Return of the Natives to Kahoolawe

Located about eight miles southwest of Maui, the 45-sq.-mi. Hawaiian islet of Kahoola we consists mostly of arid red earth and barren rock. It is inhabited only by about 400 wild goats. To the U.S. Navy, the island is an ideal target range; since 1941, pilots have blasted it with millions of tons of bombs, shells and rockets. But to native Hawaiians, Kahoolawe is sacred ground, home of the gentle rain goddess Hina.

Five times in the past 19 months, bands of young Hawaiian demonstrators have landed on Kahoolawe. Their purpose: by their presence to force the Navy to stop the bombing, at least temporarily. Sometimes the game of hares and hounds turns dangerous: two protesters drowned in rough seas while trying to swim back to Maui after one foray. But the young Polynesian Hawaiians have vowed to continue their protests until the Navy leaves the island in peace. TIME Correspondent James Wilde accompanied the latest expedition and afterward sent this report:

Shortly before dawn, the seven young activists slipped from their blacked-out launch and swam the half-mile to shore, pushing rubber dinghies laden with supplies. Tall, muscular and bronzed, they looked like beachcombers, except for wrist, ankle and head bands plaited from the leaves of ti plants, which are supposed to bring good luck. They also marked the wearers as members of Protect Kahoolawe Ghana (Hawaiian for "family"), the most militant of the native islanders' protest groups.

Once ashore, the men scrambled up the cliffs barefoot, heedless of kiawe thorns. After the sun rose, they scattered for cover when a Marine patrol helicopter appeared in the azure sky. Danger past, they made a small base camp and hid food and water in secret caches. Late in the afternoon they emerged from cover, easily caught at least seven kinds offish in traditional Hawaiian sling nets and cooked them on steaming stones. For a few hours, the old way of Hawaiian life had been re-established on Kahoolawe.

Then, as the sun set over the islands, the men held hands in a circle and chanted: "May we always be united in our purpose to free this land from torment. May the bombing stop and the land grow again." Before dawn they had broken up into groups of two or three to improve their chances of evading Marine patrols. Within two days, four of the invaders gave themselves up. But the others remained at large and were joined last week by six additional protesters. Until all are rounded up, the Navy will have to suspend target practice on the island.

To members of the Ghana, the Navy's bombardment of Kahoolawe symbolizes what has happened to the Hawaiian islands and the native culture. Explains Walter Ritte, 32, of the latest expedition: "By bombing and shelling continually, the U.S. Government shows the same contempt for our land and inalienable rights as it did in 1898 [when the islands were annexed]." Ghana was founded four years ago on the neighboring island of Molokai to lead a fight for more public beaches, but the organization quickly spread through the islands and shifted to the much broader purpose of redressing native Hawaiians' political, economic and cultural grievances. Its members include kapuna (elders), farmers, fishermen, college graduates and even a smattering of white liberals. Most of them are middle class and in their mid-30s or older. Says Emmett Aluli, a physician and an Ghana leader: "We are the last generation to have known Hawaii the way it was before the tourist invasion threatened to turn this paradise into a giant condominium. This is our last chance to preserve what we have left."

Ghana's popularity reflects the growing resentment of Hawaii's 8,000 pure-blooded Polynesians and 140,000 citizens of mixed blood. In the land of their ancestors, they are greatly outnumbered by the islands' 720,000 other residents--predominantly Caucasians and Orientals. Barely half of the native Hawaiians have completed high school (v. 72% of the other islanders), most have menial jobs, and their annual income averages just under $10,000, about $1,000 less than that of the state as a whole. Moreover, according to a survey by Alu Like, a cultural organization, native Hawaiians "frequently report a loss of pride and bitterness resulting from historic loss of their family lands and their homeland." They also complain that public schools "ignore their identity, traditions and history."

By keeping up the pressure on Kahoolawe, the Ghana organization hopes to win some concessions. At the urging of the Ghana and other protest groups, the islands' congressional delegation has sponsored legislation to compensate native Hawaiians for lands lost after annexation--something like the 1971 grant of $962.5 million to Alaska's natives in settlement of their land claims. In addition, Senator Daniel Inouye has proposed a bill that would force the Navy to stop bombing Kahoolawe.

In a vain attempt to mollify the protesters, the Navy has promised to cut its bombardment in half by 1979. The Navy also lets Hawaiians fish and boat near the island on occasional weekends and once allowed a small group ashore for a religious service. But the Navy maintains that Kahoolawe is the only suitable target range within easy reach of its Hawaiian bases. Vice Admiral Samuel Gravely Jr., commander of the Third Pacific Fleet, pointedly notes: "The military in Hawaii is a billion-dollar-a-year business. A significant part of that business is generated because Navy and Marine forces are here to train, and Kahoolawe is a prime training site."

Eerie Melodies. Many Hawaiians recognize the economic importance of the Navy to the islands, but still sympathize with the protesters. This was evident last week at the sentencing in Honolulu of four men and one woman who had been arrested during an expedition to Kahoolawe in February. More than 100 spectators showed up in traditional sarongs and loincloths. Judge Samuel King, part Polynesian himself, made his sympathies clear: "The defendants see themselves as popular heroes engaged in a holy crusade for the future." He added, however, that "the time for fun and games is over." He sentenced the defendants to fines of $250 and jail terms of up to two months and ordered them not to set foot on Kahoolawe for two years. Afterward, some of the people in the courtroom blew on conch shells, producing eerie Polynesian melodies of the wind and sea--a bittersweet reminder of the heritage that many Hawaiians fear they have lost forever.

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