June Kaililani Tanoue

Kumu Hula

Arde Kanoho Yamashita, Laulani Teal, Puanani Rogers

Laulani Teal is a Hawaiian activist, musician and healer. 

Her mother, Leona Leong, is from Kahana Valley and her father, Peter Teale, is from California. They met in Berkeley when she was a stewardess and he was in law school. They moved to O'ahu and raised three children in Kahalu'u.  Laulani is the oldest.  

She's been very busy helping with the effort to protect Mauna Kea from the 13th telescope being built and took a little time off to answer a few questions for me.

June Tanoue:  Why is it so important to protect Mauna a Wakea from the 13th telescope being built?

Laulani Teal:  As the tallest mountain on Planet Earth (when measured from its base) and the highest point in the entire Pacific, Mauna Kea is a reference point for not only Kānaka Maoli(full-blooded Hawaiians), but much of humanity.

With this in mind, what does it say about our collective righteousness as a species if the best we can do, for such a pristine ice-age ground place as this, is to mar it with tons of toxic chemicals (over an aquifer of sacred, healing waters), and construction of a monstrous metal eyesore twice the size of the State Capitol with a footprint four football fields in area? All for a better view?

We are at a turning point in terms of our survival on this planet. If we want to keep going, we need to prove to life as a whole that we have what it takes to start healing lots of stuff, and turn around this crazy path that we are on.

JT: Tell me about your peace work.

LT:  I've been an activist for about 25 years. So often, the level of success that can be achieved in any effort relates directly to the level of harmony that can be achieved.  Almost 20 years ago, building that harmony through the active cultivation of aloha became a major focus of my work as a warrior. And I have been making peace -- and lots of trouble -- since then.

JT:  Tell me about how you got involved with the la'au lapa'au (native plants and spirituality) healer, Papa Henry Auwae. What drew you to him?

LT:  My great-grandmother made medicines for the workers in Ko'olauloa. A lot of people would come to her in Kahana for Hawaiian medicines, especially the Filipino workers. I think that has always been in me somewhere.

When my grandmother was in the hospital a long time ago, and the doctors were struggling with her condition, she asked for a healer to come. She said she wanted a male, had to be old, had to be knowledgable and humble.

My mom's coworker, Kukana Isaacs, brought Papa to the hospital. It happened that my mom and I were teaching lei-making in the hospital lobby. Since we were using native plants, I had thrown together a handwritten pamphlet on how to respect and not damage the forest when gathering.

Papa stopped by our lei area and read my pamphlet for a long time. Then I found out that he was going to hold a la'au class -- but that I was too late, as acceptance had closed already. I was sad, but my mom asked for me anyway. He must have remembered me, or maybe my kapakahi (crooked) pamphlet, because he took me right away - no application, nothing. And I've been studying from him since then!