Raising Kō: Native Hawaiian cropscapes of sugarcane

This slender volume packs quite a punch. Noenoe K. Silva observes that “one of the most persistent and pernicious myths of Hawaiian history is that the Kanaka Maoli (native Hawaiians) passively accepted the erosion of their culture and the loss of their nation” (p. 1). The author argues forcefully that, to the contrary, Hawaiians offered spirited resistance to cultural, social, political, and economic colonization by Americans and other westerners. A revised dissertation, this study relies heavily on careful readings of Hawaiian-language newspapers and other Hawaiian-language sources to drive home this point. Covering the time from Capt. James Cook's “discovery” of the Hawaiian Islands in 1778 through the annexation of the islands by the United States in 1898, Silva's work argues that native Hawaiians simultaneously “consciously and continuously organized and directed their energies to preserving the independence of their country” and labored for “the perpetuation of their native language and culture” (p. 13). In her first two chapters, Silva discusses how native Hawaiians viewed Captain Cook, how they tried to maintain control over their political system and land in the face of western onslaughts in the early- and mid-1800s, and how some expressed themselves through the first Hawaiian-language newspaper free of missionary influence in the early 1860s. In her third chapter, Silva tells the better-known story of how King Kalakaua sought to reestablish Hawaiian culture and political authority during the 1870s and 1880s. Particularly valuable are her discussions of the transcription of the Kumulipo (an Hawaiian cosmological chant/ prayer), the publication of many mele (chants), and the performance of the hula. Silva's final two chapters examine how organized groups of native Hawaiians opposed the formation of the Republic of Hawai'i and its takeover by the United States. Resistance, Silva maintains, was broad and deep, involving thousands of commoners and nobles. Petitions against annexation in 1897 garnered 38,000 signatures, at a time when only 40,000 native Hawaiians remained in the islands. Even allowing for some overlap of names on the petitions, this was an impressive showing. Silva closes by tracing the varied efforts that Queen Lili'uokalani made to reestablish her kingdom until her death in 1917.

ABSTRACTIndigenous knowledge is a multilayered knowledge system that can inform contemporary management in both natural observations and cultural value. Centuries old observations preserved within song, chant, and story has been globally recognized as a resource to integrate with conservation efforts for endangered species. In the case of the endemic land snails, kāhuli, of the Hawaiian archipelago, there is a prominent cultural presence preserved in oral tradition and written records in 19th and early 20th century’s Hawaiian language newspapers. As we witness the dramatic decimation of one of the greatest models of species radiation, the unveiling of the repositories of indigenous knowledge is crucial for conservation of these endemic land snails. This paper reports on indigenous knowledge that informs about the cultural significance (i.e., poetic device, metaphorical role, importance to hula) and ecology of kāhuli, and how indigenous knowledge can contribute to conservation efforts of rare and endangered species.

A river is like a mirror: it reflects the care given by people whose lives depend upon it. A scald on red ground or the slow death of a river reveals more than troubled ecological relationships – they are signs of broken social relationships. How people take care of social relationships and how they take care of ecological relationships are the same question. In this paper we emphasise the importance that Aboriginal people place on social relationships for good ecological relationships. In the past few decades natural resource managers have sought Indigenous knowledge relevant to Western ideas of environment, and in doing so, created distinctions between ‘ecological’ and ‘social’ knowledge – this is an artificial ‘white-fella’ separation. Additionally, Indigenous knowledge has been treated as if it were a static archive that need only be extracted and applied to resource development and planning. Instead it is dynamic, adaptive and contextual. As a consequence of compartmentalisation and the assumption of timelessness, the importance of social relationships in ecological relationships has been overlooked. Some research has explored similarities between Indigenous knowledge and the Western concept of adaptive management, and raised the possibility of synergy between them. We agree there are possible connections and opportunities for exchange and further learning between Indigenous knowledge and ecological resilience and adaptive management. However, Indigenous knowledge and Western science belong to different world views. An important task is to explore ways of grappling with this ontological challenge. We suggest a conceptual turn around that we believe could assist in opening a dialogue as well as creating a set of foundational principles for robust ecological and social relationships.

