Hawaiian Community Research Articles

Displacing Natives: The Rhetorical Production of Hawai'i (review)

This book opens nicely with a pedagogical tale--a story of when author Houston Wood was listening to a lecture by Esther Mookini, who introduced a Hawaiian text that has yet to receive the attention it well deserves: The Wind Gourd of La'maomao by Moses K Nakuina. Wood offers memories from his first introduction to perspectives of life in Hawai'i as he was informed of Hawaiian (re)sources that outline different methods and epistemologies relating to the natural world. As just one example, Wood was stunned to find that Nakuina's book lists the names of forty-five winds on the island of O'ahu alone. The diversity of identification and naming practices--and their attendant forms of knowledge sources--provoked Wood, moving him to reconsider his own experiences of the winds he felt as he stepped out of that lecture; he reflected on the winds of change among Hawai'i's people, particularly those moving through Hawaiian communities. Wood was profoundly challenged: "I began to wonder if I could find a way to resist my own colonization and to embrace some methods for subverting the colonizing work I was being educated to do" (3).

Conflicting cultures: Linking agency, community, and university in a community building endeavor

Abstract This paper is based on a case study that reflects a collaborative effort between a university and a non‐government organization that serves the Native Hawaiian community. The organization, which was undergoing a paradigm shift, sought support from university faculty. The shift in orientation was played out at the community level as a team of professionals worked with community leaders to create a vision and a community development strategy based on resident input. The novel qualities of this collaborative contributed to numerous lessons learned on all sides and will be used in future endeavors involving multiple partners.

Infiltration of a Hawaiian community by introduced biological control agents.

To examine the community-wide effects of introduced biocontrol agents on Kauai Island, Hawaii, we constructed quantitative food webs showing interactions among plants, moths, and moth parasitoids in a native forest. Eighty-three percent of parasitoids reared from native moths were biological control agents, 14% were accidental immigrants, and 3% were native species. Although parasitism by biological control agents reached 28% in some species of moth, all biocontrol agents reared had been released before 1945. This study highlights the importance of considering the potential damage caused by an introduced control agent, in addition to that caused by the target alien species.

Teaching in a Hawaiian Context: Educator Perspectives on the Hawaiian Language Immersion Program

Papahana Kaiapuni is the nation's only K-12 program taught entirely in the Hawaiian language. This indigenous language immersion program was established as an attempt to revive Hawaiian after a century-long ban on the language was lifted. The current study examines the perceptions of Kaiapuni educators regarding the ways in which participation in the program transforms teachers' identities as educators and as Hawaiians. Thirty seven Kaiapuni teachers and four principals participated in individual interviews and focus group discussions about their roles and experiences in the program. Many teachers regard Kaiapuni as more than a “Hawaiian” version of the English program. Teachers strive to integrate the Hawaiian culture into the curriculum and view the program as a model of school reform for Native Hawaiians. For many teachers, participation in the program has also influenced the way they think of themselves as members of the Hawaiian community.

Off-island hawaiians “making” ourselves at “home”

This article explores some of the recent developments in movements to reassert Hawaiian sovereignty that occur in Hawai‘i, but with special reference to displaced nationalisms and political formations in Hawaiian communities off-island. I examine the gendered nature of the terms in which activists in the Hawaiian Islands describe and invoke diasporic Hawaiians, particularly in the calls they send out for diasporas to “return home” to Hawai‘i. I call attention to Hawaiian women’s prominence in some areas of the Hawaiian sovereignty movement and the symbolic bases on which they draw in the process of forging such a position. The very process of making and remaking oneself, whether at home or not, is, among other things, always gendered. I argue for the difference that the infusion of a diasporic feminist sensibility could make to Hawaiian nationalist projects, pushing them further in the direction of specifically gendered possibilities of decolonization.

Labor mobilization, ethnohistory, and the archaeology of community in Hawai'i

Hawaiian ethnohistory has long been used to generate archaeological models of the past. However, continued reliance on the direct historical method has molded our view of ancient Hawaiian society into one of an unchanging and “timeless” instituion. This paper develops a more heuristic approach to studying the past by critically analyzing both ethnohistoric and archaeological data. A descriptive model of labor mobilization is presented that identifies a three-tiered continuum of labor organization. This model then is used as a springboard to examine the ethnohistoric and archaeological landscapes of Waiohuli, a traditional Hawaiian community. A temporal analysis of Waiohuli architectural energetics illustrates how certain social relationships were enhanced and emphasized by the construction and manipulation of the community's abuilt landscape over time. Results demonstrate that Waiohuli's pattern of social organization was not timeless at all, but shifted from a period of regional centralization and control over labor to one of community independence.

