"We are not an island" - reflections of Hawai'i

A photo I took at Waikiki beach

In 2011 I visited several cities in the United States as part of a leadership program.  This post includes my observations of my visit to Honolulu, Hawai'i.

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Intro and history

I spent about five days in Hawai'i, mainly the Honolulu city area and some time at Waikiki.  The cultural exposure of the islands to the world, expressed mainly through surfboarding, flowers (lei) and 'Aloha' (hello, love), is a phenomenal story.  Like many people of my generation I came to know these things from a young age and Hawai'i deserves credit for its marketing and tourism success.

The success of the islands from a tourism perspective is partly attributed to the sheer size of the US economy and its consumer base (Hawai'i is truly unique and has been able to capitalise on this as a State of the US).  Exposure globally, though, shows credit should go beyond this fate in history.  Experiencing Hawai'i in person and seeing, hearing and feeling the sense of place, culture and beauty certainly re-enforced the strength of its US and global appeal.  In the middle of a vast ocean it is very much isolated but so well connected.  It's sense of 'awayness' - of being close to nothing and so different to what many other people commonly understand - gives a sense of mystique and nostalgic romanticism from the grind of life.  

Hawai'i as a State also has a fascinating history.  What interested me was the fact that in 1959 a plebiscite was held to determine the peoples' desire to become the 50th state of the US (I learnt that the choice was either admission to the US or not, there was no option leaning towards independence).  According to official records 90% of people voted in the affirmative.  Coming from an area of the pacific, I thought about how other pacific countries went through a period of de-colonisation and self-determination expressed through independence.  When I talk to people from these other pacific countries their message is the direction for independence came more-so from the respective mother countries (for want of a better description) and their internal political and media systems rather than the counties we now know as independent Pacific States.

Why was Hawai'i different?

Perhaps part of the answer is the powerful influence of the American citizenry in the original Hawaiian state (and their economic and political interests).  Could it be that the vast depths of the American democratic experiment ventured so far west to these tiny islands in the pacific?  Another answer could be the story of Pearl Harbor and its war history and how it touched so many other Americans who came to learn of these islands of Hawai'i.  History shows that the referendum was held after legislation was passed in Congress, so perhaps the way it was done held some sway.

Perhaps, on the other side, the gradual independence of many other pacific countries sprung from the dominance of 'self-determination' as an ideology as a preferred political thought in mother countries during the 1960s-1980s.  Could technology have served a part in this period of technological globalisation?  Perhaps there were other reasons.  Without researching these questions, these thoughts emerged as I reflected on the position of Hawai'i when compared to so many other pacific countries I am more familiar with, and feel closer to home (Australia).

In any case, the present day high cost of living for Hawaiians reflects an attractive and vibrant economy and, along with it, all the other contradictions of America (and the world).  I was reminded of this by the trip from the airport to the city where, not far from towering buildings jotted along a stretch were houses and units looking run-down and in need of repair, much like any other city on earth.  I was reminded also of this by the efforts of the Indigenous peoples for formal Federal recognition pursued through Congress in order to overcome contested court cases (self-determination, recognition and localism are strong characteristics of American life and history generally but are the contemporary challenges of Hawai'ian Indigenous groups, just as it is for our own).

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Hawai'i's influence on the current President

Michelle Obama once said that to know Barack Obama you must first know Hawai'i (where he spent his middle to later childhood to young adult years).  My experience showed this to be true (at least on the face of it and what one could glean from a brief visit).  What struck me was this sense of a broad Hawaiian identity inclusive and embracing of the Indigenous culture and what it entails.  The richness of this identity and the extent that it was practised by non-indigenous people (for example, 'Aloha') was an experience rarely found in the developed world.  It was as if the American dream for all immigrants found space and worked in tandem with the seemingly difficult task of acculturation from an Indigenous-borne influence.

A prized children's book

Hawai'i is populated by minorities: no single ethnicity makes up a majority.  This does much to shape the body politic.  In my conversations with people the observation was that this went some way to creating a horizontal structure where power is not held by ethnic oligarchs, but across the spectrum.  Perceptions to do with race, sometimes heavy, were seen to be real, just as they are anywhere, but on the islands were detached from the notion that democratic governments are a manifestation of race based politics.  A commonly bound identity did not hold the overwhelming sway and power.  The fact of power resting with many minorities perhaps went some way to influencing the different ways people interact and the ways they portrayed (and continue to portray) themselves and others.

There were divisions between people of different groups, which was briefly explained to us, just as there are anywhere in the world.  But in comparison to many parts of the US (and indeed the world) Hawai'i stands as a testament to how diversity can co-exist effectively, or at least a bit better.  Hawai'ian society appeared at face value to be a beacon for how a cultural state can be embedded across a population and in the positive sense.  This is what came across to me, at least on the surface.

