Candace Fujikane

Planning in a Time of Disaster Capitalism: Rebuilding Lahaina Hawaii According to the Laws of the Elements

On August 9, 2023, Lahaina made international headlines as people all over the world witnessed the devastation caused by anthropogenic fires. Lahaina was once a wetland, and the brilliance of Kanaka Maoli engineering of waterways led foreigners to call Lahaina the “Venice of the Pacific.” Over the years, settler corporate and state actions had drained the wetlands, and last August, Hurricane Dora brought foreign winds that blew the fire into Lahaina Town.

In this talk, Fujikane focuses on the complex of Kanaka Maoli actions moving toward restoring the wetlands of Mokuʻula. On legal grounds, Kānaka Maoli have been engaged in LandBack efforts, reclaiming the kuleana lands seized by the plantations. On the city, state and federal levels, Kānaka Maoli work with agencies to protect water while envisioning the mechanisms that will take them into a political independence beyond the settler state. All of this work is guided by ceremony and close attention to the laws of the elements, activating both elements and humans in profound pilina (relationality).

Candace Fujikane is a Professor of English at the University of Hawaii and author of the book, Mapping Abundance for a Planetary Future: Kanaka Maoli and Critical Settler Cartographies, Duke University Press. Her writing and research engage synchronic sets of practices: those that challenge the operations of the US occupying/settler state, and those that enact a future beyond it. Professor Fujikane is actively involved in land struggles against urban and industrial development of Kanaka ‘Ōiwi sacred and storied places in Lualualei Valley, Waiāhole, Kalihi and Mauna Kea. She teaches classes on the stand that aloha ʻāina are taking to protect lands, waters, and skies in Hawaiʻi.

Light refreshments will be served. This event is open to Columbia University affiliates with a valid university ID. Any questions on the events can be directed Diana Guo, dg3372@columbia.edu; Vinita Govindarajan, vg2588@columbia.edu; Mauricio Enrique Rada Orellana, mer2245@columbia.edu

The Lecture in Planning Series (LiPS) is co-organized by the MSUP Program and second-year PhD students in Urban Planning: Vinita Govindarajan, Diana Guo, and Mauricio Rada Orellana.