As the indigenous people of an island chain in the middle of the moananuiākea (the expansive ocean) surrounded by coral reefs, Native Hawaiians have profound ancestral and spiritual connections to the coral. These connections between Hawaiians and coral manifests themselves in a multitude of diverse and pragmatic ways. Yet, the primary Hawaiian wisdom information is accessed and shared through chants, dance, and other daily activities as well as such immemorial forms as dreams and thoughts. Elements of the natural world are described as having intimate kin relations to the Hawaiian people as ancestral akua, or deities. The coral is no exception. Hawaiian people consider coral to be an akua, that provides birth and death to both the people and the islands, possessing much mana, the essence of spirituality. Corals are considered the beginning of life, and are thus the most ancient ancestors of all living things in Hawai‘i. In this paper, we use oral tradition, material culture, and indigenous ecological knowledge to present some of the most salient cultural symbolisms and pragmatic uses given to corals in Hawai’i. Our main objective is to use local perspectives and narratives to emphasize the biocultural, spiritual ecological, and, social relevance of coral to the Native Hawaiian people.

The relationship between the kanaka maoli people of the traditional kingdoms of the Hawaiian Islands and Captain James Cook and his crew is interpreted in the context of a theory of gift exchange. It is argued that interpretations of kanaka maoli behaviour based on an implicit assumption that social relations were structured primarily by property rights leads to error. Instead, sense can be made of kanaka maoli behaviour only if a logic based on rights of person is taken into account.

There is a recognized need by educators to increase interest in the sciences among underrepresented minority groups, and thus increase the number of minorities (including indigenous peoples) going into geoscience-related professions. For example, populations on Pacific islands are one of the most vulnerable to climate change; yet they often lack the “in-house” scientific expertise to monitor their local environments. We believe that the weaving of Western science ideals with traditional knowledge through a culturally appropriate curriculum can be a highly effective way to convey Earth system science topics to indigenous peoples, such as Native Hawaiians. We developed a curriculum which emphasized the integration of traditional knowledge, geospatial technologies, and Earth system science. The resulting summer institute course, Kaha Ki‘i ‘Aina, was ranked highly by the Native Hawaiian students. Further integration of traditional knowledge with Western science in the curriculum should create a pathway to attract more indigenous peoples, like the Native Hawaiians, into the geosciences.

Too long Western society has viewed its global interactions with others from its own narrative or point of view. The Western world-view has played a key role in the social, economic, and political development of many societies and cultures, including those of Native Hawaiians. But Native Hawaiians, as with other Indigenous Peoples, had a society and a culture before Western contact. From ancient traditions to modern developments, Native Hawaiians have preserved, protected, and passed down their traditional knowledge and cultural heritage in spite of Western interests seeking to harness that knowledge and culture and the valuable information that flows from them. Such action by Western interests demonstrates the importance of knowledge and information to both Westerners and Native Hawaiians. This shared interest in information and knowledge has fueled tensions between Western interests and Indigenous Peoples. More specifically, the desire for knowledge and information has created a proprietary question that is not easily resolved. Another layer of complexity is added to the question by the existence of Western-centric intellectual property laws meant to protect proprietary interests in knowledge and information. In this age of information, intellectual property ownership shapes America's regional, domestic, and foreign policies related to knowledge and information acquisition and use. Western intellectual property laws dominate the global landscape in this proprietary era and thereby threaten to dominate Native Hawaiian traditional knowledge and cultural heritage. In a normative sense, the Western-centric intellectual property laws, which promote exclusivity and result in the commodification of Native Hawaiian traditional knowledge and cultural heritage, is neither appropriate nor optimal for all involved.

The purpose of this literature review is to provide an overview of Hawaiian education, its history, sources, and players. A certain narrative emerges through this review about what happens when conventional Western education systems are confronted by educational leadership powered by a distinctly indigenous culture, language, and knowledge system with its own epistemologies, reasoning, and logic. The narrative highlights the champions that have advocated for seeing Native Hawaiian knowledge systems as a pathway to educational transformation. Through this struggle, the relationships built over time have begun to produce systemic change. Thinking and learning in Native Hawaiian ways and in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language) are slowly being integrated into the fabric of Hawaii’s pre-Kindergarten to Grade 12 schools and post-secondary institutions. Yet, as the millennium progresses, Native Hawaiians continue to be among the most marginalized populations in Hawaiʻi, indicating there is still much work ahead. The scholarship presented in this review traces a path of progress rooted in the great body and depth of Native Hawaiian knowledge. Admittedly, as collector-authors of this review, it was not possible to include a complete inventory of research and scholarship. Instead, we offer a select overview of an expanding field of knowledge generated by Native Hawaiian scholars and their allies, positioned here as a critical foundation upon which we continue to build. We begin with a set of references from a Native Hawaiian worldview that anchor educational approaches in our communities in the 21st century. Several sections on education in historical and social context follow, in addition to resources exploring pedagogy, praxis, culture-based education, research methodologies, and assessment. Also included are online sources and several university and legacy publishing organizations that produce resources in Hawaiian education.