This is what I understood to be the meaning behind Michelle Obama's observation.  And, like the experiences of my (then) town of Alice Springs and region, where descriptions in blogs (such as this) and other writings from only short trips goes only so far to telling the whole story, the connect between Obama's political style and persona and that of the Hawai'ian culture somehow resonated.  The notions of how Americans in Washington portrayed their national identity: of the 'American dream', of opportunity, of a country of immigrants, existed on the islands just as it did across the mainland.  I was reminded of the old saying that politics 'is the art of what is possible' but somehow the threads of what exists and thrives and makes the islands so different helped weave a narrative of the first black President of the US.

I thought about what our world would be like if it were to emulate what I interpreted to be the Hawai'ian experience.   

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Walking toward Diamond head

Mount Gillen, Alice Springs

Diamond Head, Honolulu

On my final day I walked from my hotel in Honolulu to a place called Diamond head.  From the beach I looked up and saw a shape which resembled the Mount Gillen / Larapinta Range of Alice Springs.  The head was crouched between the ocean on one side and a row of tall hotels and buildings on the other.  In landscape view this picture began with an endless seam of blue ocean across to a diamond shaped escarpment and along to a row of modern white and silver buildings.  (Initially I thought the shape gave the old volcano its new name but later learned that it was the mistaken views of early visitors who thought its rocks were actual diamonds).

As I set off, my morning mission was to trek up Diamond head (I never quite got there).  My first destination was the famous Waikiki beach.  As I walked closer I was amazed at the number of people, the atmosphere and general beauty of the area.  Tall coconut trees planted between lanes of green lawn stretched high into the sky.  Stand alone shops dotted the beachfront: surfboards, standing boards, kayaks, paddles, canoes, and so on.  Male and female volleyball competitions were taking place.  Bikes rode up and down the path.  At some parts the sand was met by lush, green grass comfortable enough to lay on.  Local families, many of them Asian-American or Pacific-American, were having BBQs with their numbers in 40s and their communal tents and cooking facilities suited for large families.  Smaller groups were sitting around talking, catching up on gossip for the week and enjoying the atmosphere and surf.  I thought what life would be like for these families and how a simple travel down to the most famous beach in the world could end with such a glorious day.  Many locals looked as comfortable as anyone like they were on holiday.

At one stage I came across a statue of Kamehameha.  I was to learn that his fascinating story was part of the family of the original Monarchs of the islands.

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The Kamehameha dynasty

Sign to the statue near the palace.

One part of the legend of Kamehameha was his role unifying the Polynesian people of the Hawaiian islands.  His time was at a point where traditional culture played a more prominent role.  Although it is hard to say it appears during his own lifetime that traditional culture would be threatened by the influence of the dominant culture and especially from the strict rules of colonial migrants, an experience similar to our own in Australia and across the western world at that time. 

The legend of unifying the people of the islands continues to be a powerful message.  Kamehameha's life was a century ago.   His knowledge and practice of traditional culture gave him authority amongst his people.  This status, combined with the fact that Kamehameha was from the ruling Monarch, adds to the mystic and nostalgic nature that is Hawai'i.  This appeared fitting: his legend is old enough to be a ruling pioneer steeped in traditional culture yet modern enough to have a recorded and detailed history.

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Indigenous identity & education

The state of Hawai'i has an indigenous population from the Polenysian group of people who share cultural characteristics separate yet related to the indigenous peoples of New Zealand, Samoa and other pacific islands.  In my travels from the eastern and western States of the US and then to Hawai'i, this was an unusual experience.  The Polenysian people I met who are first or second generation immigrants to Hawai'i were more familiar to me with the islanders in Australia I know than other Americans I met on the mainland.  Their accents were slightly different, more nuanced to the daily reality of interactions with the mainland, but there were elements recognisable from my own experiences back home: appearance, familiarity with pacific cultures, a general easy-ness contrasted to the intense grind of corporate life on the mainland.

A notable observation I made of our interactions with Indigenous Hawai'ians was the sense of hope.  In reading the promotional material provided I was struck by the many stories of development and advancement.  A past Governor of the State was a native Hawai'ian.  The significant investments produce profit which is put back in the community by way of programs.  This is not to say that there are no challenges - we were told that life expectancy and educational attainment were well below mainstream averages - but I did get the impression that the path towards progress had been more easily travelled than back home.  Some of my research from home showed that arrest levels by police are comparable to other sections of the population (but incarceration levels are higher) and whilst native Hawai'ians make up about 25% of the population they comprise about 14% of University students.

