Everything Ancient Was Once New

Indigenous Pacifics

by Emalani Case, Noelani Goodyear-Ka‘ōpua (Editor), April Henderson (Editor)

In Everything Ancient Was Once New, Emalani Case explores Indigenous persistence through the concept of Kahiki, a term that is at once both an ancestral homeland for Kānaka Maoli (Hawaiians) and the knowledge that there is life to be found beyond Hawaiʻi's shores. Kahiki is therefore both a symbol of ancestral connection and the potential that comes with remembering and acting upon that connection. Tracing physical, historical, intellectual, and spiritual journeys to and from Kahiki, Case frames it as a place of refuge and sanctuary, a place where ancient knowledge can constantly be made anew. It is in Kahiki, and in the sanctuary it creates, that today's Kānaka Maoli can find safety and reprieve from the continued onslaught of settler colonial violence while confronting some of the uncomfortable and challenging realities of being Indigenous in Hawaiʻi, in the Pacific, and in the world.

The book engages with Kahiki as a shifting term employed by Kānaka Maoli to explain their lives and experiences at different points in history. Case argues for reactivated and reinvigorated engagements with Kahiki to support ongoing work aimed at decolonizing physical and ideological spaces and to reconnect Kānaka Maoli to peoples and places in the Pacific region and beyond in purposeful, meaningful ways. By tracing Kahiki through pivotal moments in history and critical moments in contemporary times, Case demonstrates how the idea of Kahiki--while not always mentioned by name--was, and is, always full of potential.

Intertwining personal narrative with rigorous research and analysis, Case weaves the past and the present together, reflecting on ancient concepts and their continued relevance in movements to protect lands, waters, and oceans; to fight for social justice; to reexamine our responsibilities to each other across the Pacific region; and to open space for continued dialogue on what it means to be Indigenous when at home and when away. Everything Ancient Was Once New journeys to and from Kahiki, offering readers a sanctuary for reflection, deep learning, and continued dreaming with the past, in the present, and far into the future.

Genres: Indigenous, History, Nonfiction

160 pages, Paperback

Published February 28, 2021

About the author

Emalani Case is a Kanaka Maoli lecturer in Pacific studies at Te Herenga Waka―Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.

Reviews

[Karen Kohoutek]

This is a fairly dense and heady book, and gave me a lot to think about. The author roots her analysis of the history and current state of Indigenous Hawai'i in the concept of kahiki, exploring its different meanings and connotations over time, and looking at the underlying issues from multiple angles. So it looks back to a genealogical history, to the relationships of the Hawaiian islands with Polynesia, the United States, and all places external, and how to understand connectedness without sacrificing complexity, or glossing over differences. Even the book's title really blew my mind, addressing the fact that antiquity is often used as the marker of cultural significance, but in a present where anything can be torn down because it's NOT (supposedly) rooted enough in antiquity, then nothing will ever survive to become old. And which opens up the issue of who is allowed to determine significance, and how this becomes a site of oppression, and how Indigenous cultures are treated by white culture as if they are worth supplanting due to existing in the past, but also in a permanent of permanent perceived immaturity. This is not doing any justice to the sophistication of Case's ideas, but it's an excellent reframing of how to look at the world.

[La Crivello]

Tackling the conflicting emotions and experiences that indigenous peoples often face in Hawai’i to date, Emalani Case has provided the unique perspective of being indigenous while living in a place you are not indigenous to. Case addresses the varying perspectives of indigenous existence and erasure throughout history and supports indigenous resilience through the concept or Kahiki - the tangible and intangible connection a Native Hawaiian has to a homeland and an ancestor. Her ability to layer personal experience and reflection with thorough research and analysis offers her audience a safe space to reflect upon the ways in which they are victim and victor to history, circumstance, and a future that has not yet been written.

[Reina]

So intriguing. It’s a great read around the concept of Kahiki and offers lots of insight on different ways to engage with it based off of how our kupuna engaged with and defined Kahiki.

[Brittany Antenorcruz]

Must read if ur a Hawaiian. Or if ur struggling in a colonial state.