Abstract: Place-based education that incorporates traditional ecological knowledge is a potential source of psychological and emotional well-being for indigenous youth. Our research explores the connection between place-based cultural education and well-being among Native Hawaiian youth as they engage in restoring a royal Native Hawaiian fishpond, Loko Iʻa Pāʻaiau. We collected data from ten Native Hawaiian high school participants over six months including survey measures, pre- and post-on emotions and values after each weekly session at the fishpond, as well as pre-and post- focus group sessions. The quantitative data revealed gains in positive emotions and mental states, with happiness and focus being the most salient. Phenomenological coding of the qualitative results revealed five overarching themes in the values-emotion interface: 1) valuing the importance of Pāʻaiau; 2) valuing kuleana (reciprocal responsibility) and feeling a sense of accomplishment; 3) valuing sacred land and cultivating humility; 4) valuing and strengthening 'ohana (family) and feeling sense of belonging; and 5) valuing Pāʻaiau as a healing place and feeling peaceful and happy. Findings support providing Indigenous youth, especially Native Hawaiians, with place-based traditional ecological knowledge and biocultural opportunities to promote well-being, character, and identity development.

Hawaiian coastal wetlands provide important habitat for federally endangered waterbirds and socio-cultural resources for Native Hawaiians. Currently, Hawaiian coastal wetlands are degraded by development, sedimentation, and invasive species and, thus, require restoration. Little is known about their original structure and function due to the large-scale alteration of the lowland landscape since European contact. Here, we used 1) rapid field assessments of hydrology, vegetation, soils, and birds, 2) a comprehensive analysis of endangered bird habitat value, 3) site spatial characteristics, 4) sea-level rise projections for 2050 and 2100 and wetland migration potential, and 5) preferences of the Native Hawaiian community in a GIS site suitability analysis to prioritize restoration of coastal wetlands on the island of Molokaʻi. The site suitability analysis is the first, to our knowledge, to incorporate community preferences, habitat criteria for endangered waterbirds, and sea-level rise into prioritizing wetland sites for restoration. The rapid assessments showed that groundwater is a ubiquitous water source for coastal wetlands. A groundwater-fed, freshwater herbaceous peatland or “coastal fen” not previously described in Hawaiʻi was found adjacent to the coastline at a site being used to grow taro, a staple crop for Native Hawaiians. In traditional ecological knowledge, such a groundwater-fed, agro-ecological system is referred to as a loʻipūnāwai (spring pond). Overall, 39 plant species were found at the 12 sites; 26 of these were wetland species and 11 were native. Soil texture in the wetlands ranged from loamy sands to silt and silty clays and the mean % organic carbon content was 10.93% ± 12.24 (sd). In total, 79 federally endangered waterbirds, 13 Hawaiian coots (‘alae keʻokeʻo; Fulica alai) and 66 Hawaiian stilts (aeʻo; Himantopus mexicanus knudseni), were counted during the rapid field assessments. The site suitability analysis consistently ranked three sites the highest, Kaupapaloʻi o Kaʻamola, Kakahaiʻa National Wildlife Refuge, and ʻŌhiʻapilo Pond, under three different weighting approaches. Site prioritization represents both an actionable plan for coastal wetland restoration and an alternative protocol for restoration decision-making in places such as Hawaiʻi where no pristine “reference” sites exist for comparison.

High literacy rates among Native Hawaiians in the nineteenth century and publication of more than 100 Hawaiian-language newspapers from 1834 to 1948 produced the largest archive of indigenous writing in the Western Hemisphere. These newspapers extend our knowledge of historical environmental events and natural disasters back into the early nineteenth century and deeper into precontact times. Articles reporting observations of meteorological events allowed the authors to reconstruct the track and intensity of an 1871 hurricane that brought devastation to the islands of Hawaii and Maui and to discern historical patterns of droughts and floods in Hawaii. These findings illustrate the value of Hawaiian-language newspapers as resources for science research and science education.

