The water cultures of Japan, Okinawa, Hawaii and the Pacific Northwest are woven together in me.

I think a lot about how water influences my identity. My ancestors emigrated from Okinawa to Hawaii, from one tropical island in the Pacific Ocean to another. Eventually my father crossed the Pacific again to settle in Seattle. The waterways of the Pacific Northwest have been the backdrop of my life; but, these waterways have been altered, polluted, commodified and dishonored by colonizing white folks. Thinking about water as part of my identity means reflecting on my obligations to water, at all stages of its cycle.