Self Determination
The Native Hawaiians Right to Self Determination
Monikalynn Hawkins
ANT 101 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
Dr. Ronald K. Bolender
October 22, 2009
Ancient Hawaiian genealogy suggests settlement of the islands by Tahitian navigators sometime between A.D. 300 and A.D. 800. (Trask, 1993, p.4) Before the coming of colonizers, the native society was organized as a familial society, consisting of tribes and chiefdoms, which provided the necessities of life- land, water, food, identity and support. The economy was dependant primarily on a balance of the products provided from the land and sea. There was no money, no idea or practice of surplus appropriation, value storing, or credit, because there was no practice of financial profit for exchange. What did exist was a sharing of products between families who lived in the uplands and families who lived by the sea. What did exist was a structured government which made ruled the people and the lands and provided a structure social system so that everyone was taken care of. Cultural materialist, Marvin Harris describes culture as “the total socially acquired life-way of a group of people”. Culture involves shared behaviors and beliefs of a group of people (Miller, 2007, p. 14). Miller’s ideology suggests that without cultural identity, a civilization would cease to exist. Colonialism changed the native people’s way of life. They were kept from practicing their cultural traditions and customs; their political, economic and social systems were stripped away; control of their lands was taken; their identity as indigenous people from the land was soon lost (The United Nations, 2007). Cultural integration is supposed to promote positive changes in a society. However, the introduction of change without considering their effects on the entire group was detrimental to the welfare and survival of a culture (Miller, 2007, p. 19). The invasion of
Monikalynn Hawkins
ANT 101 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
Dr. Ronald K. Bolender
October 22, 2009
Ancient Hawaiian genealogy suggests settlement of the islands by Tahitian navigators sometime between A.D. 300 and A.D. 800. (Trask, 1993, p.4) Before the coming of colonizers, the native society was organized as a familial society, consisting of tribes and chiefdoms, which provided the necessities of life- land, water, food, identity and support. The economy was dependant primarily on a balance of the products provided from the land and sea. There was no money, no idea or practice of surplus appropriation, value storing, or credit, because there was no practice of financial profit for exchange. What did exist was a sharing of products between families who lived in the uplands and families who lived by the sea. What did exist was a structured government which made ruled the people and the lands and provided a structure social system so that everyone was taken care of. Cultural materialist, Marvin Harris describes culture as “the total socially acquired life-way of a group of people”. Culture involves shared behaviors and beliefs of a group of people (Miller, 2007, p. 14). Miller’s ideology suggests that without cultural identity, a civilization would cease to exist. Colonialism changed the native people’s way of life. They were kept from practicing their cultural traditions and customs; their political, economic and social systems were stripped away; control of their lands was taken; their identity as indigenous people from the land was soon lost (The United Nations, 2007). Cultural integration is supposed to promote positive changes in a society. However, the introduction of change without considering their effects on the entire group was detrimental to the welfare and survival of a culture (Miller, 2007, p. 19). The invasion of
References: Halualani, R.A. (2002). In the Name of Hawaiians: Native Identities and Cultural Politics. Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press Kelly, M. (1980). Majestic Ka`u. Honolulu: Bishop Museum Press Miller, B. (2007). Cultural anthropology (4th ed.). New York: Pearson Allyn and Bacon. Stannard, D. (1990). Disease and Infertility: A New Look at the Demographic Collapse of Native Populations in the Wake of Western Contact. Journal of American Studies 24. Trask, H.K. (1993). From A Native Daughter: Colonialism and Sovereignty in Hawaii. Honolulu: University of Hawai`i Press The United Nations. (2007) United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Retrieved October 11, 2009 from http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/en/drip.html U.S. Census Bureau. ( 2001). Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander Population 2000 Census Population Brief. Retrieved August 1, 2009 from http://www.census.gov/prod/2001pubs/c2kbr01-14.pdf Van Dyke, J.M. (2009, August). Akaka Bill would be “win-win”. Honolulu Star Bulletin: Island Commentary.