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<br />all the ins and outs of the County process. Just, it’s been way too long to get the basic health <br />study off the ground, and the Native Hawaiian health study. It seems like if the Geothermal <br />Asset Fund can be used for environmental and health studies, and for equipping the Fire <br />Department with monitoring equipment that apparently has never been used for geothermal, if it <br />can be used for those purposes, it would seem like the Asset Fund could be used for this Native <br />Hawaiian study. <br /> <br />It was difficult even for people to get this item on the agenda today, and basically your decisions, <br />Planning Commission, are not being carried out. <br /> <br />Puna Geothermal is a hazardous industrial operation built way too close to people’s homes. It’s <br />a classic and continuing case of environmental injustice. Please look at possibly using the <br />emergency declaration or other means to get this moving. Thank you. <br /> <br />HEAUKULANI: Thank you. Geoff? Am I saying that correctly? <br /> <br />SHAW: Geoff. <br /> <br />HEAUKULANI: Geoff, Geoff Shaw. <br /> <br />SHAW: My parents are English so they, they had a reason for burdening me with that spelling. <br />So, anyhow, Geoff Shaw. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share my thoughts <br />because that is the foundation of what is being discussed today. If we are to move forward as <br />people from all walks of life, we have to learn to respect all perspectives. <br /> <br />Modern Hawaiʽi is a product of colonialism and a basic tenet of that colonialism is one <br />nationality imposing its will on another and that process inherently means that perspectives of <br />the oppressor overrides the oppressed. This has not happened overnight. It is a process of <br />conditioning that happens over time and if that process is to be reversed, that will also happen <br />over a period of time and most likely won’t be pretty. <br /> <br />I could go into my version of history that has led to this point, but that is not really necessary. <br />What we really need to ask is the question do we perpetuate colonialism or do we remedy it? If <br />we want to remedy it, then we need to understand it and the study is a great way to start. The <br />effects of oppression aren’t always apparent, and people are reluctant to discuss it. So, for those <br />on the outside looking in, it can take some searching to see it. When the discussion does surface, <br />it is often reversed such as non-Hawaiians being excluded from Kamehameha Schools and in <br />other instances, it gets dismissed too easily such as when Faye Hanohano was upset about not <br />enough art by Hawaiians being promoted by the Hawaiian Arts Commission. She raised a point <br />that was valid, but everyone focused on a response which was immediate and emotional but that <br />is often how these issues bubble to the surface. <br /> <br />Oppression is a form of abuse, and people naturally are uncomfortable with being abused and <br />discussing that abuse. Colonialism is a cycle of abuse on a national scale, and you can’t break <br />that cycle by ignoring it. <br /> <br />10 <br />EXHIBIT E <br /> <br /> <br />