Native Hawaiian healing from white settler injustices and continued discrimination

This was a big week to focus on the racial divisions in our country and the steps we need to take to increase equity. On Monday, we recalled the life works of Martin Luther King Jr.; on Tuesday, the country celebrated the National Day of Racial Healing; and on Wednesday, President Joe Biden became the first president to call out white supremacy, and racism more broadly, and the need for change in his inauguration speech.

Although historical racism and the demand for restitution and reconciliation may have a different context here in Hawaiʻi, the continual discrimination and pain caused by colonization is similar to what is experienced on the continent. 

Colonization & Historical Trauma

Native Hawaiians or Kānaka Maoli or Kānaka ʻŌiwi are the indigenous people of Hawai‘i, whose ancient Polynesian ancestors discovered the islands through sophisticated scientific methods as early as 300 AD. By 1100 AD, the inhabitants of the Hawaiian Islands shared a common heritage, culture and language, which was distinct from those of other Polynesian peoples. In the centuries prior to European contact in 1778, Native Hawaiians developed a complex culture and stable land tenure system that supported a population estimated to be between 300,000 to 1 million people. [For a brief video on Hawaiian history watch Paʻa Ke Aupuni.]  

As they did with other indigenous peoples and people who were enslaved, Europeans and Americans systematically dismantled the population, culture, and sovereignty of the Native Hawaiian people through disease, coercion, and violence. In Hawaiʻi, foreign settlers:

• Introduced infectious diseases that decimated the Native Hawaiian population;

• Suppressed traditional religious and healing practices in the name of Christianity;

• Privatized land and transferred ownership to foreigners;

• Banned the use of ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi (the Hawaiian language) in schools, public venues and government; and

• “Reformed” the government to disenfranchise Hawaiians and reduce the power of the monarch, which ultimately led to the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1893 and U.S. annexation in 1898.

By 1893, when Americans and Europeans overthrew the Hawaiian Kingdom, fewer than 40,000  Native Hawaiians remained. Today, there are more than 600,000 full or part Native Hawaiians in the U.S. However, only half live in Hawaiʻi, leaving 300,000 Native Hawaiians estranged from their homeland. 

The legacy of colonization still expresses itself today in social, health and economic indicators. Native Hawaiians face disproportionate rates of illness and economic insecurity, and a higher likelihood of becoming houseless or incarcerated. 

Solutions for Healing

The Native Hawaiian people are resilient and strong, achieving amazing feats like saving their language and traditional Polynesian voyaging practices from the edge of extinction. Native Hawaiian practitioners are sought after to share their knowledge with other indigenous peoples around the world who face similar consequences of colonialism. Obviously, Native Hawaiians already have the ideas and solutions for healing from the historical trauma, so their direction on issues is likely the best way forward. Here are some of their solutions:

• Revitalizing land (e.g. Limahuli Valley), renewing traditional food systems (e.g. Heʻeia Valley) , managing water and restoring areas like Kahoʻolawe.

• Using traditional methods of healing (e.g. Papa Ola Lōkahi programs) and culture to address disparities in wellbeing (see key determinants of health for Native Hawaiians), such as programs for physical and mental health (e.g. cultural approach to Native Hawaiian mental health), incarceration and recidivism (e.g. Healing in Hālawa), and at-risk youth (e.g. Kawailoa Youth & Family Wellness Center).

• Revitalizing ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi through public education and cultural activities (e.g. Native Hawaiian Education Program).

• Addressing the high rate of houselessness for Native Hawaiians through traditional affordable housing projects, and through unique proposals, such as the Puʻuhonua O Waiʻanae encampment’s planned village and the state’s Kauhale cultural model.

• Expanding of Native Hawaiian government representation, cultural programs and initiatives, educational support, grants and technical assistance to nonprofits, and more by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) and other institutions.

Society at large can support the efforts of Native Hawaiians by providing resources that they identify as needed. It’s vital that the state and federal government not only fulfill their existing legal obligations, but also listen to and follow the lead of the Native Hawaiian people on healing injustices and discrimination. Some solutions put forward by Native Hawaiian communities, organizations and advocates include:

• Fulfilling the state’s Public Land Trust Revenue Obligations to OHA, and state support for other OHA priorities.

• Enhancing support by the state for Hawaiian Homesteads, waitlisters and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL), especially for meeting obligations of land leases and/or homes for the thousands of people on waitlists.

• Developing unique ideas to provide affordable housing to those on the DHHL waitlist, including rental units on homestead land, down payment assistance for homes off homesteads, and emergency rental assistance.

• Protecting sacred lands. The current Mauna Kea movement and the historical Kahoʻolawe protests are examples of how this is vital for healing historical trauma.

• Protecting natural resources from pollution (e.g. Paʻakai in Hanapēpē) and environmental degradation (e.g. military exercises), restoring access rights to water and land, and prioritizing sustainability through traditional knowledge.

• Building affordable housing for Native Hawaiians, and protecting Native Hawaiian homeowners from increased costs, such as being “taxed out.”

• Parity for ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi public charter schools by the state, as well as fulfillment of legal obligations for ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi.

• Codifying Hawaiʻi’s public policy and practice to support for Native Hawaiian self-determination over the collection and use of disaggregated data about themselves and public programs.

Racial healing is no less urgent in Hawaiʻi than it is across the nation. We must use this week and every week to advance the many solutions that support and restore Native Hawaiian self-determination. 

For more information on opportunities to support Native Hawaiians in the upcoming legislative session, visit the Office of Hawaiian Affairs legislative page.