Aloha mai kakou,
My name is Jolene, and I am a Native Hawaiian who has been online since 1991. You know, back in the day when my screen name on AOL was Jolene
It's difficult for me to express just how amazed and grateful I am to have been led to this forum. You see, in those early days online, I took part in a few Native American and Polynesian groups that discussed fraudulent new age practices. Sadly, I know exactly why your mission statement, rules, and terms read the way they do. Yet until recently, activity in these groups remained at the level of discussion without being very proactive in educating the public or hindering the charlatans. I commend you and others like you for taking your mission to this next level, beyond just talk.
Of special interest to me: the fabricated new age practice of Huna. Its biggest advocates have names like Max Freedom Long, Serge King, Tad James, and Matthew James, and they all claim that this spiritual philosophy is so old, even Hawaiians don't know about it. They all claim they were given secret, sacred knowledge by our elders. Conveniently, none of these elders are alive to dispute these claims. And dispute them they would because the only thing Hawaiian about Huna is their insistence on using our vocabulary to validate its Hawaiianess. While that may sound utterly ridiculous to most thinking people, many non-native people in particular are looking for a tribe, a place to belong. So they literally buy into Huna, hook, line, and sinker.
In any case, I am grateful for the chance to participate and contribute here.
Me Ka Ha'aha'a,
Jolene
