ABOUT US >

My name is Kaiya, and I am a 17-year old Okinawan-American high school student from Portland, Oregon. I recently went back to Henoko this spring because I was frustrated with the silence of the media around this crisis. 

 

I wanted to make a documentary to show the world what's happening. My documentary, "Our Island's Treasure," focuses on the current destruction of the beautiful Okinawan ocean in Henoko and the fight by native Uchinanchu people to protect it. Please help spread awareness.

 

In addition, as a youth member of the Global Uchinanchu Alliance, we organized our first National Week of Action for Henoko on 5/26 - 6/1 and will continue to call on collective action from within the U.S. The information on all of the action ideas are listed in detail on this website. Please join us and share with all of your networks. 

 

This is an emergency. Let's rise for Henoko!

© 2019 Created by Kaiya Yonamine.

ACTION IDEA #9:

SPREAD EDUCATION

Stay informed and share information on Henoko with others in your own community.

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Action #1: Write to teachers about Henoko and ask them to bring curriculum into the classroom.

  • TIME NEEDED FOR ACTION: 15 minutes 

  • DO:

    • Send a message, an email or a letter to teachers you know. Tell them about Henoko and Oura Bay. Ask them to teach about the ecosystem and the Uchinanchu people's fight  to protect the ocean. 

    • See example letter below by Adam Sanchez, Social Studies teacher in New York City.

    • Let teachers know that curriculum on Henoko will be available on Zinn Education Project website later this summer. Click here to see the Zinn Education Project website. 

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Action #2: Teachers: Please share ideas and stories of how you teach about Henoko from elementary through high school. 

  • TIME NEEDED FOR ACTION: 15 minutes 

  • DO:

    • Share ideas/photos/stories of your teaching on Henoko. Email uchinanchu888@gmail.com or message GUA members on any of the social media pages here. 

    • See example by Cory Bettinger, middle school Science teacher in Spain via Portland, Oregon. She writes to teachers about the need to teach about Henoko while sharing curriculum ideas.  

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Action #3: Get education. Stay informed. Spread the education to others.

  • TIME NEEDED FOR ACTION: 15 minutes 

  • DO:

    • Click here for this website's "News" tab. See the list of news articles we recommend for learning about Henoko. Read, share and spread.

    • Check back regularly on this website and Global Uchinanchu Alliance social media pages for news updates.

EXAMPLE LETTER to teachers by Adam Sanchez of New York City:

EXAMPLE LETTER to teachers by Cory Bettinger in Spain: