Prompt Idea: As we saw in the videos, there a paradigm shift, and a strong revitalization of Hawaiian traditions and knowledge amongst the younger generation. How do you think this will continually improve & impact the Hawaiian community as a whole? How do you think colonization previously affected Hawaiian traditions?
As Jaysha talked about in her presentation, colonization historically really hurt Hawaiian culutre. Colonizers made native Hawaiians stop practicing their culture and doing traditional things. This lead to a long period of time when little culutre was practied and many cultural ways and traditions were forgotten. Colonizers also made the Hawaiian queen feel like she needed to put herself on house arrest to help her people and save thier land even though it was taken from the Hawaiian people anyway. Jaysha also talked about how many of these traditions had to be relearned but native Hawaiians had to look to outside sources to regain lost knowelge, such as traditional navigation. Clearly, colonization had a negative affect on Hawaiian culture, but more recently there has been a push to revitalize lost ways. A perfect example of this is with the Hokule`a voyage. Not only are people relearning how to naviagte using tradtional ways, but the people on the voyage are using the trip to educate others about Hawaiian culutre. I think with continued efforts, like this one, the impacts will only be positive to the Hawaiian community. The resurgance of culutre will contine to grow and I think it will help younger generations feel like they can still have a connection to their culutre.
ReplyDeleteThe colonization and administration of Hawai’i by Western governments contributed significantly to the subjugation of Native culture and the traditions that had thrived on the Islands for centuries. Many practices, most notably the speaking of the Native Hawai’ian language, were prohibited by the colonial government, and there was therefore a sharp decline in its use. Cultural practices that continued through colonization were severely altered in order to adhere to the standards of Western administrators, such as hula, which was altered significantly in order to fit Victorian expectations of modesty. However, since the statehood of Hawai’i, there has been a resurgence of traditional Hawai’ian culture, including a rise in the number of Hawai’ian speakers and an interest in the traditional culture and history of the Islands. Significant assertions of pride in Hawai’ian culture and history have characterized this period, with events such as the circumnavigation of the globe by the traditional ship Hōkūle’a representing a rediscovery of traditional Hawai’ian practices. Now more than since before the colonization of the archipelago, people have become more interested and involved in the traditional culture of the land, and such cultural awareness will likely only continue to expand In the coming years as younger people are educated in such practices.
ReplyDeleteIn 1778, British explorer James Cook arrived on the Hawaiian Islands. After European contact, Americans also began to colonize Hawaii. Due to European and American contact, Native Hawaiians suffered from diseases like smallpox which reduced their population from 300,000 to 24,000. American rewrote the Hawaiian constitution and disenfranchised the rights of Native Hawaiians. They also overthrew Hawaiian’s traditional monarchy by creating a government that consisted of sugar planter under Sanford Ballard Dole. American missionaries and planters negatively impacted Hawaiian culture, politics, economics, and religion. American and European settlement in Hawaii decimated the Native Hawaiian population and destroyed their culture and traditions by not allowing them to speak their language, dance their traditional dances, and sing their traditional songs. Being Native Hawaiian and all of which that entails was seen as savage and Americans wanted to “civilize” the Native Hawaiian by forcing them to conform to their norms and beliefs. Although America colonized Hawaii for a very long time, strives towards revitalizing Native Hawaiian culture have begun starting in the 1970s.
ReplyDeleteNative Hawaiians are attempting to revive their traditional culture by reteaching Hawaiian language, increased participation and knowledge of hula, and through the reinstitution of traditional Hawaiian crafts. Native Hawaiians are attempting to strengthen the Hawaiian language by creating immersion schools and are attempting to strengthen the practice of Hula through the Merrie Monarch Festival which is creating a resurgence in the study and practice of hula. With these movements and other movements like Polynesian voyaging, are signs that Native Hawaiians will continually create movements to revitalize Hawaiian traditions and knowledge. Overall, Native Hawaiians faced a major setback on living a traditional lifestyle due to American/European colonization but attempts to revitalize a traditional way of life have begun and a future where Native Hawaiian’s restore their rich cultural traditions is hopeful.
