Hawaiians:
A people left behind
fight back
Their numbers falling and
By Richard Borreca
their land misused, Hawaiians
regain both pride and purpose
Star-BulletinStatehood seemed to be a wave that washed over everyone in Hawaii -- except the islands' first-born, the native Hawaiians.
Once there were between 400,000 to 1 million native Hawaiians. By 1920, the number of pure Hawaiians had shrunk to less than 22,000. And by 1960, it was down to just 12,000, less than 2 percent of the population.
"Hawaiians are continually battered down by the invisibility of Hawaiians in history textbooks, so everything you are taught makes us feel as if we are growing up insignificant and marginalized," says Noenoe Silva, Hawaiian historian and University of Hawaii associate professor of Hawaiian language.
As Hawaii through statehood moved into an equal position within the United States, Hawaiians and part-Hawaiians could only watch as 187,413 acres designated for the Hawaiian Homestead trust went woefully unused -- and misused.
Some of the land set aside for native Hawaiians was leased to private businesses, some to the state. The federal government took some of it. Hawaiians lost use of lands and, in some cases, were not compensated for leased lands.
As resentment built, Hawaiian protests grew more organized.In 1963, Hawaiian groups marched to Iolani Palace, then the site of the state Legislature, to protest a land development bill.
The land protests sharpened in 1976 when Hawaiian activists landed on the Navy-controlled Kahoolawe, protesting use of the island as a military bombing target. "It became the inspiration for other people," Silva said.
The same year saw the first sailing of the Polynesian voyaging canoe, Hokule'a, to Tahiti. Using the ancient Polynesian forms of navigation, a skill once considered lost, the crew's accomplishment continued to build pride in the Hawaiian community.
"So when you have something like the Hokule'a, and people learn of the fearless and intelligent men and women (who were their ancestors), it has an impact and inspires," Silva said.
But the big turning point was the 1978 Constitutional Convention, where community activist A. "Frenchy" DeSoto served as a delegate.
"When I became aware during the Kahoolawe movement, I saw the disparity between my people and others," DeSoto said.
"I used to say: 'How come, why -- what happened to our people?'
"It was important to fight back. People don't know where to put this pain."
Out of the protest movement and the concern to do more, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs was created, a public agency mandated by Con Con to better the conditions of native Hawaiians and the Hawaiian community.
Now, however, there are serious legal challenges to the authority of OHA, which allows only people of Hawaiian ancestry to vote for OHA trustees.
"It is a scary time now," said DeSoto, who is a trustee. "I get nervous we won't get compromised out of existence."
Finally, a movement once considered a topic only for underground radicals -- the restoration of sovereignty for a Hawaiian nation -- is now a decision under serious debate.
In 1993, the centennial of the overthrow of the Hawaiian kingdom, President Bill Clinton signed a Congressional Resolution acknowledging the illegality of the overthrow. A year later, the federal government returned Kahoolawe to the state of Hawaii.
Still, much awaits a consensus on Hawaiian sovereignty -- and in the near term, DeSoto sees many pressing problems."The reality is we are still at bottom of the pile," she said.
"Too many of us are destitute. We are surrounded by drug abuse and child abuse and elder abuse and we all have to be involved."
OHA Ceded Lands Ruling
Rice vs. Cayetano
The Honolulu Star-Bulletin is counting down to year 2000 with this special series. Each installment will chronicle important eras in Hawaii's history, featuring a timeline of that particular period. Next installment: November 8. About this Series
Series Archive
Project Editor: Lucy Young-Oda
Chief Photographer:Dean Sensui
