Natives of ‘paradise’ struggle for rights
Campus Times
February 13, 2004
I spent Interterm in Hawaii learning about Hawaii’s media, culture and
politics for school, but the most interesting thing I learned was not something
I expected to learn.
Most of you have probably not heard of the Hawaiian sovereignty movement.
If you have, give yourself a pat on the back for being up to date with the issue.
Until this trip, I had no idea there was an issue to begin with, and as I understand
it, most “mainlanders” have no idea either.
The issue at hand is that native Hawaiians never wanted to be annexed or become
a state. To this day, Hawaiians feel as if their land has been stolen and their
culture exploited. It is an ongoing battle that has lasted for more than a decade.
The movement aims to correct the injustices Native Hawaiians feel have been
committed against them. Their goal is sovereignty for their people and the return
of their land from the United States Government.
The Hawaiian Homelands Commission Act was established for native Hawaiians
to receive land. But most of the land is unusable, and only a small proportion
of Hawaiians get to live there. Many Hawaiians live their lives on the waiting
list.
Another problem is that there are nearly seven million tourists who visit
the islands annually. Tourism has brought with it commercialization and has
also turned many Hawaiian cultural aspects into forms of tourist entertainment.
Native Hawaiians hold their culture sacred and do not want to lose it this way.
On the counter argument, however, tourism accounts for one-third of the income
the state brings in each year and one-third of the jobs on the islands.
If you do some research, you would find that the annexation of the islands
was not technically legal because there was never a treaty, there was a resolution.
The overthrow of the Hawaiian government on Jan. 17, 1893, was also illegal,
as determined by the Blount Report, and it should have been returned to the
Queen.
There are many forms of sovereignty being sought. Of course, one of the favorites
is the restoration of the Kingdom of Hawaii under a monarchy rule. Although
this may sound good to some in theory, it would be a risk for the islands that
would be in jeopardy with other nations being so isolated. While Hawaiians may
hate the US Government and its military, it is protecting them from other nations’
attacks.
Another approach would be nation within a nation. This is the most logical
approach. It would be similar to the status Native Americans have in the United
States. A sort of dual citizenship would be the result.
There are many other options being explored, so many it seems that there will
not be a solution until an agreement can be made. Nonetheless the fight continues,
because it is important to the Hawaiians.
Native Hawaiians only constitute about 20 percent of the population of the
state of Hawaii, and with such a small group, their voice is not being heard.
Little progress has been made in recent years.
As a “haole” this is just my understanding of the situation. I’m
unsure as to what will happen and when it would happen. I’m not even sure
where I stand on the issue, I just think people should be aware of what’s
happening in Hawaii.
Chrissy Zehrbach, a junior journalism major, is sports editor for the Campus
Times. She can be reached by e-mail at sqweet@aol.com.