Reviewed by: Reclaiming Kalākaua: Nineteenth-Century Perspectives on a Hawaiian Sovereign by Tiffany Lani Ing Drew Gonrowski Reclaiming Kalākaua: Nineteenth-Century Perspectives on a Hawaiian Sovereign, by Tiffany Lani Ing. Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 2019. isbn hardback: 9780824879983; isbn paper: 9780824881566, xi + 286 pages, notes, bibliography, index. Hardback, us$68.00; paper, us$28.00. Reclaiming Kalākaua: Nineteenth-Century Perspectives on a Hawaiian Sovereign by Tiffany Lani Ing is a [End Page 270] response to twentieth-century English-language texts about Hawaiian King David La‘amea Kamanananakapu Māhinulani Nāla‘ia‘ehuokalani Lumialani Kalākaua (ruled 1874–1891) that rely on English-language sources written by supporters of the Bayonet Constitution and the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom. These texts, which have shaped understandings of who Kalākaua was and how he was viewed in the 1800s, do not accurately portray the mō‘ī (sovereign). Instead, Ing argues, “looking at all of the coverage and debate in the English-language newspapers and, above all, in the Hawaiian-language newspapers results in a far more nuanced and accurate understanding of how [Kalākaua’s] contemporaries understood and debated the role and nature of this mō‘ī” (197). Additionally, Ing argues that by looking at Hawaiian-language newspapers, it is clear that a majority of Kānaka Maoli (Native Hawaiians) remained loyal to Kalākaua throughout his reign. The first chapter examines a body of nineteenth-century commentaries starkly dismissive of Kalākaua’s character and legacy, which Ing characterizes as constituting “a genealogy of incompetence and corruption” (46). Unfortunately, the most commonly read twentieth-century histories of Kalākaua have been based on these prior works, perpetuating the genealogy of misrepresentation. The chapter focuses on the white oligarchy’s portrayal of Kalākaua and how this small group damaged Kalākaua’s reputation by portraying the mō‘ī as uncivilized, unrefined, and unable to govern and lead the Hawaiian Kingdom. The characterization of Kalākaua that did the most damage, Ing argues, was the suggestion that Kalākaua was not popular among his subjects. It is this misrepresentation that Reclaiming Kalākaua most actively speaks against, showing through numerous Hawaiian- and English-language sources that Kalākaua was supported by his subjects. Ing also explains that some of the nineteenth-century criticism of Kalākaua was made by Kānaka Maoli who opposed Kalākaua but still supported the sovereignty of the Hawaiian Kingdom and were concerned with the nation’s survival. Unfortunately, Ing does not spend much time on these perspectives. For example, although Kalākaua’s political rival Queen Emma and her statements regarding Kalākaua appear in the chapter, Ing does not discuss the queen’s supporters, the 1874 election between Queen Emma and Kalākaua, or reporting on the election until a later chapter. Contextualizing the political atmosphere of the time would have strengthened this section on Kalākaua’s detractors and added to the efforts of presenting Kalākaua in a more complete and nuanced manner. The chapters that follow work to chip away at the misrepresentations of Kalākaua. In chapter 2, Ing focuses on nineteenth-century English-language accounts, published internationally and in the Hawaiian Kingdom, that describe Kalākaua favorably to show how histories of Kalākaua that rely on English-language sources have made a conscious effort to ignore these accounts in order to tell a negative version of Kalākaua’s history. Ing argues that negative depictions of Kalākaua are authored by those [End Page 271] motivated to discredit the mō‘ī and the Hawaiian Kingdom. Historians’ decision to ignore the more favorable accounts of Kalākaua has impacted Hawaiian historiography and how Kalākaua has been viewed over time. For example, one of the events detailed in the second chapter is Kalākaua’s circumnavigation of the globe in 1881. Newspapers around the world reported on his stops and how he was received in each country. Ing argues that Kalākaua’s trip and the press it generated was “a form of resistance against the slanderous, trivializing, condescending, and judgmental accounts of his rule and his travels produced by Hawai‘i’s white oligarchy and by international...

Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islanders, and the environment they are in relationship with, have been the targets of exploitation, extraction, and destruction. Environmental atrocities throughout the Pacific have demonstrated how imperialism, capitalism, and white supremacy drive destruction through efforts to dominate and exploit for material gain. The relationship between Pacific people and the environment, which defines who they are socially, spiritually, and ancestrally, continues to be damaged and even severed by these injustices. The purpose of this article is to provide examples of major environmental injustices in the Pacific and to develop a deeper understanding of the relationship between settler colonialism and environmental injustices. Indigenous knowledge, with a focus on traditional ecological knowledge, is incorporated not just to demonstrate the deep impact of injustices on Pacific people's cultures but also to highlight how this way of knowing cultivates a path to revitalization and community resilience. Cultural practices rooted in traditional ecological knowledge, such as the preservation of food systems, promote reciprocity between living beings and self-determination, necessary for community flourishing. With this understanding, Pacific peoples' relationship with their land offers further evidence of the critical role culture and Indigenous knowledge can play in environmental justice policies and practices.

