AMERICAN SCENE: Return of the Natives to Kahoolawe

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Eerie Melodies. Many Hawaiians recognize the economic importance of the Navy to the islands, but still sympathize with the protesters. This was evident last week at the sentencing in Honolulu of four men and one woman who had been arrested during an expedition to Kahoolawe in February. More than 100 spectators showed up in traditional sarongs and loincloths. Judge Samuel King, part Polynesian himself, made his sympathies clear: "The defendants see themselves as popular heroes engaged in a holy crusade for the future." He added, however, that "the time for fun and games is over." He sentenced the defendants to fines of $250 and jail terms of up to two months and ordered them not to set foot on Kahoolawe for two years. Afterward, some of the people in the courtroom blew on conch shells, producing eerie Polynesian melodies of the wind and sea—a bittersweet reminder of the heritage that many Hawaiians fear they have lost forever.