{"id":272831,"date":"2024-09-02T12:00:43","date_gmt":"2024-09-02T11:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=272831"},"modified":"2024-09-02T06:43:36","modified_gmt":"2024-09-02T05:43:36","slug":"pohakuloa-hawaii-a-land-besieged","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2024\/09\/pohakuloa-hawaii-a-land-besieged\/","title":{"rendered":"P\u014dhakuloa, Hawaii: A Land Besieged"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_272832\" style=\"width: 510px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Pohakuloa-hawaii-military-us-pentagon.jpg\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-272832\" class=\"wp-image-272832\" src=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Pohakuloa-hawaii-military-us-pentagon.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"374\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-272832\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">For 75 years, mostly hidden from sight, P\u014dhakuloa, a high plateau in the center of Moku o Keawe, has been used for military live-fire training. This has damaged the \u02bb\u0101ina (including the habitats of endangered species), contaminated the soil and imperiled the water table. In this photo, dust partially obscuring troop movement provides a visual metaphor of the problem. Photo: Bobby Camara<\/p><\/div>\n<p><em>1 Sep 2024 <\/em>&#8211; The wao akua (godly realm) of P\u014dhakuloa is a high plateau in the center of Moku o Keawe, Hawaii.<\/p>\n<p>Created over millennia by ancient lava flows from Maunakea to its north, Maunaloa to its south and Hual\u0101lai to its west, at its lowest point P\u014dhakuloa sits at an elevation of 6,200 feet. It is a vast area encompassing more than 200 square miles of land.<\/p>\n<div id=\"tdi_1\" class=\"td-gallery td-slide-on-2-columns\">\n<div class=\"post_td_gallery\">\n<div class=\"td-doubleSlider-1 \">\n<div class=\"td-slider\">\n<div class=\"td-slide-item td-item1\">\n<figure class=\"td-slide-galery-figure td-slide-popup-gallery\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/kawaiola.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Pohakuloa-Plants.jpg\" class=\"slide-gallery-image-link\" title=\"Pohakuloa-Plants\"  data-caption=\"Although 133,000 acres of land at P\u014dhakuloa is controlled by the military, the land there is zoned for conservation and home to nearly two dozen endemic threatened or endangered plant species. - Courtesy Photo\" data-description=\"\"> <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"td-animation-stack-type0-2 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/kawaiola.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Pohakuloa-Plants.jpg\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/kawaiola.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Pohakuloa-Plants.jpg 640w, https:\/\/kawaiola.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Pohakuloa-Plants-300x189.jpg 300w\" alt=\"Photo: Native plant at P\u014dhakuloa\" \/> <\/a><figcaption class=\"td-slide-caption td-gallery-slide-content\">\n<div class=\"td-gallery-slide-copywrite\" style=\"text-align: center;\">Although 133,000 acres of land at P\u014dhakuloa is controlled by the military, the land there is zoned for conservation and home to nearly two dozen endemic threatened or endangered plant species. &#8211; Courtesy Photo<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td-slide-item td-item2\">\n<figure class=\"td-slide-galery-figure td-slide-popup-gallery\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/kawaiola.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Ahu-at-Puu-Koli.jpg\" class=\"slide-gallery-image-link\" title=\"Ahu-at-Puu-Koli\"  data-caption=\"The ahu (shrine) at Pu\u02bbu Koli with Maunakea rising in the background. The vast expanse between Pu\u02bbu Koli and the mauna is part of the P\u014dhakuloa Training Area. Pu\u02bbu Koli is the energetic piko of Moku o Keawe. - Photo: E. Kalani Flores\" data-description=\"\"> <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"td-animation-stack-type0-2 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/kawaiola.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Ahu-at-Puu-Koli-560x420.jpg\" sizes=\"(max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/kawaiola.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Ahu-at-Puu-Koli-560x420.jpg 560w, https:\/\/kawaiola.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Ahu-at-Puu-Koli-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/kawaiola.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Ahu-at-Puu-Koli-80x60.jpg 80w, https:\/\/kawaiola.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Ahu-at-Puu-Koli-696x522.jpg 696w, https:\/\/kawaiola.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Ahu-at-Puu-Koli-265x198.jpg 265w, https:\/\/kawaiola.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Ahu-at-Puu-Koli.jpg 750w\" alt=\"Photo: The ahu (shrine) at Pu&amp;#699;u Koli\" \/> <\/a><figcaption class=\"td-slide-caption td-gallery-slide-content\">\n<div class=\"td-gallery-slide-copywrite\" style=\"text-align: center;\">The ahu (shrine) at Pu\u02bbu Koli with Maunakea rising in the background. The vast expanse between Pu\u02bbu Koli and the mauna is part of the P\u014dhakuloa Training Area. Pu\u02bbu Koli is the energetic piko of Moku o Keawe. &#8211; Photo: E. Kalani Flores<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Evidence of its volcanic origin is revealed in the windswept, desert landscape, especially in its westerly reaches, although there is the occasional k\u012bpuka (oasis) hidden throughout. P\u014dhakuloa is home to many rare, native species of plants and animals, and it includes a portion of the last remaining sub-alpine tropical dryland ecosystem in the world. It is a conservation zone.