Identification of Native Hawaiian is faced with similar challenges to that of home in Australia.  Some programs require at least 25% of 'any blood quantum' of Native Hawaiian.  This type of language is not used in Australia.  (Some of the most restrictive programs in Australia will require statutory declarations and support from established Aboriginal corporations demonstrating community support, but none, to my knowledge, measure quantum).

in my research I also came across eligibility to take part in governance mechanisms set up specifically for Native Hawai'ians by the State government.  The three-way test requires a person to show they are a descendant, that they continue to 'maintain a cultural connection to the Native Hawaiian community', and that they are over 18 years old.  Reflecting on the Australian experience I note the similarities between maintaining a 'cultural connection' and the legal test applied, for example, to native title (in native title the court is able to interpret what is a 'sufficient' connection for a claimant group and determines the existence of native title - a very contentious test).

In Hawai'i I was amazed to read about the Kamehameha Schools, a private school set up in 1887 to benefit native peoples by the terms of the will of a wealthy Monarch.  The 'about' section of the website reads:

Kamehameha Schools (KS) is a private charitable educational trust endowed by the will of Hawaiian Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop (1831-1884), the great-granddaughter and last direct descendant of King Kamehameha I.
During her lifetime, Princess Pauahi witnessed the rapid decline of the Hawaiian population. With that decline came a challenge to preserve the Hawaiian language and culture she held dear.
The princess knew that education would be key to the survival of her people, so in an enduring act of aloha, she left them a precious gift upon her passing – 375,000 acres of ancestral land. She instructed the trustees of her estate to use the land to educate her people. Today, her endowment supports an educational system that serves thousands of Hawaiian learners in Hawai‘i and across the nation.

What a fascinating contrast to home!  Some of the wealth of the Monarch in Hawaii more than 100 years ago was transferred to a trust which was to benefit native Hawaiians and this, in turn, and many years down the track, established an institution which continues to serve its people remarkably well today.  Imagine this happening in Sydney, or Darwin, or Broome, or Perth at the dawn of settlement?  Imagine the Aboriginal language groups in Sydney receiving payment in the 1800s for the transfer of possession of their lands and, with those payments, setting up a trust for educational institutions in which, today, rival that of the best colleges in Australia?  The contrast in history and circumstance between Hawai'i and Australia (and many indigenous groups across the world) is remarkable.

In Hawai'i we were told that Indigenous peoples are undergoing a kind of cultural revival/renaissance.  The Indigenous language and customs are being revived.  Without being exposed to this I imagined the pressures and community politics at play: Polynesian immigrants from other pacific islands buoyant about their own culture which may be more in-tact and resemble tradition than the native Hawaiians; groups within the native Hawaiian population whose descendants were subject to laws and pressures where they had to denounce their cultural heritage and values; disputes as to who should have the authority to identify and re-learn knowledge and how this connects to other programs.  Many of these dynamics are at play in Australia as groups struggle to find their place and position in a complex social web.

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A poignant observation 

In one conversation with a native Hawaiian the question was asked about the social challenges facing their people.

'Social challenges are an issue', she replied. 

'Our people are seeking to elevate themselves above the current state.  And it is a developmental process'.

'Substance abuse is a big issue'.

Another person local to Hawai'i but not 'native' felt the contemporary struggles had some connection to dispossession and to the past legacies of not being able to speak the language (and continue culture).  Our friend didn't pick up this point but diverted and said '[it is] us who are the ones who need to step up'.  There was a brief pause.  Then she admitted that she may not be the person to explain it all and what the reasoning and solutions are.

This struck me as a very powerful statement (and admission).

In Australia and the political fray dominated by opinions and media I realised how our politics is so polarised and divided.  Our key opinion-makers appear to be not only confident about what the solutions are but also the diagnosis.  These opinions are often capitulated by powerful segments of the media each with its own constituency, and in many ways is projected at a national level and beyond the realm of those who are the subjects of policy.  Threads from the dominant Australian political voices hatch onto select Aboriginal individuals.  The opinion-makers are both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal and appear focused on delivering a perception that they have the answers (this, in many ways, justifies the media's use of their name and opinions as Aboriginal advocates).

In my brief exchange with this native Hawai'ian leader I realised that the soft voices away from the limelight of media-fuelled opinion can bring a situation right back to its roots - 'I may not be the person to explain it all and what the reasoning and solutions are'.  Here I was, in the most powerful economic and tourist hub of the pacific, hearing from a person I perceive to be knowledgeable in local developmental issues saying by inference that the challenges indigenous people face are multi-faceted and multi-pronged, and that the actual precise causes are too complex for simple de-construction.  Such statements helped to liberate my thinking - to give it freedom - because they helped disconnect the assumptions that are held from being within my own system back home and without experiences to counter.

