. without self-governance rights, The Guardian notes.
The movement for sovereignty, independence, and self-governance has remained alive despite centuries of exploitation and marginalization targeting Native Hawaiians—and the wildfires may just have given Indigenous advocates all the more reason to double down.
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🪧 Hundreds of Asian and Pacific Islander labor organizers attended the Service Employees International Union’s (SEIU) API Caucus Summit in Las Vegas this past weekend. The summit—which centers AAPI issues including social and economic justice, housing, working conditions, and climate—is one of the nation’s largest AAPI convenings.
- In their words: “[W]e are facing the same devastating impacts of inequity that’s been justified by the harmful Model Minority myth,” Grace Vergara, executive director of SEIU 1107, said in a statement. SEIU 1107 alone represents over 20,000 workers in Nevada.
📜 California lawmakers approved the nation’s first bill to ban caste discrimination last Wednesday, CalMatters’ Sameea Kamal reports. The bill now awaits Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) signature.
- The legislation is designed “to protect all people against caste discrimination, regardless of caste: upper caste, lower caste, it does not matter,” state Sen. Aisha Wahab (D) reportedly said on the floor ahead of the vote.
- On the other side: Opponents including the Hinduism American Foundation argue it will lead to racial profiling of South Asians.
⛑️ Filipinos in Lahaina are speaking out about the lack of support they’ve received following the Maui wildfires, citing challenges such as language barriers and limited accessibility to aid, NBC News’ Sakshi Venkatraman and Kimmy Yam report. Filipinos are the largest undocumented community in Hawai‘i.
🔍 A recent shooting at UNC-Chapel Hill has sparked fear and anxiety, dredging up the U.S.’s long history of violence against Asian Americans, WUNC’s Eli Chen writes.
- Worth noting: “[These events] highlight a culture that’s prone to gun violence and the vulnerability of Asian immigrants in America,” Eileen Chengyin Chow, an Asian and Middle Eastern studies professor at Duke University, told WUNC.
📖 Anaheim Union High School District in Orange County, California will offer a course focused on the history and experiences of Korean Americans for the first time this fall, NBC News’ Brahmjot Kaur reports. The course aims to highlight historical figures and promote student advocacy through civic engagement.
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