Colonization affected Hawaiians and their traditions in a huge way. Not only was their country stolen, but their traditional ways were suppressed. Today, many Native Hawaiians struggle similarly to Native Americans. Many youngsters don’t know their language, are unfamiliar to their cultural foods and dress, and do not know their history. Luckily, with the help of Hawaiian immersion schools and projects like Hokulea, a polynesian sailing vessel that is educating the world about polynesian culture, Hawaiians are beginning to reclaim their story. From speaking with some of my Native Hawaiian friends who are all passionate about learning their culture, I believe that the situation will continue to improve, for the young people will be the driving force of change in the near future. This will positively impact the Hawaiian community as a whole and perhaps even lead to the sovereignty of the state. Further still, Hawaiian’s reclaiming their story will positively affect the whole world by providing an example and hope for indigenous people across the globe. This may eventually lead to a world where white males are not the primary (or only) voice being heard, which in turn create a more just and fair world.
ReplyDeleteHawaii has a rich history all its own, with a unique culture and language apparent from anything in the western purview. This was what Captain James Cook found with his early colonization of Hawaii-- that and a swift death. This moment changed the narrative of Hawaiian history, with it being recorded and proliferated not by Hawaii's indigenous people, but by the colonizers who attempted to overwrite most of this history. Colonial powers used force to oppress and dispel native Hawaiian's government and culture, amongst other things, forcing them to speak English and adopt English practices. In doing so this new regime attempted to erase the people of Hawaii and their narrative, to exploit them for capital gains. However, the native Hawaiian people were not so easily defeated and over time have taken steps to reclaim and proliferate their culture, independent of a western audience or desires. This powerful transformation has culminated in the sailing of the vessel Hōkūle'a, modeled after traditional sailing vessels, around the world. This reclamation of traditional sailing practices, assures that rather than merely rediscovering the history that Colonial powers sought to cover up, this generation is writing a new future as well. There is no way to undo the impact of European interference in the sovereignty of native Hawaiian people, however, through the work of these native Hawaiians, they are building a bridge back to their roots and redefining themselves as people who exist in a world dominated by the normalization of Western ideals. By practicing hula, sailing, and the Hawaiian language, native Hawaiians are asserting their place in the world and rejecting the western narrative for something that they have created, bridging the past, present and future of native Hawaiian people and their narrative. It is inspiring to see them taking authorship of their story as an act of both existence and resistance. Much like in their sailing, the Hawaiian community is pioneering reclamation to retell their story on their own terms, and in doing so inspiring generations to continue to practice and explore their own indigenous cultures.
ReplyDeleteThe superiority mindset of colonizers indoctrinated a belief that anything different was not only less than, but unacceptable. As we learned in class, the history of Hawaii is no exception to this pattern. Following the arrival of Captian James, the colonial government in Hawaii failed to understand the beauty and value of a culture that was not their own. They tried to erase it in order to get the Native people to conform to a different standard. By not allowing Native Hawaiians to practice their traditional customs or speak their language, the colonial government also prevented future generations from accessing them.
ReplyDeleteHowever, there has been a resurgence of traditional Hawai’ian Culture. The ability to revitalize languages and reclaim traditional practices, like hula and sailing, show the resilience of the Hawaiian people and the extreme value for culture. Native Hawai’ians have worked incredibly hard to strengthen interest in practices like hula and create opportunities for people to learn to speak the language, such as through language immersion schools. I think the progress towards reclaiming their practices has been very impressive and that interest in doing this will continue to rise. Revitalization of traditional practices is important because it not only connects indigenous peoples to their ancestors, but it also allows them the opportunity to redefine who they are.
