NAFPS Forum
General => Member Introductions => Topic started by: Leilehua on April 17, 2014, 07:55:04 pm
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`Ano`ai kakou! Greetings to us all! I am Leilehua Yuen, a Hawaiian cultural practitioner. I am a licensed wedding officiant, and perform both traditional Hawaiian and mixed tradition wedding ceremony. I came across this site while researching Native American and First Nations wedding traditions. It looks like you have many of the same issues to contend with that we have.
In my own practice, as part of the marriage counseling and wedding planning, I encourage couples to draw from their own heritage to create a unique ceremony that celebrates both of them. In researching for their ceremonies, I am finding a lot of "information" I cannot substantiate prior to the early-mid 1990s.
Many of my couples have some Native American ancestry, and want to honor that, but do not have grandparents available to help them. So, I am looking for solid information I can send them to so that they are not taken advantage of by unscrupulous people. I am learning that you have many similar scenarios to our own:
"I'm descended from a Native Hawaiian princess who married a sea captain."
"Ok, I'm a Genuine Hawaiian Shaman. I can sell you this rock and it will align you with your Hawaiian ancestors. Take it and put it in the Sacred Wall over in that National Park."
So, I am hoping I may return and find answers to the questions which crop up as I help these young people.
Mahalo, malama pono
Thank you and take care,
Leilehua
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Welcome, glad to have you. We have some sections providing general warnings on exploiters claiming to be Native Hawaiian, and a few threads on Woody Vaspra and Max Long. But there's quite a few more we need warnings on.
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I have received feedback from a variety of sources which has answered my question. One of the answers was, "We do not discuss these things on the Internet." So, I am deleting my references to that question. Mahalo.
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Deleted by poster.
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Why are you asking us, total strangers on a forum if it's ok to appropriate a sacred ceremony of the Hopi Tribe?
Why don't you contact the actual Hopi Tribe? Here's their info: hopicouncil@hopi.nsn.us or phone # for Tribal Council via Nina Pineoma 728 734 3133. Good luck.
Diana
Ps. You certainly didn't pass the smell test.
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Deleted by poster.
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Your reaction tells me that it is, indeed a sacred Hopi (as I would phrase it) traditional protocol,
That's not what Diana said or implied. She did not give you Hopi cultural or ceremonial information. She simply told you that if you have a question about Hopi culture, you should ask Hopi people directly. Though we do our best to make sure people who post in this forum aren't deceiving anyone, as a new member, you have no idea whether anyone here is Hopi or not.
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Deleted by poster.
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Leilehua, NAFPS is not an appropriate place to post the type of information you put into your "`Aum?kua / spirit animals / spirit guides" thread, so the thread has been removed.
We are here to dispel misinformation, but not to the extent of giving exploiters cultural information they can use to further exploit Native traditions. I don't know if what you posted was culturally accurate or not, but we don't give people ceremonial advice or details here.
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Aloha kaua,
Mahalo for that.
Leilehua
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Aloha kakou!
I belong to so many different forums I have joined over the years under various "cute" user names that it is more than my poor brain can handle any more. "Hapawoman" is being consolidated into "Leilehua." I do not think I have posted enough here that it will cause any confusion. :-)
Mahalo!
Leilehua
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You need to go to your profile and log in and change your username there. Otherwise, you will have 2 accounts, which we don't allow.
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Yes, just change your username. That way your post history stays with your account.