Haunani-Kay Trask is an indigenous leader in the Native Hawaiian sovereignty movement. She is widely considered an authority on Hawaiian political issues, as well as an internationally-known Indigenous human rights advocate. She has represented her nation at the United Nations in Geneva, at the World Conference Against Racism in Durban, South Africa, and at various gatherings throughout the Pacific, the Americas, Asia, and Europe. She has authored four books, including From a Native Daughter: Colonialism and Sovereignty in Hawai'i, widely considered a masterpiece of contemporary resistance writing. Trask was co-producer and scriptwriter of the award-winning documentary, Act of War: The Overthrow of the Hawaiian Nation . She was the first full-time Director of the Center for Hawaiian Studies at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa in Honolulu. Currently, Trask is Professor of Hawaiian Studies, University of Hawai'i-Manoa.
There are so many wonderful quotes from Dr. Trask, but I have chosen the quote below because it speaks of the alternative to the crazy violence that we see happening all around us, that alternative being-- creating art!
This was her response to those who have criticized her as being too outspoken, too abrasive, too angry, and too militant, when it comes to fighting for Hawaiian Sovereignty.
"We are not happy natives...the anger is actually a safety valve...what's the alternative? I'd rather make art than, you know, commit murder"
--Haunani-Kay Trask
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