Issue 57 • AUGUST 17, 2023
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THE BIG STORY
Photo courtesy of Jimmy Emerson via Flickr
Maui wildfires reignite concern about climate change’s outsized impacts on Native Hawaiians
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Wildfires continue to devastate the island of Maui, claiming countless lives and leaving cultural landmarks destroyed in the town of Lāhainā, which used to be the capital of the Kingdom of Hawai‘i.
The fires have taken the lives of over 100 people, making it one of the deadliest wildfires the U.S. has ever seen, according to the National Fire Protection Association.
📃 WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Fires are still burning, and fire crews and cadaver dogs are searching for those who are missing. As of Tuesday, 85% of the Lāhainā fire and 75% of the inland Upcountry Maui fire were contained.
The fire started just after midnight last Tuesday and has burned the equivalent of more than 1,600 football fields.
Although relief has poured into Maui in the form of donations and financial assistance, many survivors are struggling to access the internet or cellphone service needed to know where to get help, Honolulu Civil Beat’s Brittany Lyte reports.
Local authorities began releasing the first few confirmed victim identifications this week.
Consequences of climate change: Months of drought, low humidity, dry grass, and high winds from Hurricane Dora were among the factors behind last week’s wildfires.
Over the years, the air temperature in Hawai‘i has increased while average precipitation decreased—consequences of global warming and climate change, per a 2016 report from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Native Hawaiians have also noted that colonialism put the islands at higher risk as the U.S. military overtook their lands and Americans industrialized the region for tourists’ consumption.
Maui in particular has been at risk for wildfires for years. Lāhainā was listed as one of the towns of “highest concern” for wildfires in a 2018-2019 assessment by the Hawai‘i Wildfire Management Organization.
With more droughts and stronger storms on the horizon, the island is at risk of even more extreme weather events in the future, Grist’s Anita Hofschneider writes.
Gov. Josh Green (D) has since ordered a comprehensive review to determine what happened.
Losing centuries of cultural history: Lāhainā was the home of Waiola Church, a mainstay for Hawaiian royals that was first established in 1823, and Pūnana Leo, an immersion school that educated local children on the Hawaiian language and culture. Both institutions are now lost to the fires, NBC News’ Sakshi Venkatraman reports.
“There are so many aspects to that place that have been fundamentally changed,” Keoni Kuoha, program director and House Maui Initiative director at Hawai‘i Community Foundation, said in an interview with The Yappie. “The most superficial aspect is tourism, but you know, you just dig any deeper than that and the cultural loss is really unfathomable.”
The fires have also exacerbated displacement of Native Hawaiians, who have been increasingly forced out of their homelands due to rising costs of living.
How to help: Local community organizations are collecting funds to support survivors by providing essential goods and on-the-ground assistance.
Hawai‘i Community Foundation’s Maui Strong Fund, which will be redistributed to local community organizations responding to the fires.
Lāhui Foundation’s fire recovery efforts.
Maui Community Power Recovery Fund, for immediate relief and long-term recovery.
Yes, but: In the long term, advocates say legislation must be enacted to address the management of future disasters and recognize their unique impacts on Indigenous communities.
“There needs to be a lot of intention and hard intervention there to make sure that federal resources and philanthropic resources go to support Native folks, not to stop acute harm like this, but actually, lead us on the positive path forward,” Kaniela Ing, co-founder of Our Hawai‘i, told NBC News’ Sakshi Venkatraman and Kimmy Yam.
“It's critical that we figure this out as soon as possible and make sure that we create a system that not only gets everyone who was displaced from the fires by the fires back into Lāhainā, but opens the door for everyone else who … have had to leave Lāhainā over the years because they're just squeezed out by the economic system,” Kuoha said.
— By
Katrina Pham
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AAPI NATION
IN THEIR WORDS
“I want to remind you that solidarity is actually our inheritance. This relationship between communities of color is also not new. We are not the first, we’re not the last.”—Activist Bobby Roy
Sacramento’s first-ever Blasian March was a reminder—and amplifier—of longtime solidarity between Black and Asian communities, The Sacramento Bee’s Samson Zhang reports.Over 120 people rallied to highlight unity amid years of historical tensions and commemorate 19-year-old Black and Hmong American Darell Richards, who was shot and killed by Sacramento police while having a panic attack.
👉 Here's what else is happening across America...
🏙️ AAPI-serving organizations will receive $30 million to help combat Asian hate crimes in New York, NextShark’s Carl Samson reports. The historic fund will serve to protect vulnerable communities and increase Asian representation in the state.
AAPIs make up 11% of New York’s population, but hate crime spikes have persisted across the state, particularly in New York City.
⚾ Meanwhile: Shohei Ohtani has made history once again, becoming the only baseball player in MLB history to achieve three consecutive seasons of 100 hits and 100 strikeouts, Angels News’ Scott Geirman reports. The 29-year-old Japanese pitcher was also named an All-Star as both a pitcher and hitter for his third straight season. 🔍 An August working paper found that Asian American students are 28% less likely to be admitted to selective colleges compared to their white peers with similar academic qualifications, Higher Ed Dive’s Laura Spitalniak writes.📢 Pacific Islander leaders in San Francisco are pushing for greater representation in city governance, citing disparate outcomes in their community. About 70% of the city’s Pacific Islanders live in public housing—they also tend to have lower median incomes compared to other ethnic and racial groups, San Francisco Chronicle’s Harry Mok notes.🗳 New laws criminalizing voting assistance could disproportionately target Asian Americans, Independent’s Ayanna Alexander reports. The voting laws, already passed in six predominantly Republican-led states, impose criminal penalties and fines for individuals and groups helping people register to vote.
“If there’s not access, in terms of language, we can’t get to as many people, which particularly affects AAPI voters,” warned Leah Nash, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Florida.
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— By
Preston Lieu
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