I enjoyed Jaysha’s presentation on Hawaiian history during house seminar for several different reasons. The primary reason being that I think that it is incredibly important to remove the connotation of Hawai’i as a vacation destination. It is essential to further the understanding that Native Hawaiians are a people and have a rich culture despite the high tourism rates that may indicate otherwise to the general population. I found the information regarding the colonization of Hawai`i useful because I believe that it is integral that people garner a better understanding of the cultural erasure/genocide that colonization brought to the Kanaka maoli and how this still persists through intergenerational trauma. It is also important to educate on the diseases that were brought to Hawai’i by colonialists as this is a much ignored fact but a very impactful piece of information as it greatly decreased the Hawaiian population by truly shocking numbers. The information that was presented is very important because Hawaiian history is traditally oral and therefore portions of the history is continually being lost and forgotten. If more people were educated on Hawaiian culture or knew the history of the de-Hawaiianization of the islands, I believe that in general, issues such as cultural appropriation or just plain ignorance regarding Hawaiian matters such as sovereignty could be dissolved. Additionally this further knowledge benefits the revitalization of Hawaiian culture.
ReplyDeleteI think the power of Hawaii’s culture is its focus on family and tradition. The younger generations of Hawaiians have leaned into their heritage instead of ignoring and excluding that part of themselves, and I think this is a great asset to their people. When the younger generation of a culture becomes active and empowered in their community, we see paradigm shifts like the Hawaiian one of the 70’s and 80’s. However, when the Hawaiians were colonized, passionate young people like this (and Hawaiians as a whole) were intentionally disenfranchised and separated from their traditions. After the recent Hawaiian renaissance, the culture has been bonding and growing again, and I think this will be very liberating for this community. Colonization can have a very negative impact on the self-esteem of a native community, and I’m so glad to see Hawaiians regaining confidence in their identities. Hawaiian heritage is a gift, and I hope more and more native Hawaiians will come to see it as such. As more and more Hawaiians become active in their own spaces, I think we will see an even larger impact that spreads throughout the Native community as a whole. I really enjoyed watching these videos, and I was personally very happy to learn that there are movements like this still active in the indigenous community.
ReplyDeleteIn many ways I feel that reclaiming one's culture is empowering in many distinct manners. First, you are able to connect with your ancestors and understand their ways and customs and by doing so can fully understand your own self identification and culture. Colonization has historically been the destructive force of many different cultures all around the world. We can see that for many people there culture is now a combination of the indigenous one combined with that of the colonizer and in many ways this is most likely the case within Hawaii. What I think is beautiful is that Hawaii is reclaiming their own culture prior to colonization in a manner that many other colonized people have yet to begin.
ReplyDeleteJaysha did a great job describing and teaching about the main aspects of Hawaiian history. I think that it is important that we all remember that this house and native community is not limited to only American Indians and Alaskan Natives, but also our friends of the Pacific. From previous knowledge and from Jaysha's presentation, I learned how much Native Hawaiians were and still are impacted from colonization that includes genocide and cultural loss. I enjoyed going through the visual timeline of Hawaiian history and going towards present time that the preservation of the Hokule`a is becoming more prevalent. I think that the revitalization of Hui O Hawaii`i Club is going to be really impactful for the Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders on campus as a further step to provide community and benefit the preservation of the Hawaiian culture as well as the Hawai`i Club that is very involved in Lū`au. I also have watched a previous video about Kumu Hina, and how hula is being implemented to young Hawaiian children and especially those who identify as māhū. On the topic of hula, I think that Merrie Monarch is a great example of how practicing traditional ways is a strong revitalization among younger generation. The overall presentation was a great reminder and lesson about Hawaiian history and how to implement the culture and traditions to improve the revitalization for future generations.
ReplyDeleteOne of the most powerful forms of resistance can be and has been a rediscovering of and continued adherence to communal knowledge and positive traditions. The solid path of revitalization that Hawaiian youth are on seems to be a precursor to greater forms of liberation for the indigenous people of Hawaii at large. As the younger generation grows in both knowledge of their history and sacred traditions and in age, they will not only be able to live individually liberated lives but be able to influence the society around them on not only a social and political level but, with the incorporation of tradition, perhaps also on an economic and environmental level so that there is a positive impact not just from an indigenous perspective but also in places where there are few remnants of indigenous peoples beyond the land they once inhabited so proudly. Though there is a strong emphasis now on returning to Hawaiian traditions, it is important to note the impact the mindset and forcefulness of the colonizer on the long periods of cultural and linguistic dormancy that generations of Hawaiians have had to endure. From the disrespect experienced on a monarchical and human level to the forced assimilation into Western cultural and language norms, there has been a long history of deliberate elimination of prominent features of Hawaiian culture that, though there is now an active resistance against, are still perpetuated.
