Christian Pono Nakihei, a senior here at Kamehameha High School is the president of the Speech and Debate Club, speaking out specifically for Hawaiian rights. However, Christrians determination and dedication did not start here at high school but rather generations before.
Robert Lopaka Nakihei Jr., Christians grandfather, was just as passionate about Hawaiian rights.
Nakihei Jr. was one of the plaintiffs in the Kalima vs. The State of Hawaii; a lawsuit when the State of Hawaii abolished the Hawaiian Claims Office which reviewed trust violations involving the Hawaiian Home Lands Trust fighting for Hawaiians. Without the Hawaiian Homelands Trust, many Hawaiians would’ve been displaced. Nakihei Jr. was an individual deeply impassioned by the crusade for Hawaiian rights. He was an active participant in this for justice, and he, along with many others succeeded. This ended with a $328 million class action settlement.
Sadly, Nakihei Jr. died before the case was resolved; however, this passion for Hawaiian rights lives on through Christian.
Being on the speech team, Christian is given a platform to speak out about these topics, and according to Christian it was, “Special this year.”
The Kamehameha Schools Speech and Debate team was able to bring native Hawaiian issues to the attention of the 2023 National Speech and Debate Tournament for the first time.
Poems from Native Hawaiian writer Haunani-Kay Trask, specifically about Hawaiian sovereignty, and even Queen Liliʻuokalaniʻs prose were shared on the national level.
While at the tournament, Christian also mentioned feeling a sense of “un-hawaiian-ness”. He continued by saying that here in Hawaiʻi, he can connect to the ʻaina and his kupuna easily, however, while on the foreign land, it was difficult to ground himself. Despite these challenges Christian and his team were able to come together and push past this by way of motivation.
Christian states that one night, they had all joined together into one hotel room and his advisors had been telling them that they are Hawaiian no matter where you are and what you do.
Christian expressed how during this, “It almost felt as if our kupuna were touching our shoulders.”
Christians story is a legacy passed on by his grandpa, a story rooted in determination and dedication. Christian and the Kamehameha Speech Team are shedding light on pressing issues for the uplifting of our lāhui ensuring that we as Hawaiians have a brighter future, just as Robert Lopaka Nakihei Jr. and our kupuna before us have done.
