Thousands of people gathered in the rotunda at the state Capitol Wednesday for the opening day of the 2019 legislative session. But one thing many participants and bystanders noticed was the overflow of students.
Students of all ages, from all over the island came to the Capitol to join the traditional Native Hawaiian kalo preparation and poi pounding.
Daniel Anthony, organizer of the ninth annual Ku‘i event, said the goal each year is to promote the care of agriculture and to bring people together.
“What we’re seeing is unity,” said Anthony, from Mana Ai, which sells hand-pounded taro. “People from different communities across Hawaii have come together in solidarity to speak about the importance of food, of agriculture, of education, of health and well-being.”
Students were able to prepare their own poi and take it home. On top of that, Anthony brought a portable imu, a traditional Hawaiian underground oven, to Iolani Palace grounds as part of the event. The imu was in a dumpster filled with dirt.
“The first imu, that anyone can remember, at Iolani Palace,” Anthony said. “So we’re super grateful to be able to participate in honoring our ancestors through cultural practice.”
Xebastian Veerman, from local clothing company Defend Hawaii, partnered with Anthony and said there were more students at the event than last year.
“The atmosphere is youthful,” Veerman said. “It’s just an awesome vibe to see kids out here, more kids than last year. Last year had a lot of adults, so to see the youth out here is what we want.”
Other organizations visited the Capitol to voice their opinions to lawmakers and the community.
Hawaii For Informed Consent, a nonpartisan group, was at the opening day to let people know about the new wave of vaccines that could soon be required by the Department of Health.
“We don’t know what it will do to our particular population because we have a very specific population that they never tested vaccinations against,” said Dawn Poiani, an active volunteer for Hawaii For Informed Consent. “We don’t know what it will to do our Polynesian culture. We don’t know how it will affect an Asian culture specifically.”
Poiani said she wants the Department of Health to recommend but not require any additional vaccinations.
The Department of Health is currently seeking to add more vaccines to the required list of vaccines for students. The new list would take effect in 2020. People can opt out of vaccines for religious reasons.
