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Native Hawaiians (in Hawaiian, kānaka ōiwi or kānaka maoli) are the Polynesian peoples of the Hawaiian Islands who trace their ancestry back to Marquesan and possibly Tahitian settlers (starting circa 400 AD), before the arrival of British explorer Captain James Cook in 1778. According to the U.S. Census Bureau report for 2000, there are 476,000 people who identified themselves as being native Hawaiian, part native Hawaiian and mixed native Hawaiian. Most native Hawaiians are residents of the United States in California, the State of Hawaii, Nevada and Washington. Two-thirds live in the State of Hawaii while the other one-third is split among mainland states. Almost half of the mainland share of the population is in California. Native Hawaiian subgroups Identifying and classifying native Hawaiian subgroups has become a delicate issue among native Hawaiians. Different government agencies have different methods of classifying native Hawaiians. In general usage, however, this distinction is often ignored, with both capitalizations being used to describe the native Hawaiian population as a whole regardless of bloodline. Although Native Hawaiians are commonly identified as indigenous, and some claim they should have special benefits because of that identification,, there is some controversy regarding those claims and any special benefits such identification should include. Population At the time of Captain Cook's arrival, native Hawaiians may have numbered some 250,000 to 800,000; there has been much debate over such estimates. Over the span of the first century after first contact, the native Hawaiians were close to eradicated by new diseases introduced to the islands. Native Hawaiians did not have resistance to influenza, measles, and whooping cough, among others. The census of 1900 identified only 40,000 native Hawaiians. The census of 2000 identified 400,000 native Hawaiians, demonstrating a trend of dramatic growth since annexation by the U.S. in 1898. An Office of Hawaiian Affairs survey in 1984 reported that 61% of Native Hawaiians had less than 50% native Hawaiian blood. That same report indicated that only 8,244 pure blood native Hawaiians existed out of the 208,476 total native Hawaiians surveyed. Language The primary and often only language of native Hawaiians is the English language as a result of both the emphasis the Kingdom of Hawaii put on learning English, as well as over a century of being an integral part of the United States of America. Some native Hawaiians, as well as non-native Hawaiians have learned the native Hawaiian language as a second language. As with their neighbors and peers of other races, native Hawaiians also often speak Hawaiian Pidgin developed during Hawaii's plantation era in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The Hawaiian language has been promoted for revival most recently by a state program of cultural preservation enacted in 1978. Programs included the opening of Hawaiian language immersion schools and the establishment of a Hawaiian language department at the University of Hawai{{okina}}i Mānoa. As a result, Hawaiian language learning has climbed among all races in Hawaii. Education Native Hawaiians are completely integrated into American society and culture, and like all other children in Hawaii, they are publicly educated by the Hawaii State Department of Education, the largest and most centralized of the United States educational system. Hawaii is the only state without local community control of schools. Under the administration of Governor Benjamin J. Cayetano (D-HI) from 1994 to 2002, the state's educational system established special Hawaiian language immersion schools. In these schools, all subject courses are taught in the Hawaiian language and use native Hawaiian subject matter in curricula. These schools were created in the spirit of cultural preservation, and are not racially exclusive. Currently, these schools are challenged by the lack of any native speakers of the Hawaiian language and a dearth of educational materials in Hawaiian. Some native Hawaiians are educated by the Kamehameha Schools, established through the last will and testament of Bernice Pauahi Bishop, a princess of the Kamehameha Dynasty. The largest and wealthiest private school in the United States, Kamehameha Schools was intended to benefit indigents and orphans, with preference given to native Hawaiians. Bishop feared that without education native Hawaiians would be at a disadvantage. Since the late 1990s, Kamehameha Schools has been facing several high profile legal battles. One involved the choice and payment of trustees. Another concerned the admission of non-Hawaiians to the school. A few non-Hawaiians have sued for admission, claiming that the last will and testament of Bernice Pauahi Bishop has been misinterpreted, and the policies of race-based admissions are discriminatory and should be struck down. As with children of all other racial backgrounds in Hawaii, some native Hawaiians are educated by the most prominent private academies in Hawaii. They include: Punahou School, Kamehameha Schools and Iolani School which was established by Anglican missionaries. Culture & arts Native Hawaiians and community allies have established several cultural preservation societies and organizations over the course of the twentieth century. The largest of those institutions is the Hawaii State Museum of Natural and Cultural History, established in 1988 and is administered by the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum. It houses the largest collection of native Hawaiian artifacts, documents and other information available for educational use. Most are held for preservation alone. The repository has established links with all the major colleges and universities throughout the world to facilitate research. Celebrations History The history of native Hawaiians and of Hawaii in general are classified into four major periods: antiquity, monarchy, territorial and statehood. Click on the following links to read relevant historical articles covering