Together We Rise – Stories Behind The Music

Hāwane Rios wrote this song in a time in her life when she was reflecting about her personal journey with forgiveness. She sings about how being truthful with herself about her missteps and mistakes has helped her to open to shifting, changing and transforming. She found a lot of healing in releasing and letting go of old patterns and attachments that no longer served her highest good. Self love guided so much of this healing process and helped to open her heart.

Warrior Rising was written by Hāwanes mom Pua Case in 2015. These are her words and reflections on how this song came to be - “Every night while we were stood on the frontlines to protect Mauna Kea, Iʻd leave my window open in Waimea and pray to the mountain and to the guardians of the mountain to keep our people safe, these warriors that were rising to stand for what was necessary in this time. Iʻd close my eyes thinking of both my daughters who spent nights up there in the cold along with many others. And throughout each night a line from the song would fly in through the window gliding in on the melody straight to my ear and my heart until the entire song was complete. Before Hāwane sang it for the public, we went up to the Northern Plateau, the site of the proposed Thirty Meter Telescope and I sang it outloud to the grandmother of the mountain in gratitude and aloha. What started as a tribute to my daughters for the warriors they were becoming, became an anthem for all warriors rising to stand for Hawaiʻi.”

E ʻOni a Paʻa was written by Hāwane after the first 31 protectors of Mauna Kea were arrested on the frontlines in 2015. This song calls for the protectors to stand strong and steady, unshakable, and unmovable. The words send a very clear message to the Thirty Meter Telescope Corporation that this telescope is not welcome on the Northern Plateau of Mauna Kea.

Burden of Many honors all who have suffered any form of violence, trauma, or abuse. Hāwane was moved to write this song upon learning about the rape and abuse of young Native American and First Nations youth by priests in the residential schools throughout North America and Canada. While in Canada attending an Idle No More Media Training Conference, she heard many heart wrenching stories about the thousands of missing and murdered women, men, queer, and young people throughout their lands which continues to be ignored and sidelined by their government. This song is for the women, men, and two spirited people of Canada, Native America, Hawai'i and throughout the world whose lives have been stolen from them because of this ongoing oppression, marginalization, and violence.

This song was written by Hāwanes mother Pua Case. These are her words and reflections about this song - “the responsibility that we have to ever place, everything, and everyone in our genealogical lineage determines the manner in which we move forward in all that we do for Hawaiʻi. As our kūpuna (ancestors) did for us, we do the same for the next seven generations. We carry on in their footsteps.” This song affirms that the Kanaka Maoli people are still here and still strong.

Aloha ʻĀina ʻOiaʻiʻo is a prayer song dedicated to Haleakalā and the people who stand to protect this revered mountain on Maui from the further desecration and destruction of telescope construction. This is a song of solidarity that expresses deep and unwavering respect for all who answer the call to protect sacred places. Hāwane felt called to write these words to honor the powerful bonds of our mountain movements.

Kapu ka Hā was written at a time when the communities across Hawaiʻi were rallying and marching for food sovereignty and protection of the lands and waters from harmful chemicals used by GMO corporations. This song is calling for us to remember the transcendental interconnectedness that grounds us to the elemental forces above, between, and below that teach us that there is no separation between us and everything around us. It serves as a reminder that what is done unto the earth is done unto us and those who come after us. It is our responsibility to protect all that gives and sustains our lifeforce here in this realm.

Free the Streams was written after reflecting on a group conversation she had while attending a leadership conference. She met a young man from the Philippines who spoke about how he was raised in his village drinking free water from a shared well, owned by no one, respected and cared for by everyone. Each family had a responsibility to the land from a section of the mountain all the way to the sea. His story stayed with her for a long time and inspired her to write a prayer song for the freedom and liberation of all the waters of the world and for our return to living in a better way.

This song is written by Hāwanes mother Pua Vase. Wānanalua is the name bestowed to a mother whale that was sung to, held, and prayed for as she passed from this realm to the next. In return, this whale gifted us with the melody and the first lines of this song. As the composition evolved, a mele inoa (a name song) emerged for the mothers of the ocean, the whales, and the Polynesian Voyaging canoes - Hōkūleʻa, Makaliʻi, and Hikianalia. An excerpt from the Kumulipo creation chant and several ʻōlelo noʻeau (poetic sayings) provided the ending refrain as a vibration to anchor us to the old ways as we navigate this new time. This song honors the magnificent creature - the record keeper, the double rainbow prophecy.

Mana Wahine is an offering of aloha in honor of the divine feminine, of the Grandmothers throughout time that lived and loved so that we could manifest in this realm in this time. A dedication to the mothers, sisters, beloveds, and dear friends who guide and walk with us on our journeys - to all mana wahine who show up and speak up to protect the rights of mother earth and all of the divine Goddesses of this land. She lifts this song from the depths of her womb and heart with love and deep reverence.

This song was written by Hāwane on the frontlines of the 2015 Protect Mauna Kea stand honoring the strength and resilience of all of the protectors who stood with courage in a, “firm commitment to what is pono - to what is just and true.” The words Kū Kiaʻi Mauna, meaning, to stand strong like the mountain and embody the protection of the mountain are repeated throughout the song with the intention to encourage and inspire. This is a tribute to the strength, courage, and resilience of all people who show up, stand up, and speak up to protect the sacred.

Itʻs Everything was written by Chelsey Dickson as a gift of poetry to Hāwanes mother Pua Case. Upon hearing the words in the form of song, Hāwane felt called to honor the genealogy of the mountain and the Goddesses of snow and water in the language of her people and wove them with Chelseyʻs beautiful expression of aloha. “Mauna Kea is everything we stand for.”