A US indigenous leader predicts no matter who wins the presidential election — Kamala Harris or Donald Trump — it will end badly for everyone.

As the US presidential election draws near, Te Ao Maōri News talked to community organiser Joy Enomoto about the effects of the election on Kanaka Maoli.

“If Harris gets into office, the first black Indian woman in American history, there’s going to be violence. If Trump gets into office, there’s going to be riots, there’s going to be uprisings,” Enomoto said.

In the last US presidential election, Trump supporters stormed Congress in a bid to interfere with now-President Joe Biden’s election.

Trump denies having any part in inciting the riot that followed despite delivering a speech telling his supporters in Washington DC: “We fight. We fight like hell and, if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore. So let’s walk down Pennsylvania Avenue.”

Militarisation of Hawaii

Enomoto said the US was evolving into a fascist and heavily militarised police state, highlighting the growing military presence in Hawaii.

“There is already a tremendous shift to build up in the Pacific via Hawai’i. We see that happening and there’s only going to be more money going into that. It really doesn’t matter who’s in office.”

The kingdom of Hawaii was invaded by the US in 1893 and its monarchy overthrown. The islands have stayed under US control since, with several large military bases and more than 250,000 military personnel and their families.

Hawaiian academic Dr Emalani Case told Te Ao Māori news people had to deal with military harm, damage to their people and environment for over 100 years.

“The ships just sink and they leave them there. So there are toxins leaking out into our ocean.”

An example of military activity in Hawaii is SINKEX, an event during Rimpac where various navies fire ammunition at decommissioned ships off the coast of Kauai island.

Enomoto said there was a lack of diverse perspectives within the US government.

“It’s not really a choice in the sense, you know, like people don’t appreciate how interesting a parliamentary system is.

“You can have multiple parties. They can oppose each other. You can have multiple thought. There really isn’t that much diversity of thought within the US government.”

Trump ‘tremendous’ threat to people of colour

She said the former president’s administration dismantled numerous protections for working-class individuals.

“Trump is a nightmare. When he was in office the first time, so many things, so many protections were gutted for working class people ... He absolutely hates Hawaii.”

After taking office in 2016, Trump implemented his travel ban policy restricting entry into the US from several predominantly Muslim countries.

Hawaii was one of several states that challenged the ban, filing lawsuits during the first executive order of the policy in early 2017.

CNN reported a Hawaiian Judge Derrick Watson blocked Trump’s revised travel ban a day out from it taking effect, saying it “plainly discriminates based on nationality.”

Harris isn’t any better according to Enomoto.

“We have Harris, who basically is just more articulate but we forget that she was a cop. She’s also very pro-Zionist. She’s also providing that money to support an entity that’s causing genocide.”

President Biden’s $95 billion security package in military aid for Israel and Gaza could have been better used to shore up FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency), Enomoto said.

In August protestors interrupted a speech by Harris with chants of “Kamala, you can’t hide! We won’t vote for genocide!”

“If you want Donald Trump to win, then say that. Otherwise I’m speaking,” Harris told the protestors.

Te Ao Māori News interviewed public educator Alex Wilson, a black abolitionist (abolitionists believe slavery still exists in various or reduced forms), who said that many hoped Kamala Harris would be a catalyst for positive change because of her identity as a person of colour.

However, Wilson argued that it didn’t matter what someone looked like if they supported imperialism or war; their actions and policies were what truly mattered.

“I think the genocide is a line in the sand for a lot of people. A lot of people look at her history as a prosecutor and do not feel too proud or motivated that she will be some amazing champion of change for America.”

‘I definitely see the U.S imploding’

Enomoto hopes Kanaka Maoli can reclaim their lands and govern it themselves.

“The US is collapsing and it’s going out in a desperate way and in that we have to be prepared to govern.

“We are able to protect our islands enough to be able to one day really reclaim, get that land back, but really govern that land again. Heal it and repair it and to build enough power to be able to hold it.”

She advocates for becoming a neutral nation like Switzerland, Ireland or Austria.

“This idea that diplomacy and democracy is somehow not a possibility, that militarism is the only solution. Strength comes in diplomacy, it does not come in causing wars.”

“It’s time now for the Crown to do the right thing, honour its clear legal duty and enable us, finally, to turn our energy to the opportunity and healing that this resolution offers for our region.”