"Ua mau ka ea o ka Aina I ka pono"
My heritage is not always apparent at first glance. Despite being mistaken for Mexican, Spanish, Indian, or a local Pacific Islander, I actually have Swiss/English roots. Going further back, my ancestry traces back to Celtic origins, Gauls tribes, and the Helvetti. With this being said, I also am a Hawaiian. I am a PROUD first generation native born subject of the Hawaiian Kingdom, and my daughter is a second generation moku o keawe born subject of the Hawaiian Kingdom.
I was born in Puna in 1988, and had the privilege of being raised by my own personal kupunas, my uncle Robert Keliihoomalu and aunty G-Girl, who were very close friends with my grandmother. In aunty G-Girl's kalapana-kaimu album, she dedicated it to my grandma, Charlotte Jackson. They crafted the rosary 📿 that I wear every single day. It's like a security blanket to me. They made it specifically for their ohana back in the late 80s before they all manually relocated the Star of the Sea Church during the kaimu flow. In the Kingdom, my grandma was one of only 3 who wore these rosaries. I am preserving this one to pass it down to my daughter, and for her to pass it on to hers, and so forth.
I believe that as a result of my parents' whirlwind romance that began at the Pahoa Lounge on that fateful night, and their young love leading to a quick marriage and starting a family with me, they faced numerous challenges as any young couple would who didn't really know each other too well before jumping into life commitments, and eventually parted ways when I was 6 years old. This marked the moment when my life fell apart as an only child.
My main source of comfort was my grandma and Uncle Robert's family. During this time, my grandma was heavily involved in her religious activities with Uncle Robert and Auntie G Girl. They had a church at their home, the Keliihoomalus, where my grandma would faithfully take all of us, including my 6 cousins. From then on, I was primarily raised by my grandma, and about 80% of the time we spent together it was at their hale (house) in Kaimu, being centered around faith with uncle and aunty's very spiritual Hawaiian culture, music, great food, and religion.
Here is a FANSTASTIC article I found on uncle robert and aunty g girl --
>https://renegadesescapades.com/2020/12/12/uncle-robert/ check it out !
Aunty G Girl passing, was the first experience I truly had with someone I knew and loved dying. It was the first funeral, and it was open casket, that I had ever attended at our church in Pahoa (Sacred Heart Church, the church Father Damien of the Lepers was the first priest of ), and I can close my eyes still to this day and remember the feeling in the air... now looking back, I can hear aunty in my head , telling me that was all energy, it was all LOVE just not having a place to go...
I still visit her spot at the graveyard to this day .. the ohana was able to relocate her remains to their own family graveyard in kalapana, but aunty's spot is still there with her beautiful picture , go leave her a flower next time your in the area !
Here is my grandma's favorite song of hers as well for you to enjoy, "Aloha Kaimu" by aunty G Girl and Ohana ❤️ It was one we played for her every day during the last few months of her life when I would go over to play Latin mass for her in bed since she couldnt physically go to church anymore, at this point both aunty g girl and uncle robert had also passed on, and we would also sing songs , we would play aunty g girl, and somewhere over the rainbow by braddah iz ❤️
Such a beautiful island song.#AlohaKaimu
During my upbringing in LERZ Puna (Lower East Rift Zone), I have witnessed the struggles faced by my Hawaiian community in various aspects. From the historical overthrow and ongoing illegal occupation, to the presence of Israel in our vicinity, to the utilization of Hawaii by the US military as a strategic base, to the issues surrounding Mauna Kea, the corruption surrounding kīlauea recobery and its laundering, and everything in between, I am committed to working towards the restoration of Hawaiian Kingdom sovereignty.
With a strong background in business education, I am currently pursuing a master's degree in global organizations, human rights, and conflict resolution for my non-profit organization, KahuPuna. I have personally launched several businesses in Hawaii and aim to consolidate everything on this website, but its not a money maiing venture. This is a social movement, a cause fighting for Hawaii and its aina , and when i do open JazzyIslandJewelryback up and have pune merch here , it vwill all be to the cause , not for profit.
My firm cultural beliefs and morals, and my passion for my homelands, had created a 36 year old woman who is determined to help free her community.
Thank you all for being here .
Eye lava you
There's so much more to come .
I can't wait to go into great detail, sharing lots of kalapana to pohoiki mo'olelo (story) with you all. These people, shaped who I am today, and my missions. And I feel so blessed for that .
But for now, I gotta get to work! See you tomorrow for another blog post going into the "who what when where and whys" of it all
Jazzy
KahuPuna
Aloha Activism
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