Our Island’s Treasure, a documentary by 17-year-old Kaiya Yonamine, tells the story of activists fighting to preserve the environment and sovereignty of Okinawa.
As Japanese riot police dragged stubborn protesters from the road, Kaiya used her phone to broadcast the repression online. She asked the elders how she could help and says they told her, “Tell people what’s happening.” Despiteto building this base in Henoko, the Japanese government sides with the U.S. in supporting the project, and activists feel the issue is widely overlooked outside of Okinawa.
Watching “inhumane” arrests at the sit-in “was the moment that really broke my heart,” Kaiya recalls. “I knew what was going on, but actually being there made me almost break down. I couldn’t just fly back to Oregon and act like I didn’t watch all that happen to my relatives.” She remembers thinking, If the media isn’t going to do anything, then why don’t I become the media?, seeking advice about who to interview for a documentary about Henoko.
The film’s name comes from what Kaiya says is a well-known Okinawan nickname for the sea. Since Kaiya completed thein mid-2019, it’s been screened in Honolulu, Chicago, Oakland, San Francisco, and Portland.
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