To protect a bay from a tidal wave, you build a breakwall. To protect a species, you put a kapu on killing it. But there is only one way to protect a place. You sit your `ōkole down and stay there.
-- Narrator (Verse I (Ch. 1-6))

Importance: The power of ownership over a space—one expressed succinctly here by the novel's narrator—is a concept that is played with throughout the novel's exploration of colonialism and resistance to it. In this case, the narrator speaks to the significance of holding on to land ownership within the Hilo community, a concern that eventually comes to bear upon Hi`i when she realizes that her grandmother, Hulali, is fearful that her lack of Hawaiian blood will result in the government reclaiming the Naupaka land should Hi`i ever inherit it.

Knowledge will die if not passed on.
-- Ulu (Verse I (Ch. 1-6))

Importance: This nugget of wisdom, passed down by Ulu, an elder in...