<\/p>\n<p>For centuries, P\u014dhakuloa was a place set aside; a realm of deities and elemental spirits. Although it might see corporeal travelers from time to time, there were no permanent settlements. Still, it is not devoid of human fingerprints. Sometime around the turn of the 16th century, celebrated ali\u02bbi nui Umi-a-Liloa built a kuahu (altar) and watchtower in P\u014dhakuloa at the place known as Pu\u02bbu Ke\u02bbeke\u02bbe.<\/p>\n<p>There is an otherworldly aspect to P\u014dhakuloa. It is no wonder that many iwi k\u016bpuna were laid to rest there.<\/p>\n<p>It is therefore hurtful and an affront to many K\u0101naka \u02bb\u014ciwi that this sacred space has been defiled by 75 years of military training exercises.<\/p>\n<h2>The Need to Restore Pono<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-18230 td-animation-stack-type0-2\" src=\"https:\/\/kawaiola.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Pohakuloa-Map.jpg\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/kawaiola.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Pohakuloa-Map.jpg 750w, https:\/\/kawaiola.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Pohakuloa-Map-300x205.jpg 300w, https:\/\/kawaiola.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Pohakuloa-Map-614x420.jpg 614w, https:\/\/kawaiola.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Pohakuloa-Map-218x150.jpg 218w, https:\/\/kawaiola.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Pohakuloa-Map-696x476.jpg 696w\" alt=\"Map showing P\u014dhakuloa training area\" width=\"750\" height=\"513\" \/><\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/kawaiola.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Pohakuloa-Map.pdf\" >P\u014dhakuloa Training Area Map \u2013 PDF Format<\/a><\/p>\n<p>E. Kalani Flores is a professor at Hawai\u02bbi Community College, a cultural practitioner, and long-time kia\u02bbi who has walked the lands of P\u014dhakuloa. He served for about 10 years on the U.S. Army\u2019s P\u014dhakuloa Training Area (PTA) cultural advisory committee \u2013 until his activism earned him a premature dismissal from the group.<\/p>\n<p>Years ago, during a site visit to P\u014dhakuloa with the cultural advisory committee, Flores became aware of a place called Pu\u02bbu Koli that straddles the eastern boundary between PTA and state lands. Flores immediately knew that Pu\u02bbu Koli was special. Atop the pu\u02bbu (hill) there was an ahu (shrine) and the opening of a lava tube that he likened to a woman\u2019s womb.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen you look at a map, this pu\u02bbu is actually the center of the island,\u201d he said. \u201cThere are certain points that are what we call piko (centers). Pu\u02bbu Koli is the energetic piko of the island.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Flores explained that this particular piko is a intersection of energy lines within the earth and that certain ancestors would walk these lines to keep them intact and maintain balance between the spiritual and physical realms.<\/p>\n<p>He believes that there are areas throughout the pae \u02bb\u0101ina, and at certain cultural sites, where energy lines intersect. An example is K\u016bkaniloko on O\u02bbahu, the site of the famous birthing stones. It is also considered an energetic piko.<\/p>\n<p>Flores uses acupuncture as an analogy to explain the concept. \u201cAcupuncture works on the premise that the body has energy lines running through it. If an energy line is not flowing properly [causing pain or illness], the acupuncturist tries to restore it by focusing on certain energy points. We have energy lines that run through us. And so does the earth.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Flores says that we can leave an imprint on the land whenever we interact with it. He refers to this as \u201chuman energetic energies\u201d and says that those imprints can be positive, negative or neutral. Which is why restoring l\u014dkahi (harmony) and pono (balance) to P\u014dhakuloa is so important. Military activity in that area has resulted in tremendous destruction and disturbance causing the natural elements to be out of balance.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe military is creating and inflicting an energy of killing and war and everything associated with it at P\u014dhakuloa,\u201d he said. \u201cThat is the energetic imprint that they\u2019re leaving right in the center of our island.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Depleted Uranium in the Soil<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_18221\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-18221\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-18221 td-animation-stack-type0-2\" src=\"https:\/\/kawaiola.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Spent-Casings.jpg\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/kawaiola.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Spent-Casings.jpg 750w, https:\/\/kawaiola.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Spent-Casings-300x173.jpg 300w, https:\/\/kawaiola.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Spent-Casings-727x420.jpg 727w, https:\/\/kawaiola.