Participatory research in a native Hawaiian community: The Wai'anae cancer research project

Participatory research in a native Hawaiian community: The Wai'anae cancer research project

Participatory research in a native Hawaiian community: The Wai'anae cancer research project

Participatory research in a native Hawaiian community: The Wai'anae cancer research project

Participatory research in a native Hawaiian community: The Wai'anae cancer research project

Community participation was a key component of a cancer control research project in a Native Hawaiian community. This project tested the effectiveness of a culturally appropriate intervention as a means of increasing breast and cervical cancer screening practices among Native Hawaiian women on the Wai'anae Coast of the island of O'ahu. The Wai'anae Cancer Research project was community driven, with Native Hawaiian community representatives involved in all phases of the project, from grant proposal development to data interpretation. A community health center administered the grant award from the National Cancer Institute. The policymaking steering committee included community representatives, health professionals, and researchers to balance community and scientific quality standards. A factor in the project's success was continuous involvement over 7 years by a core of community representatives and professional staff. More than 500 women participated in the intervention, and outcome measures indicated that there was a community wide impact on cancer-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. Important contributions of the project also included direct economic benefits, improvements in health services and systems, increased research capabilities, and dissemination of findings to other communities and researchers. Community participation in all phases of the research was essential in generating community acceptance and resulted in an innovative and effective intervention. This participatory research project has left the community richer in knowledge, skills, experience, confidence, and resources. These qualities provide a strong foundation for building future programs and research.

Pauahi Bishop Museum: A Hawaiian Museum—Challenging the Past to Face the Future

ABSTRACTBishop Museum has been the focus of attention in Hawaiì and the mainland for its changes in direction from a traditional natural history museum to an entrepreneurial science learning center. Attention has focused on how well the museum, in changing its direction, serves its communities, especially its the Native Hawaiian community, and whether it should be undertaking contract research projects and contract public programs in partnership with hotels and other commercial businesses. The author, involved in a key role in several projects representing this change in direction, discusses controversial projects associated with repatriation, contract archaeology, and exhibits. The projects are described within the context of the museum's history as a Hawaiian institution. The controversies are then examined in terms of how the museum managed them and in so doing, how it met its mission of education and service. As we enter the twenty‐first century, our ability to work with the community, especially the Native Hawaiian community, and remain financially viable will determine how we fare.

Waipi'o valley, a culturalkipukain early 20th Century Hawaii

Abstract How has it been possible for Hawaiians to persist and survive as a distinct and unique people while under direct rule by the United States of America during the 20th century? Here it is argued that just as kipuka, or oases of forest in otherwise barren lava fields, are the source for continual regeneration of the volcanic rainforest, isolated rural Hawaiian communities have served as ‘cultural kipuka’ for the regeneration of Hawaiian culture in the 20th century. To introduce this new framework of examining the history of the Hawaiian people, the history of change and continuity in the remote valley of Waipi'o is described.

A Breast and Cervical Cancer Project in a Native Hawaiian Community: Wai′anae Cancer Research Project

Background. This article describes a breast and cervical cancer control project in a Native Hawaiian community and presents preliminary findings from its first year, The project is community driven, with Native Hawaiian community investigators and advisors involved in all phases of the research project, Its purpose is to test the effectiveness of a culturally appropriate intervention as a means of increasing breast and cervical cancer screening practices among Native Hawaiian women. Methods. This article discusses the process of community participation in the development of a baseline survey as well as selected findings from that survey. A baseline telephone survey was conducted to obtain an initial assessment of community knowledge, attitudes, and behavior related to cancer, Community representatives were an integral part of the research team that planned and implemented the survey. Results. A total of 1,260 women drawn equally from the study and the control communities participated in the survey. A majority of those surveyed in both communities indicated adherence to cancer screening recommendations. Seventy-three percent of the women reported having obtained a Pap test during the past 2 years. Fifty-nine percent of women over 40 years of age reported having had a mammogram during the past 2 years. Twenty-eight percent reported having used Hawaiian remedies within the past year. Thirty-six percent of the women reported encouraging others to obtain cancer screening services. Discussion. Though a majority of the target population are following cancer screening guidelines, a significant minority are not, While the project intervention aims to change the screening behavior of women not currently getting cancer screening, it plans to do so by enlisting the women already in compliance to reach others in their social networks who are currently not getting cancer screening. The involvement of community representatives, working alongside researchers, in baseline survey planning helped assure the survey was acceptable to the participants and the community as a whole, This process is illustrative of a participatory research commitment which underlies success in the early phase of this Native Hawaiian research project.

