Melissa Chimera

The Hawaiian hāhā, or Lobelia gloria-montis flower is native to Moloka‘i and Maui and found only in the highest mountain bogs. The artist stitches ‘ōhi‘a lehua and kokio ke‘oke‘o (white hibiscus) in burned silk. Mauna Kahalawai is the West Maui mountains, and the source of indigenous wealth expressed as the abundance of water or waiwai, a prized resource by Hawaiian chiefs and people of the land. Today, the West Maui aquifer which is fed by many of the Mauna Kahalawai streams now supports the developments of Lāhaina, Ka‘anapali, and Makena. The struggle over water is at the heart of Hawaiian land battles especially among subsistence farmers fighting to return water to their traditional agricultural systems.