WHAT?… I’m NOT Hawaiian?!?
by The Essayists | editor@zeroshibai.com
My wife’s parents came here in 1919 from the Philippines (many of us share a similar story). They had a bunch of children who have served in the Military, the Hawaiian Air Guard, Hawaii National Guard, built homes, had families, and contributed to the culture and the economy. My wife was born in the Territory of Hawaii. One of her daughters teaches our children here in Hawaii. Her grandchildren go to school in Hawaii. When my daughter read the changes that would be wrought by the Akaka Bill, she said, “What? I’m not Hawaiian?!?”
A friend, a cleric who has devoted his life to ministering to the people of Hawaii (including those inconvenient vows of poverty and chastity), is fifth generation Hawaiian. Oops, I shouldn’t call him “Hawaiian”. He’s fifth generation of a Portuguese family who came to Hawaii in the 19th Century. That family has built businesses, families, homes, and faith in these islands. Presented with the Akaka Bill he asked me, “What? I’m not Hawaiian?!?”
A good friend’s family came here in the early 19th Century. People were still living in lava tubes on the Big Island. His ancestors served the Kings and Queens with loyalty and distinction. They served the people of Hawaii, generation after generation. He is Caucasian. Not Haole – for those of you who are completely clueless, Haole means foreigner, not white. According to the Akaka Bill about 80% of this state’s residents are Haoles. My Caucasian friend asks, “If we’re not Hawaiians, what are we? We have nowhere to go. This is our home.”
A Japanese family came here in 1923. They lost a son in the Second World War, fighting for Hawaii, the United States, freedom, tolerance and equality. They lost another son in Korea…fighting for Hawaii, the United States, freedom, tolerance and equality. Ask them where they are from. Ask them where home is. They’ll say Hawaii. What? They’re not Hawaiians?
I had a long talk with a great guy. “My family get folks from Niihau, li’ dat.” Also, his family can trace its lineage to Bremerhaven, Sapporo, Canton and Bristol. He talked about how his ancestors came here from Tahiti. What extraordinary navigators they were, to sail thousands of miles of ocean in an open sailing canoe to commence a new life on a new island. Of course they had to remove the pesky current inhabitants, a race of small people who seem to have vanished into the historic mists. He called them Menehunes. To the Menehunes, his ancestors were, of course, the absolute worst kind of Haole. But according to the Akaka Bill he is Hawaiian. And entitled to rights, privileges, property and status that nobody mentioned above appears to have earned. How did he earn them? He has a drop of Hawaiian blood.
This kind of racial separatism, racial bigotry actually, doesn’t just seem un-American. It seems un-human, un-kind, un-intelligent, un-reasonable and, truthfully, un-Hawaiian. Is there anything in the history of the great people of Hawaii…of King Kamehameha, King Kalakaua, Queen Liliokalani and most especially Pauahi Bishop to countenance this racism, exclusion, or prostitution of the great and noble legacy of fairness, tolerance and equality that defined these islands since unification?
Nope.
No way, brah.
Hawaiian Culture, Tradition and History are not just important. They’re wonderful. Magical. Inspiring. They’ have lessons not just for the residents of this fine state, but for America and the whole world. Hawaiian Culture, History and Tradition should be cherished, honored, preserved and shared. And it is – through Hula, music, language, art, crafts, holistic medicine and teaching of philosophy and religion.
Have you looked for a moment at who is doing that? At who the caretakers, promoters and purveyors of Hawaiian History, Tradition and Culture are? If all of the beautiful, handsome, and talented Filipinos, Samoans, Japanese, Chinese, Portuguese and Caucasian (this list could go on and on) hula dancers and Hawaiian music, arts and crafts artists disappeared, Hula and Hawaiian music would disappear forever..
Check out the people in our Universities teaching and studying (and preserving and promoting) Hawaiian language, history, culture, philosophy and tradition. Think you might find a white guy? Japanese? Chinese mix? Aah… Filipino even?…
Yes, there are wonderful and talented and committed Hawaiian Hawaiian dancers, musicians, academics, healers, teachers, students, artists and archaeologists. Some Hawaiian Hawaiians actually use their talents, gifts and energies in ways not related to Hawaiiana at all…and make significant contributions to our state and the world in doing so.
But the point is: we are all in this together. We are all Hawaiians. We diminish the people of this state…we diminish Hawaiian tradition, teaching and culture…we diminish the importance of what Hawaii can contribute to the world…we diminish every single individual…and we diminish the Hawaiians themselves when we begin to measure a human’s worth by drops of blood. 
This was done before in American. It was called segregation. Every first grader in America knows it was bad. Are we going to prove that the state of Hawaii…that we Hawaiians… are not as smart…are not as spiritually mature… as every first grader in Pocatello, Idaho? Do we need some folks to come down from Birmingham, Alabama and teach us about tolerance?
As Hawaiians (ALL Hawaiians), we have better, more important things to do. An economy to fix. Culture and History to preserve. Beautiful dance, music and art to celebrate.
We are all Hawaiian and it is time to go forward together and make racial separatism a thing of the past . . . permanently.
NOTE: While historians and scientists debate the existence of menehunes, our reference to them is based on literary license to make a point. To be sure, an erudite study by Dr. Yosihiko H. Sinoto, senior researcher for the Bishop Museum, posits that the first inhabitants of these islands were from the Marquesas. Further, Dr. Sinoto’s research reveals that these early inhabitants of Hawaii were later displaced (or driven out) by voyagers from elsewhere in the Polynesian Triangle. But our friends on Kauai are convinced that there were menehunes living in Hawaii long before the Polynesians from Tahiti arrived and took over the islands.
**some of Dr. Sinoto’s research is below
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