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Spent-Casings-696x402.jpg 696w\" alt=\"Photo: Spent Artillery Casings\" width=\"750\" height=\"433\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-18221\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The artillery impact zone at PTA is 51,000 acres and, after 75 years of live-fire training, is considered too dangerous to clean. Pictured above are spent weapon casings outside of the impact zone. \u2013 Courtesy Photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Long-time Hawai\u02bbi-based social justice and peace activist Jim Albertini has been an outspoken critic of the military\u2019s misuse of P\u014dhakuloa for decades. According to Albertini, millions of live rounds are fired annually at PTA and he notes that, \u201cB-52 and B-2 bombers fly non-stop missions to and from Louisiana, Missouri and Guam to drop bombs on P\u014dhakuloa.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But beyond the damage that conventional weapons inflict upon the \u02bb\u0101ina, and the violence they represent, Albertini is particularly concerned about the presence of depleted uranium (DU) at P\u014dhakuloa.<\/p>\n<p>In 2007, it was discovered that spotting rounds containing DU, a radioactive heavy metal, had been fired at P\u014dhakuloa in the 1960s for Davy Crockett nuclear weapon system training. According to the U.S. Army, the Davy Crockett is \u201ca battalion-level nuclear-capable recoilless weapon\u201d deployed between 1961-1971.<\/p>\n<p>DU is what remains after uranium-235 is extracted from uranium that has been mined to make nuclear weapons and reactors. In addition to its use in spotting rounds, DU was later used to make other munitions, including armor-piercing missiles. It is highly explosive.<\/p>\n<p>At a Hawai\u02bbi County Council meeting in 2008, U.S. Army Garrison Hawai\u02bbi Commander Col. Howard Killian confirmed that DU spotting rounds had been fired at P\u014dhakuloa.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCol. Killian testified that, based on the number of people certified at PTA to fire the Davy Crockett nuclear weapon system, the number of DU spotting rounds fired at PTA during the 1960s was about 2,000,\u201d said Albertini.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe also said that DU weapons have been \u2018banned in training since 1996,\u2019 suggesting that other DU weapons have also been used at P\u014dhakuloa \u2013 so it is likely that there is much more DU there than what was used in the spotting rounds in the 1960s.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When DU rounds explode, some of the uranium settles onto the ground and the rest becomes aerosolized, meaning it can be inhaled and carried on the winds. And the half-life of DU (meaning the time it takes for the DU to decrease to half of its initial value) is a staggering 4.5 billion years.<\/p>\n<p>This means that when current live-fire exercises at P\u014dhakuloa disturb the soil, there is still radioactive DU in the resulting dust clouds that can be aerosolized and blown across the island.<\/p>\n<p>Albertini explained that the DU radiation at PTA is made up primarily of alpha particles. Inhaled, they travel through the lymph system causing cancers and other diseases. It can also affect a person\u2019s DNA and cause genetic damage that will be passed down to future generations.<\/p>\n<p>To address the hazards of DU at PTA, Puna Council- woman Emily Nae\u02bbole introduced Resolution 639-08 which the Hawai\u02bbi County Council passed in July 2008. It outlined an eight-point plan. Item number one: \u201cOrder a complete halt to B-2 bombing missions and to all live firing exercises and other activities at the P\u014dhakuloa Training Area that create dust until there is an assessment and clean up of the depleted uranium already present.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But the county\u2019s resolution was not acted upon by the U.S. military and live-fire exercises at P\u014dhakuloa continued unabated.<\/p>\n<h2>Our \u02bb\u0100ina is Not For War Games<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/kawaiola.news\/cover\/phakuloa-a-land-besieged\/\" >TO CONTINUE READING Go to Original &#8211; kawaiola.news<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>1 Sep 2024 &#8211; Social justice and peace activist Jim Albertini has been an outspoken critic of the military\u2019s misuse of P\u014dhakuloa for decades. According to him, millions of live rounds are fired annually at PTA and \u201cB-52 and B-2 bombers fly non-stop missions to and from Louisiana, Missouri and Guam to drop bombs on P\u014dhakuloa.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":272832,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[1817,1149,1309,897,112,95],"class_list":["post-272831","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asia-pacific","tag-anti-militarism","tag-asia-and-the-pacific","tag-hawaii","tag-pacific-islands","tag-pentagon","tag-us-military"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272831","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=272831"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272831\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":272833,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272831\/revisions\/272833"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/272832"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=272831"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=272831"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=272831"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}