An effective process of healing, within the Indigenous communities, can not be completed unless one can recognise their own privilege which often comes with a implicant bias.
An effective process of healing, within the Indigenous communities, can not be completed unless one can recognise their own privilege which often comes with a implicant bias. This article will acknowledge these and discuss healing milestones affecting interpersonal, intrapersonal and communal relationships.
This article is part of my own narrative. I realize that all the years that I struggled with being “Hawaiian” and the stereotypes associated with that have come from both colonisers and from within my own community.
Privilege is usually not a word most Indigenous people, myself included would use to describe themselves. It is a word that we associate the colonising groups with impacted our culture. However, as I examine myself as a kānaka who is tasked with “raising the health of Native Hawaiians”, I would be remiss in not addressing this.
To create change, one must look at their own narrative (which may include privilege) before undertaking that of their community in the movement to reach parity before equity. It is exploring the authenticity of self- view and moving from the tendency to look from a view of deficiencies to that of abundance. As people working in the field of healing (from the individual to the larger community) we must recognise that it is a conscious effort both on our messaging and behaviour and that of the person/people we are empowering to change. Their change is not our change AND visa versa.
To create change, one must look at their own narrative (which may include privilege) before undertaking that of their community in the movement to reach parity before equity.
As a community, we must flip the conversation from how disparate to how resilient we are by using the stories from our kūpuna (elders) that we ALL have. It is in our histories that CLEARLY show our strength, our MANA that allows us to re-ignite that flame, that desire, that passion and then funnel it into the right pathway, understand the value of intent and intentful actions. When we keep saying what we were trainied to say and practice the “status quo”, we continue to de-value ourselves, albeit often unintentionally.
Unfortunately, we all also internally battle with the need to be non-indigenous for the purpose of survival and continued (often unknowingly) colonising behaviours. However, we need to acknowledge that some Indigenous/native communities are more firm and clear in their willingness to stand in their culture and not fall back into complacency. For those that still struggle, the goal is to see the gains and pathways laid out by other communities. Acknowledging the need to change the narrative is the first step to embracing change.
Our cultures were trend-setters way before these concepts were innovative (whether it is how we engage with each other (talking story = motivational interviewing) to how we cultivate the land and surrounding areas to sustain our people without negatively impacting the systems. Being a conduct is change and understanding your personal role allows for moving into how it manifests.
Unfortunately, we all also internally battle with the need to be non-indigenous for the purpose of survival and continued (often unknowingly) colonising behaviors.
I believe we all have defining moments (and often it might be many of them) that lead us down a journey, not knowing where the end is and what you will find, but you know in your naʻau, in your spirit that there is something bigger than you to take that path. That is the value we have as Indigenous people that many struggle with (putting that feeling into words) – that the “we know” or “we feel” intuition that flickers in our core that when you listen/pay attention to, undistractedly to – you make the biggest gains.
As a final thought, it will be through transparent conversations and actions, that the larger lāhui can bridge these views where we drive and are not driven. To take the lessons learned from our kūpuna to continue the narrative for our people that was started from our own creation stories. To understand that the larger kuleana lies with the generation ahead and beyond that is where we must invest in to develop leaders that create more leaders.
This article was created in partnership with the Healing Foundation for Healing Our Spirit Worldwide The Eighth Gathering 26th – 29th November 18 #HOSW8
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