Medic Campaign: Movement Medicine Training

Haleakalā a Piko of Movement Medicine

In June 2015, hundreds of Kiaʻi mobilized to Haleakalā to oppose construction of the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST). We traveled to the mountain and participated in direct action blockades to defend Haleakalā, cultural practice, and Hawaiian Ea.

During these actions, one of our Kiaʻi experienced severe police violence, was rendered unconscious, and left without adequate medical support. For Kanaka and our comrades, witnessing this violence changed our understanding of movement ecology. We realized that Kiaʻi who placed ourselves on the frontlines in defense of ʻāina could not rely upon the occupying State to ensure our safety and wellbeing.

We began asking ourselves: If our Kiaʻi are willing to protect the land, who will protect us?

We answered that question by carrying a new kuleana. We began organizing ourselves to provide first aid, emergency care, wellness support, and safety for people engaged in struggle. We learned from one another, gathered supplies, and started building the relationships and skills necessary to care for our own Lāhui. What began as a healer response to medical needs on Haleakalā became one of the foundational Piko of Movement Medicine in Hawaii.

Haleakalā taught us that movements require their own infrastructures for healing. The experiences on the mountain planted the seeds of a movement medic tradition that continued to grow through subsequent struggles and disasters across Hawaiʻi.

The knowledge, relationships, and practices we developed from Haleakalā traveled to Puʻuhonua o Puʻuhuluhulu on Mauna Kea in 2019, where volunteer medics provided care for thousands of Kiaʻi. Those experiences informed our community responses during the Lahaina wildfires, our support for houseless communities experiencing repeated displacement at ʻAmala and Ukumehame.

The fight to protect Haleakalā has not ended. As we organize to resist the construction of the Amos Starr Telescope, we are preparing to plant the next generation of Movement Medics on Maui. Plant with us.

Call for Kōkua: Planting the Piko of Movement Medics

Our Movement Medic Training Program grows from a decade of community experiences that began on Haleakalā in 2015 and continued through Mauna Kea, Lahaina, support for houseless communities at ʻAmala and Ukumehame, and responses to the Kona Low floods. Again and again, our communities have encountered violence, disaster, displacement, and emergencies that demanded organized networks of care and response.

To strengthen and expand this tradition of community care, Maui Medic Healers Hui seeks to plant the piko a new generation of Movement Medics who are trained to provide frontline medical support during future moments of community crisis, mobilization, and collective action.

Funds raised through the Haleakalā 2026 campaign will support participant scholarships and accessibility needs, instructor and training costs, medical equipment and protective supplies, communications and deployment materials, and healing justice education. These investments will allow our movement medics to gain practical skills in protest medicine, trauma response, crowd safety, de-escalation, environmental and chemical exposure care, communications, and coordinated emergency response.

Through this campaign, Maui Medic Healers Hui seeks to build a durable network of trained Movement Medics prepared to support communities during demonstrations, disasters, land defense efforts, houseless outreach, and other emergencies requiring organized community care.

As medics with over a decade of commitment to movement medicine, we know that when Kiaʻi place ourselves on the frontlines to protect one another, trained healers and responders should stand with and beside them. By investing in Movement Medicine, donors help ensure that our communities possess the skills, relationships, and resources necessary to care for one another when crisis emerges.

YOUR DONATION SUPPORTS:

Participant Scholarships — $7,000 

10 participants receive $750 stipend to be able to attend training 

Financially disadvantaged and historically marginalized trainees will be prioritized

Training Materials & Certification Fees — $1000

Printed Manuals/Scenario Materials

CPR Certifications/Stop the Bleed Certifications

Riot Medic Kits/Medical Supplies — $1500

Medic Backpacks/Organizer Pouches/Basic Field Equipment

Trauma and Medical Supplies

A donation of $40 or higher will get you a limited edition Haleakala Maui Medic Healers Hui patch 

(please include your mailing address when you donate!). 

Every contribution helps us to plant and cultivate the piko of the next generation of Movement Medics on Maui.

WAYS TO GIVE:

🌱 One time: Every dollar counts!

🌱 Sustain: Become a sustaining donor with monthly or yearly recurring donations.

🌱 Mail a check:

• Checks can be made out to Maui Grassroots Collective (our Fiscal Sponsor) with Maui Medic Healers Hui in the memo line.

• Mail checks to:

  • Maui Grassroots Collective (Attn: Maui Medic Healers Hui)
    415 Dairy Road, Suite E, #616
    Kahului, Hawaii 96732

Donations are administered by our fiscal partner, Maui Grassroots Collective. You will see “Maui Grassroots Collective” on your statement.