Hawai’i’s Mākua Valley on O’ahu’s western shore is revered for more than just its scenic beauty: for some Native Hawaiians, Mākua is the birthplace of all mankind. But for nearly 80 years, this sacred island enclave has been under a U.S. military occupation that has restricted the community’s access to the land, desecrated its cultural sites, and destroyed sensitive ecological habitat with wildfires, bombs, and bullets.
Now — after Earthjustice took the Army to court several times on behalf of community advocates starting in 1998 followed by nearly two decades of foot dragging by the military — the U.S. Army has finally announced it will formally end live-fire training in Makua Valley.
The announcement is a landmark, hard-fought victory for Mālama Mākua, a Native Hawaiian-lead community advocacy organization that sued the Army 25 years ago to end its destructive…
Read the full article originally published at earthjustice.org.