A social impact assessment approach using the reference group as the standard of impact analysis: The case of hana: Hawaiians and the proposed golf course

This article looks at an indigenous rural Hawaiian community's response to the building of a proposed golf course to save the economic viability of the only hotel in town. Two methodologies were used for data analysis. The social resources of the Hawaiian community were identified in order to determine their impacts. The social resources of the community were ascertained employing the social resource unit, a qualitative methodology appropriate for group design. Impacts were determined by the group using the mind-mapping technique. This approach allows for total group participation. These two procedures work together to identify the social resources of the existing community, how the people use the site, and the perceived impacts of the proposed project. The reference group, in this case the Hawaiians, was the standard of impact analysis. The social resources they listed became the standard of evaluation in respect to the impacts they perceived.

AIDS in the Native Hawaiian Community

Native Hawaiians are at high risk for several health disorders and experience multiple socioeconomic problems. Infection rates for AIDS in this population are increasing and, when viewed in context of their overall poor health profile, are clearly indicators for concern. This article discusses the ramifications of AIDS in the native Hawaiian community by examining the knowledge and lifestyle practices of 26 native Hawaiians in Hawaii, and by identifying recommendations that may lead to the development of culturally responsive social services.

Alien Grass Invasion and Fire In the Seasonal Submontane Zone of Hawai'i

Island ecosystems are notably susceptible to biological invasions (Elton 1958), and the Hawaiian islands in particular have been colonized by many introduced species (Loope and Mueller-Dombois 1989). Introduced plants now dominate extensive areas of the Hawaiian Islands, and 86 species of alien plants are presently considered to pose serious threats to Hawaiian communities and ecosystems (Smith 1985). Among the most important invasive plants are several species of tropical and subtropical grasses that use the C4 photosynthetic pathway. These grasses now dominate extensive areas of dry and seasonally dry habitats in Hawai'i. They may compete with native species, and they have also been shown to alter hydrological properties in the areas they invade (MuellerDombois 1973). Most importantly, alien grasses can introduce fire into areas where it was previously rare or absent (Smith 1985), thereby altering the structure and functioning of previously native-dominated ecosystems. Many of these grasses evolved in fire-affected areas and have mechanisms for surviving and recovering rapidly from fire (Vogl 1975, Christensen 1985), while most native species in Hawai'i have little background with fire (Mueller-Dombois 1981) and hence few or no such mechanisms. Consequently, grass invasion could initiate a grass/fire cycle whereby invading grasses promote fire, which in turn favors alien grasses over native species. Such a scenario has been suggested in a number of areas, including Latin America, western North America, Australia, and Hawai'i (Parsons 1972, Smith 1985, Christensen and Burrows 1986, Mack 1986, MacDonald and Frame 1988). In most of these cases, land clearing by humans initiates colonization by alien grasses, and the grass/fire cycle then leads to their persistence. In Hawai'i and perhaps other areas, however, grass invasion occurs without any direct human intervention. Where such invasions initiate a grass/fire cy-

Ethnic boundaries: Rural Hawaiians and Mainland migrants in Hawaii

Linnekin, Jocelyn. Children of the Land: Exchange and Status in a Hawaiian Community. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1985. xvi + 264 pp. including references and index. $27.00 cloth. Whittaker, Elvi. The Mainland Haole: The White Experience in Hawaii. New York: Columbia University Press, 1986. xiii + 233 pp. including references and index. $25.00 cloth.

Speaking, Relating and Learning: A Study of Hawaiian Children at Home and at School

Quoting actual dialogue, the volume describes modes of speaking in three contemporary Hawaiian communities as children relate to parents, siblings, and peers. It demonstrates in detail the link to educational practice and to point to positive consequences in the handling of cultural differences in language use.

Children of the Land: Exchange and Status in a Hawaiian Community.

Children of the Land: Exchange and Status in a Hawaiian Community.

Hawaiian Communities Island Ecosystems: Biological Organization in Selected Hawaiian Communities Dieter-Mueller-Dombois Kent W. Bridges Hampton L. Carson

Hawaiian Communities Get access Island Ecosystems: Biological Organization in Selected Hawaiian Communities, edited by Dieter-Mueller-Dombois Bridges Kent W. Carson Hampton L.. Dowden, Hutchinson © Ross, Inc., Stroudsburg, PA, 1981, 583 p., illus., $34.00 (80-27650). Sherwin Carlquist Sherwin Carlquist Rancho Santa Ana, Botanic Garden, 1500 N. College Ave., Claremont, CA 91711 Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar BioScience, Volume 32, Issue 5, May 1982, Page 350, https://doi.org/10.2307/1308868 Published: 01 May 1982

Studies in a Hawaiian Community: Na Makamaka o Nanakuli

Studies in a Hawaiian Community: Na Makamaka o Nanakuli