The Hawai`i Protocol and Statement of Petition in Regards to the Deaths of Lahe`ena`e Gay, Ingrid Washinawatok, and Terence Freitas, Colombia, March 4, 1999

The following is excerpted from a statement posted by the Kanaka Maoli Nation of Hawai`i. The statement in its entirety is at http://www.hookele.com/hepohakualoha/

We the Kanaka Maoli o ka Pae `Aina o Hawai`i Loa and our kako`o call upon Ke Akua Nui to heed our voice as we unite our prayers with the prayers of the millions of Indigenous Peoples in ceremonies with our mourning wail in traditional respect for grief and loss. With our voices raised, we chant to the four corners of the universe to guide their spirits on their final journey as we bid them farewell with Aloha.

We have a strong affinity and respect for the U'wa nation and their ancestors, for now we are bound by our own blood that was shed on your ancient lands. It has opened a door of awareness to your history and suffering. We accept its call through Papa (earth mother) with Aloha, our truest form of solidarity and urge you not to give in or give up any of your precious race. Here we are to strengthen you.

We feel bound to the great ancestors of Peqtaw-Metamoh - Thunderbird Woman - Ingrid Washinawatok and her people, the fearless Menominee, for her blood has been shed on the land of the U'wa. We have felt your fierceness, it has struck our hearts and spirit. Kahekili took notice in that moment.

Terence Freitas heeding Papa's angry call followed under the eyes of Kane-I-Kapulena. We grieve for your brave mother who has touched our hearts. Her voice is your shining star and her prayers have gained a clear path. We are now bound to your struggle, as your blood too has been fed into the hearts of the U'wa, into the hearts of the Menominee, into our hearts.

We place a Pohaku o Aloha into the hearts of the U'wa; into the hearts of the Menominee ... Hear their call as she sings ... He Pohaku o Aloha

Amama, Ua noa

 

We extend our deepest sympathy and regards to the family and relatives of these fallen warriors, Lahe`ena`e Gay of the Pacific Cultural Conservancy International, Ingrid Washinawatok of the Menominee Nation, the Indigenous Women's Network and countless other organizations, and Terence Freitas, an environmental activist. Let us all pick up the fallen torches, let us continue the struggle. This fight is for our lands, our precious culture and life-giving sources. That is all we seek. Money and power breeds death and destruction...we do not ask for money or riches. We have our wealth in our lands and our cultural beliefs and values. Please, let us just live in nature, it is our way, it is the only way to preserve a future for our children, grandchildren and the generations yet unborn. We answer the call by other indigenous nations to unite in a concerted effort to protect our earth mother and stop needless killing and violence.

Therefore we are determined to address those responsible for this breach of the most sacred trust that the Great Creator has given us which is life itself. Our grief can no longer choke our voices to silence and we now rise through our tears of anguish:

To the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC): Understanding you are a guerrilla organization of Colombia and have taken it upon yourselves to hold hostage one of Hawai`i's women, Lahe`ena`e Gay - a Kanaka Maoli o Hawai`i Nei - and you have caused her death by: abducting her, holding her hostage, tormenting her mind and heart, torturing her body, beating her, then filling her with your bullets in a heinous manner. You repeated this crime twice more by doing the same if not more to her colleagues - Ingrid Washinawatok and Terence Freitas.

We hold your soldiers and officers accountable for these acts, and charge you with these crimes in the severest manner....

The State of Colombia: We turn and hold you fully responsible for this crime committed upon Lahe`ena`e Gay, Ingrid Washinawatok and Terence Freitas in the fullest possible terms of international law and any other applicable penalties, for viciously creating the oppressive conditions upon your own citizens through extreme suffering, destruction and torture, for causing the unbearable conditions within your country that brought about this overall disaster due to your own violations of human rights and international law in your pursuit of monetary gain. This you have done knowingly and to the point of near extinction, eg. the U'wa tribe and possibly many others. We ask for full investigations upon your government and its members, bodies, organizations and entities to alleviate the intolerable acts of Genocide and conditions upon the Indigenous Peoples of your state. We stand witness to these crimes on their behalf and we expect that these charges will be answered and we will call upon the assistance of any legal source available to assist in this matter....

Occidental Petroleum and any affiliate corporations and/or individuals: we also hold you responsible for these crimes and seek to legally bind you from committing further acts of environmental destruction upon any indigenous territories and from any further complicity in the crime of Genocide along with States upon Indigenous Peoples. We seek all possible legal assistance to achieve this goal now set in this petition.

United States: At this time we approach you respectfully and call on you to assist our efforts based upon our inherent rights as Kanaka Maoli, and make this petition along with our allies. We take a firm stand in coordinated effort with other Indigenous nations and non-governmental organizations to insist that all U.S.economic assistance to the government of Colombia for military or any other purposes that may cause unaccountable harm in any way to Indigenous Peoples and their Territories be stopped until investigations are fully discovered and the protection of Indigenous Peoples as defined within the UN Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples adopted at the Sub-Commission on Human Rights-1994 and all other UN Instruments; has been ensured with the oversight of Her Excellency Mary Robinson, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights along with all accredited Indigenous Non-Governmental Organizations and relative Indigenous organizations....

HER EXCELLENCY MARY ROBINSON, HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS: Your Excellency, we had the honor of receiving your support and commitment to assist us in achieving an "aspirational" declaration for the protection of Indigenous Peoples, at which time one of our Kanaka Maoli was present. This incident has made it very clear that Indigenous Peoples are without any protection whatsoever and caught in the cross-fire of complicit political and military acts along with economic aggression against Indigenous Peoples and the environment within their territories. We ask your assistance now in attaining immediate oversight of this situation from the UN and encourage a tour as soon as possible into the regions for consultations with which to truly identify the circumstances and needs therein which are keeping us from attaining our good goals set out in this decade, beginning with Colombia. We also ask that any other UN officially appointed dignitaries who work in the areas of Indigenous Peoples, Environment and Human Rights be asked for assistance in the appropriate capacity deemed necessary.

Last, we call upon all member states and especially those members who have been in treaty with our Kanaka Maoli Nation - the Kingdom of Hawai`i, to take official notice of in this crime and investigations.

We place He Pohaku o Aloha in your path to light your way....

 

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