native Hawaiians: Hawaiiana revival Native Hawaiian culture saw a revival in recent years as an outgrowth of decisions made at the 1978 Hawaii State Constitutional Convention, held exactly 200 years after the arrival of Captain Cook. At the convention, the Hawaii state government committed itself to a progressive study and preservation of native Hawaiian culture, history and language. A comprehensive Hawaiian culture curriculum was introduced into the State of Hawaii's public elementary schools teaching: ancient Hawaiian art, lifestyle, geography, hula and Hawaiian language vocabulary. Intermediate and high schools were mandated to impose two sets of Hawaiian history curricula on every candidate for graduation. Statutes and charter amendments were passed acknowledging a policy of preference for Hawaiian place and street names. For example, with the closure of Barbers Point Naval Air Station in the 1990s, the region formerly occupied by the base was renamed Kalaeloa. Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) Another important outgrowth of the 1978 Hawaii State Constitutional Convention was the establishment of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, more popularly known as OHA. Delegates that included future Hawaii political stars Benjamin J. Cayetano, John D. Waihee III and Jeremy Harris enacted measures intended to "right" injustices allegedly inflicted upon native Hawaiians since the fall of the monarchy of the Kingdom of Hawaii. OHA was established as a trust, administered with a mandate to better the conditions of both native Hawaiians and the Hawaiian community in general. OHA was given control over certain public lands, and continues to expand its land-holdings to this day (most recently with Waimea Valley, previously Waimea Falls Park). OHA is a semi-autonomous government body administered by a nine-member board of trustees, elected by the people of the State of Hawaii through popular suffrage. Originally, trustees and the people eligible to vote for trustees were restricted to native Hawaiians. Rice V. Cayetano reached the United States Supreme Court suing the Cayetano Administration to allow non-Hawaiians to sit on the board of trustees and for non-Hawaiians to be allowed to vote in trustee elections. Justices ruled in favor of Rice on 23 February 2000 forcing OHA to open its elections to all residents of the State of Hawaii regardless of ethnicity. Native American Programs Act In 1974, the Native American Programs Act was amended to include native Hawaiians. This paved the way for native Hawaiians to become eligible for some, but not all, federal assistance programs originally meant only for Native Americans. Today, Title 45 CFR Part 1336.62 defines a Native Hawaiian as "an individual any of whose ancestors were natives of the area which consists of the Hawaiian Islands prior to 1778." There is some controversy as to whether or not native Hawaiians should be considered in the same light as Native Americans: United States apology resolution On 23 November 1993, U.S. President Bill Clinton signed United States Public Law 103-150 also known as the Apology Resolution which had previously passed Congress. The document officially apologized for the alleged role the United States played in the overthrow of Queen Liliuokalani. It was authored by Davianna McGregor, and represents the historical beliefs of many native Hawaiian sovereignty activists. Washington-based constitutional lawyer and Grassroot Institute consultant Bruce Fein has outlined a number of counterarguments disputing the historical accuracy and completeness of the assertions made in the Apology Resolution. Akaka Bill In the early 2000s, the Congressional delegation of the State of Hawaii introduced the Native Hawaiian Federal Recognition Bill named after U.S. Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI). The Akaka Bill would establish the process of recognizing and forming a native Hawaiian government entity to negotiate with state and federal governments. The significance of the bill is that it would establish, for the first time ever in the history of the islands, a political and legal relationship between a native Hawaiian entity and the federal government. This native Hawaiian entity would be a newly created one without any historical precedent in the islands or direct institutional continuity with previous political entities (unlike many native American Indian groups, for example). This bill came under significant scrutiny by the Bush Administration's Department of Justice as well as the United States Senate Judiciary Committee. The political context surrounding the Akaka Bill is both controversial and complex. Proponents, who consider the legislation an acknowledgement and (partial) correction of past injustices, include Hawaii's Congressional delegation as well as the current Republican Governor Linda Lingle. Opponents include the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights who question the constitutionality of creating race-based governments, libertarian activists who challenge the historical accuracy of any claims of injustice, and other native Hawaiian sovereignty activists who feel the legislation would thwart their hopes for complete independence from the United States. The degree of public support within the State of Hawaii for the Akaka Bill is unclear. A poll commissioned in 2005 by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs showed that 68 percent of Hawaii residents support the bill, 17 percent do not support it and 15 percent refused to answer or had no opinion. However, a poll conducted earlier that year by the libertarian think tank The Grassroots Institute indicated that 67% of Hawaii residents were against the Akaka bill. It has been speculated that the phrasing of the questions asked in both of the respective polls influenced the results, and so no definitive survey to determine levels of public support has yet been carried out in Hawaii. Notable native Hawaiians See List of Native Hawaiians See also Further reading | |||||||
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