Official Proclamation

Introduction

"Hawaii's True Thankz Giving" — County of Hawaiʻi

Thanksgiving approaches as the time of family reunion around dinner tables, turkey, and thankful mention for blessings and the Lord. Beautiful indeed, but these routines miss the true purpose of Thanksgiving.

This is to be the one day America gave thanks to the Natives of these lands for the gifts of life given to early pilgrims and our appreciation to those as forefathers to this nation - for all time thereafter.

Natives gave in treasures of wisdom to their ways of the land and foods. This was a true miracle of life for the early settlers facing certain death in a new world.

That is the miracle still celebrated in every cob of corn grown and served, each helping of squash and cranberry. Every dish set to that table around the food of native farmers on this day, like every day we share in their harvests.

A kindness paid in blood, occupation and loss of every kind, and yet, their contributions now taken in the name of celebration for all we hold dear in life and love – and yet not of them.

This simplest of tributes a final betrayal of misappropriation. Stolen by a turkey no less. That to say, anything but even the smallest of honors for our Natives of this country.

Time to change that.

Is there any one to second this cause of justice?

The easiest of justice demands reclaimed in but the mere mention of Thankz Giving for all it was intended – natives of America for the gift of life in those of land and foods.

And so to Hawaii

Could this not be more true of Native Hawaiians and our local farmers as well?

Their sacred treasures to this land and its abundance of food like all those in the magic of celebration in traditions shared with song, dance, the aloha spirit and heavens gifts of abundant tropical produce.

Let it be here, in their kingdom of Hawaiians, that this day will be in honor of them – to them.

Again, the least we can do with little more then a kind mention of appreciation.

They still bear the legacy of their kingdoms forefathers as farmers and keepers of the land, arts and tradition. Let that be the honor that our tribute is paid on their day of this of Hawaii's True ThankzGiving.

And so to our humble request of the Mayor of Honolulu or any island thereof of the Hawaii islands, or even those of the small towns and big cities of America:

A day Proclaimed in honor of natives still tilling as farmers for those here in Hawaii, if not throughout all America, as the beautiful face behind the celebration of this True Thankz Giving.

If so moved, please share this Proclamation of Hawaii's True Thankz Giving.

Forward to the Mayor – Your Mayor of any town you live and work.

Official Proclamations

WHEREAS, Thanksgiving was to be the day of honor to Natives of America for their grace of wisdom to the ways of land and foods that saved colonies of early pilgrims that were to become the nation we are today;

WHEREAS, This Thanksgiving day of honor of Natives has been replaced by a turkey and all things of heart and home but for those of Natives,

WHEREAS, Thanksgiving is the smallest of gestures of honor in the face of their great loss to those same pilgrims saved,

WHEREAS, Native farmers carry on those same traditions for the wisdom of land and food to this very day,

WHEREAS, Thanksgiving is to be reinstated to its original purpose of honor to our nations natives

WHEREAS, Hawaiians share the same glory of contribution for the lands and food from which we too prosper with much the same cost to them as other Natives,

WHEREAS, The County of Hawaiʻi recognizes that the Native Hawaiian people are the original stewards of these islands, whose sustainable practices, language, and traditions shaped one of the most advanced societies in the Pacific world; and

WHEREAS, Indigenous Peoples everywhere continue to enrich our lives through their deep connection to land, sea, and sky, preserving ancestral knowledge that sustains biodiversity, strengthens communities, and inspires global action; and

WHEREAS, The County acknowledges the importance of cultural restoration, food sovereignty, and regenerative practices as the foundation for a thriving and resilient Hawaiʻi Island; and

WHEREAS, We are reminded that true prosperity is measured not by what we take, but by what we give back — to our ʻāina, to one another, and to future generations; and

WHEREAS, Today, we reaffirm our collective kuleana — our shared responsibility — to uplift Indigenous voices, to support locally grown food systems, to protect our natural resources, and to build bridges of understanding across all communities who now call Hawaiʻi home;