Jennifer Epley Sanders is a professor of political science and previous chair of the Council of Principal Investigators and Research Administrators at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.
Rhiannon Stanford is a licensed acupuncturist and herbalist specializing in women’s health issues, pain management, and internal medicine.
The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the policies or positions of the Pacific Islands Development Program or the East-West Center.
Featured photo courtesy
LaurentSchmidt via Pixabay.
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Case Study Context
In early August 2023, multiple fires broke out in Maui, Hawaiʻi. The devastation was substantial by every measure. The scale of loss was a human, environmental, social, and economic tragedy. Domestic and international news agencies, as well as a wide range of social media accounts, reported the details during and after the disaster. Formal informational resources include organizations such as Maui Nui Strong and Maui Recovers, the Maui Police Department’s “Preliminary After-Action Report” (2024), the Hawaiʻi Department of the Attorney General’s news releases (2024), a Wikipedia article titled “2023 Hawaii wildfires” (2024), the Hawaiʻi Emergency Management Agency webpage titled “August 2023 Wildfires” (2024), and the NBC News page titled “Maui Wildfires” (2024).
This essay reflects on the dynamics of trust in Maui to show how trust is a tool and asset for disaster response. While volunteering in Maui, we observed local Indigenous leadership and networks leverage trust and function at high efficiency to help their communities. At the same time, we observed certain government entities and relief organizations operating less efficiently due to low trust, lack of trust, mistrust, or distrust with the communities that they tried to serve. To prevent or minimize future inefficiencies, this essay recommends an inclusive and integrated disaster response model that centers trust for use in Hawaiʻi, the Pacific Islands region, and elsewhere.
Our reflections and recommendations are based on our observations while volunteering in Maui in late August 2023 combined with our respective professional and personal credentials. Motivated by our kinship and cultural ties, along with seeing a need for our specific expertise and experience, we went to Maui to help the helpers and follow the guidance of local leaders. It was not our intention to write a research report. While volunteering, local elders suggested that we write about Maui for educational, representational, and recording purposes.
Trust: Concepts and Consequences
“Trust” means “to rely on the truthfulness or accuracy of” somebody/something, “to hope or expect confidently,” and “to commit or place in one’s care or keeping” (Merriam-Webster 2024). Trust can be subjective and variable based on different worldviews and resources. Trust can be earned, broken, or repaired.
Throughout the disaster management cycle of prevention or mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery, trust has three main benefits: (1) Trust enables action even when faced with a lack of resources, (2) Trust helps maintain momentum despite uncertainty, and (3) Trust facilitates successful collaboration despite differences within or across identity groups. The nuances of such benefits can be found in a literature review by Bonfanti et al. (2024). Conversely, low trust, lack of trust, mistrust, and distrust can result in conflict, delay, inefficiency, and inaction.
Our general observations in Maui were that trust in one’s self and spirituality, in immediate and close relationships, and within local communities were present and optimized. This trust is inherent in the Indigenous Hawaiian practice of kuleana (a belief in responsibility to others, to the community, and to the environment). We observed that trust between certain government entities, relief organizations, and local communities was varied and suboptimal. Unfortunately, there were breakdowns and challenges for communication, coordination, and distribution. Many groups worked in silos, which made for redundancy, misallocated resources, and surpluses.
Contemporary questions, concerns, and problems with trust typically have historical roots. In the case of Maui, pre-existing disputes about water rights and land management not only significantly increased the risk of widespread fires, but also created a scenario in which there would be all sorts of disconnect and disagreement between different stakeholder groups for disaster response efforts.
Recommendations
There are existing disaster response models where trust is recognized and practiced as a tool and asset. We observed that Indigenous models in specific are relevant, resilient, dependable, adaptive, and sustainable. When stakeholders mutually understand, value, and implement kuleana, it is much easier and more effective to communicate, coordinate, and distribute. Kuleana is related to trust in kūpuna (grandparents and ancestors) and kahuna (experts in communities).
One prime high-profile model that centers trust is that of Uncle Archie Kalepa. Kalepa is a trusted leader in Maui and globally. In the immediate aftermath of the disaster, Kalepa’s trustworthy reputation and relationships facilitated communications within and between local groups, coordination of in-person and online volunteers from around the world, and the distribution of valuable resources. Kalepa’s team consulted with local elders for decision-making to ensure that their efforts were in spiritual alignment and relevance to the people every step of the way. In networking with other groups, everyone consistently operated from a strengths-based position. Every community-led hub we visited shared similar features and processes as the Kalepa model but with distinct adaptations as needed.
In anticipation of future local, regional, and international problems, especially concerning climate change, we recommend that stakeholders follow the lead of Indigenous models and Indigenous leadership. A disaster response model that centers trust has an inclusive vision and integrated voices. Our suggested steps follow below:
- Foster early and continuous communications and collaborations between stakeholder groups at all levels and at every stage of the disaster management cycle. Acknowledge and incorporate the strength and validity of Indigenous models at the beginning of and during collaborations.
- Respect the diversity of cultures and actively seek to have multiple voices represented, especially from local Indigenous leadership and networks, when creating short-term and long-term plans. There must be contextual and historical awareness and appreciation for diverse communities.
- Understand the possibility and necessity of being “invited in,” “stepping back,” and ongoing evaluations of trust. Scaffolding, proving, familiarity, and repairing are vital here.
- Do not assume that “outside” paradigms and frameworks are always the right approach. For outsiders, this looks like asking “How can we best help you?” rather than imposing or force fitting a strict framework and procedures. Adopt the humble attitude of a guest.
- Avoid perceptions and practices that involve the “performance” of help, “saving people,” “disaster tourism,” and pathologizing victimhood.
- Curate, combine, and consolidate what went “right” in other disaster response contexts to replicate best practices from the past.
- Build flexibility into existing bureaucracies to enable everybody from all backgrounds to assist in times of crisis.
- Identify and support liaisons between stakeholder groups. These liaisons need to be from local communities. Liaisons from outside communities are possible, but those liaisons need to have a mix of cultural, historical, political, and institutional knowledge, experiences, and training to serve appropriately and honorably.
Hawaiian Indigenous leadership and disaster response models are proven and have been effective since pre-colonization times because of the emphasis on kuleana and the effectiveness of kūpuna and kahuna leadership. Within the fabric of kuleana, we saw time and time again that asking is okay/good and that trust meant that community members would hear and respond to the request to the best of their abilities. During and after the fires in Maui, Indigenous leaders and models demonstrated kuleana and trust, which fundamentally supported disaster response processes and efficiency at every level, and in turn considerably improved outcomes.
From this gifted experience, we took away with us a deep sense of gratitude, hope, and resilience for the people of Maui and Indigenous Hawaiians as a whole. We trust in the power of kuleana to educate the world moving forward.