That banyan tree

Its colonial roots, and the paradoxical Native resilience it symbolizes.

Indigenous Wire’s children on Lahaina’s famous Banyan Tree circa 2017. Credit: Rob Capriccioso

Lahaina has burned. Dozens are dead. The Hawaiian islands are in mourning.

The Great Banyan Tree, scarred and scorched, stands. For now, at least.

Heralded as one of the oldest such trees in the U.S., it symbolizes hope to Native Hawaiians and non-Natives alike.

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