Reviewed by: The Power of the Steel-Tipped Pen: Reconstructing Native Hawaiian Intellectual History by Noenoe K. Silva Robert Warrior (bio) The Power of the Steel-Tipped Pen: Reconstructing Native Hawaiian Intellectual History Noenoe K. Silva Duke UP, 2017, 288 pp. ISBN 978-0822363682, $26.95 paperback. The Power of the Steel-Tipped Pen focuses on the lives and works of two Kanaka Maoli writers and editors from overlapping generations in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, providing by example an argument for and a methodological intervention in the continuing development of Native Hawaiian studies. Intellectual history is at the heart of Silva's version of Native Hawaiian studies, and this biographically-based study operates as both a much-needed contribution to intellectual historical archival research and interpretation and as an argument in favor of the need for a library of books like it. Joseph Ho'ona'auao Kānepu'u, a Christian schoolteacher from the island of Molokai, wrote and published in Hawaiian from the 1850s into the 1880s. Silva dedicates three chapters to Kānepu'u and his work, first providing an overview of the body of his writings, then a closer look at what she considers to be the most significant and literary of his works, and finally a discussion of his writings that contribute to contemporary discussions of Native Hawaiian geography. As Silva argues of Kānepu'u's literary works, "He intentionally positions himself to act as a bridge spanning the divide between the world of thought and practice of his ancestors and us, his descendants" (52). The second part of the book provides a similar overview and analysis of Joseph Moku'ōhai Poepoe, a prolific and well-known writer and newspaper publisher who wrote from the late 1870s until his death in 1913. In Poepoe's case, Silva provides detailed analyses of mele (songs or chants) from a mo'olelo, or work of Hawaiian history, featuring Hi'iaka, the sister of the volcano (deity) Pele, and a full mo'olelo Poepoe serialized in his newspaper over the course of ten months. The contrast between The Power of the Steel-Tipped Pen and Silva's 2004 Aloha Betrayed: Native Hawaiian Resistance to American Colonialism, which members of the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association in 2011 voted the most influential book of the first decade of this century, is remarkable. Silva presents the history of Kanaka Maoli resistance she chronicles in Aloha Betrayed on a grand scale, while this new book tightly focuses on two figures. Aloha Betrayed demonstrated how generations of scholars of colonial Hawai'i had not utilized the extensive archive of Hawaiian-language newspapers in writing their histories, effectively ignoring a deeply detailed and complex record of Kanaka responses to settlement and colonization. Silva narrated a history that cut against the grain of Native passivity, showing, for instance, how 95 percent of Native Hawaiians signed an 1897 petition opposing US colonization and many other episodes of defiance against US usurpation of Hawaiian sovereignty. Steel-Tipped Pen also focuses on that era of Kanaka resistance to US [End Page 936] colonialism, but does so through the lives of these two newspaper publisher-editors. Poepoe, as Silva points out in Steel-Tipped Pen, came to be in favor of US annexation and actually wrote derisively of the 1897 petition drive in his newspaper. Poepoe's story is strikingly similar to that of the Cherokee intellectual Elias Boudinot, who in 1827 founded the first Native American newspaper, the Cherokee Phoenix, and favored Cherokee Removal even in the face of an anti-removal petition signed by an overwhelming number of Cherokee people. Boudinot, as a member of a tiny minority of Cherokee elites who signed the Removal treaty, was summarily executed under provisions of Cherokee law against signing away Cherokee lands. Poepoe lived to see annexation, celebrating it in his newspaper and eventually serving in Hawai'i's territorial legislature. Kānepu'u died before the unfolding of the major events that led to the US overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy, but in Silva's portrayal of his life and work he comes across as a figure whose politics were nothing like Poepoe's, not...

On August 8th, 2023, Lāhainā, the first capital of the Kingdom of Hawai'i, experienced one of the deadliest wildfires in US history in over a century. Through historical and cultural data, the role of westernization in Maui's regional climate change is investigated. Since the 1800s, Lāhainā has fallen victim to climate-change-driven human activity. Whaling altered the ocean's carbon sink, the sugar industry diverted water from Native Hawaiian farmlands and increased carbon dioxide emissions, the opportunistic invasive, more flammable grasses predisposed the land to fire, and tourism perpetuated these harmful environmental impacts. Combined with climate change on a global scale, these factors contributed to the destruction in Lāhainā and to the physical and mental toll on its people, especially the Native Hawaiians. This manuscript's primary focus is to discuss the impact on Native Hawaiians given the deep ancestral connection with the land and the ancestry of the authors. As Native Hawaiians, this article serves as a platform for the authors' personal experiences to advocate for climate change awareness as future physicians and to emphasize inclusion of Native Hawaiians in the rebuilding of Lāhainā.