Growing up in Hawai‘i shaped how Patsy Mink thought about the world around her. She once wrote to a colleague, “I feel the people of Hawaii clearly recognize the importance and value of our natural resources.” ¹ In a newsletter, she further explained the significance of living on an island. “Those who have lived in an island environment where the interaction of the elements is perhaps more readily apparent than elsewhere, have a greater awareness of the interdependence of man and his surroundings.” ²

Patsy Mink’s upbringing and worldview shaped her commitment to environmental justice, which included achieving clean, healthy surroundings for communities. Environmental justice advocates recognize that certain communities, such as Indigenous peoples, people of color, or people living in poverty, tend to be disproportionately impacted by environmental hazards. These communities tend to live and work close to pollution, toxic wastes, pesticides, and extreme weather. To achieve environmental justice, these communities must be a part of the solution.

In this module, we will learn about the connections between settler colonialism and environmental justice from a Pacific World perspective. Specifically, we focus on the fight to stop US military weapons testing on a sacred Hawaiian island, and how Patsy Mink leveraged her position in Congress to support Indigenous activists for this cause.