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Legal matters and politics

In our talks and research back home I came across how legal issues are treated so differently.

For instance, the Apology Bill signed by President William Clinton on Nov 23rd 1993 was an apology to the Native Hawaiians on behalf of the Unites States for the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawai'i.  The nature of this 'overthrow', we were told, continued to affect many people who saw it as an illegitimate use of power.

In relation to mechanisms set up for native Hawai'ians to vote a report, Reconciliation at a Crossroads, noted:

The US Supreme Court ruled in Rice v Cayetano that a voting procedure allowing only native Hawaiians to vote for members of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs violated the 15th Amendment of the Constitution, which prohibits race-based exclusion from voting...The Rice decision has occurred during a flourishing movement of self-determination and self-governance, fueling feelings of anger and frustration within the native Hawaiian community.

In other research I came across political disputes where the State legislature was pressured to pay unpaid Public Land Trust revenues amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars.  In Australia we don't have similar cases because Aboriginal land ownership is not recognized in the same way (but we do have disputes over monies owed as part of stolen wages).

As in other areas of the US I regularly came across the word 'sovereignty' in the context of governance, which is seldom used back home.

A challenge of claiming sovereignty are the misconceptions of the general public.  The word 'sovereignty' has become synonymous with the independence movement, whereas from my observations native Hawai'ians interpret 'sovereignty' as leverage for negotiations between the US Federal level and native Hawai'ian level (for the purpose of resolving previously unresolved tensions).  The manner in which the Hawai'ian Monarch was overthrown is one part of this tension and in a way helps justifies the 'sovereignty' movement.

I reflected on the fact that the English language is imperfect and words evolve to take on new meanings (and, in some cases, some meanings take on new words).  What I came to understand as 'sovereignty', and used for this specific purpose of resolving unresolved tensions within a State, is interpreted in a technical and legalese sense and, in turn, is misinterpreted (and misunderstood) in general conversation, and on the mainland US.  I suspect it has been difficult bridging understanding from afar when the cultural, social and political affiliations are so different and so far removed from the land upon which the questions and unresolved tensions rest.  (Further, I assume that proponents of Hawai'ian 'sovereignty', and probably a few Republicans, often play on these misconceptions and find no reason to clarify the meaning of 'sovereignty' as put by most native Hawai'ians).

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An example of a successful social enterprise

For one meeting we met two individuals involved in a community housing program, a more senior lady and a young man.  We watched a 10 minute DVD (not available online) which documented the story behind an old government-owned complex of flats which used to be swamped by negative self-perceptions, drug abuse,   buildings

I reflected on our own experience in Alice Springs, where many of the town camps were the result of fringe camps set up by surrounding groups which were later recognized leases in perpetuity vested in housing associations.  Unlike the experience we came across, the town camps (and housing associations) were the result of community empowerment, but had later disintegrated into posits of significant social challenges .  


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An example of a successful social enterprise


In one session we visited a center responsible for assisting immigrants to engage in enterprise.  The center had a number of kitchens which could be let out.  Whilst most of these were used by different ethnic groups for selling food at market, a key idea was that sharing and liking each others food helped overcome conflict.  The letting out of kitchen facilities had reduced because of the economic difficulties.

A word of interest to me put in the discussion was 'acculturation'.  I asked what it meant.  The kind lady speaking to us said that it was divided into two parts: (1) systems; (2) values.  'Systems' referred to what was required to live and included things like accessing government agencies, bus timetables, identification, etc.  'Values' referred to what the people believe and value, and how it is different from the immigrant's original home: not eating turtles, cultural practices.




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Conclusion

Not long after returning home the Andrew Bolt decision was handed down by the Federal court, sparking a media furor.  Regardless of the arguments for or against the case, the fact that there were so many skewed and misleading interpretations displayed so easily in prominent newspapers, airwaves and social media across Australia played into the oppressive (and depressive) state of how we as a nation spotlight Aboriginality.

Free speech allows this, and in the U.S. free speech is a cornerstone of society, but in my country when it is carried out in such a benign way and at the same time so ill-willed and without consequence it understandably makes people retreat.

Back home I was reminded that despite the many challenges in Hawaii its Indigenous peoples face, their position among the islands and the conscience of all Hawaiians struck me as a world away from the kinds of debates, feelings, personas, apparent lack of drive for truth and honesty which permeates too many dominant sections of my own country.

Maybe it was the 'Aloha' experience.