“Where are your men?”
“Where are your warriors?”
My uncle said as he shared his story of visiting Aotearoa and being asked those specific questions. As a young Hawaiian those questions were ingrained into my mind and have been part of my contemplations from time to time.
During ancient Hawaii, Native Hawaiian men, Kāne, played a fundamental role of the systems and structures that contributed to the overall well-being of ALL Native Hawaiians
Today, Kāne have found themselves leading the statistics in obesity, suicide, incarceration, alcohol and drug abuse, mental health issues, unemployment – well, you get the picture
So where is the missing link? Why did Kāne go from being leaders, protectors, and visionaries for their families and communities to leading damaging statistics?
I’ve now been in the health and fitness industry for over 15 years and the biggest purpose of continuing in it and keeping my passion going was to improve the overall health and wellness of Native Hawaiians, particularly the Kāne.
I believe by strengthening the individual, you strengthen a family.
By strengthening a family, you strengthen a community.
By strengthening the community, you strengthen the people.
Kāne need to take ownership of their Kuleana and begin the process of stripping down the ego and look more at the self
And our communities need to ask more of the Kāne.
Native Hawaiian men lost their sense of purpose, place, and being and are channeling that need and energy through different outlets. The statistics show where those outlets are.
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With all that being said…
I’m going to leave you with the same questions:
“Where are your men?”
“Where are your warriors?”
Mahalo.