ReplyDeleteDespite not being able to access knowledge about my family's lineage and not directly being raised with the revitalization of Hawaiian culture, it had grown incredibly comforting to see the rise in native speakers and cultural practitioners in Hawai'i's youth. I wanted to be accepted to Stanford in part because I has such a strong desire to reconnect to a culture I felt had been hidden from me as a teen, and I knew that community for Polynesian students existed through dance, language classes, and scientific research. Having to reconnect through people who aren't family because I can't fully access that history in a community that understands the value of lineage has definitely has its challenges, but I know I'm not the only Hawaiian out there learning to balance their cultural identities. There once was a time when speaking Hawaiian, practicing hula, surfing, making lei, etc. led to beatings, expulsion, and other discriminatory tactics, but indigenous Hawaiians have been resilient and able to rebuild those cultural pillars through incredible community efforts. Seeing Hawaiian language immersion schools, ethnobotanical gardens like Limahuli, and journeys like Hōkūle'a, gives me incredible hope for decolonization across the globe. There are still a plethora of wounds to heal in Hawai'i despite the increase in native speakers and education -- military occupation of lands and controversy over land use for once sacred spaces continue and will for years to come, but perhaps with the amount of reflective indigenous scholars on the rise solutions will be closer on the horizon than we know.
ReplyDeleteI really appreciated seeing a love and appreciation of nature being instilled in children at a fairly young age. This kind of education I think is crucial for building generations of future citizens that value the earth and its resources. On the other hand, it is unfortunate to go back in history and witness how much colonizers sought to undermine and de-legitimize many of the Native Traditions. For instance, taking a practice like hula, which traditionally had been was revered and enjoyed, and viewing it through a sexual, barbaric lens and moving to outlaw the practice in the region. It is furthermore unfortunate that the colonization of Hawaii itself culminated with the hostile takeover of the region, despite Hawaii’s ruler at the time showing immense bravery and pressure under these conditions. The fact that these important historical injustices are often not taught is a travesty, and doe nothing to help the revitalization of Hawaiian culture.
ReplyDeleteJaysha did an awesome job. I enjoy anytime someone talks about Hawaiian History. One of the things I think would have been interesting to talk about is the Kapu System and the efforts made to abolish it. I think this was a very important shift in ancient Hawaiian History. The Kapu System is a rule and restrictions that allow or disallow men and women from doing certain things. When the kapu system was abolished, I think this was a big step for equality among all Native Hawaiians.
ReplyDeleteI think ever since the Hawaiian Renaissance there have been huge strides made in regaining our language and culture. I think it is very important for Hawaiians to learn their history and culture. I am thankful that I was able to learn about my culture and my people and this learning has been extended to Stanford. Learning about Hawaiian culture is not something I expecred to learn when I first came to campus, but I am very thankful for Jaysha and her wonderful teaching and presentation about Captain James Cook, Hokule’a. Uncle Nainoa, and the History of Hawai’i.
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ReplyDeleteThe Hawaiian community is doing amazing work today to fight the cultural loss caused by colonization and pass on Hawaiian language and culture. One of the examples of this we discussed was the Hōkūleʻa, which is reviving the legacy of exploration and voyaging and strives to bring people together. The story of Hōkūleʻa was almost lost in the struggle of colonization, but its success and persistence today is a testament to the strength of cultural resilience.
ReplyDeleteColonization was a major obstacle to the practice of many Hawaiian traditions because it brought restrictions on language and took land away for sugar plantations. Foreign disease brought by colonization also wiped out a significant proportion of the population, deeply hurting the Hawaiian community.
However, the Hawaiian efforts against James Cook proved more powerful, and people like Liliuokalani worked to revitalize the culture and language. She wrote songs in Hawaiian and sought to nurture the next generation of Hawaiian children through the Liliuokalani Trust. Today, there are continued efforts to pass on the culture and language and I’m hopeful that Native Hawaiian voices can gain more attention over colonial narratives in telling Hawaiian history.