COMMENTARY
Labels fail to capture Hawaiian identity
By Kekailoa Perry
Teacher of Hawaiian studies at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa
When I asked my Hawaiian studies students, "Who or what is a Hawaiian?" I met blank stares.
Maybe they never thought about it. Maybe the question was too tricky or too simple. Maybe they felt their teacher was baiting them.
Repeated attempts to define Hawaiians have us all confused. Are we a race or a tribe? I say we're so much more.
Our claims to land, money and certain indigenous rights have spurred powerful entities to put us in boxes that only serve to alienate us further. It's no wonder the labels don't fit.
Take the U.S. Supreme Court. Three years ago, the high court heard Big Island rancher Freddy Rice's claim that the state Office of Hawaiian Affairs' Hawaiians-only balloting rule was unconstitutional.
OHA's lawyers argued that Hawaiians are a political group, not a racial one. They likened Hawaiians to American Indian tribes that enjoy special voting privileges and other rights because of their tribal affiliation. Their arguments failed to convince the majority of justices, who struck down OHA's Hawaiians-only voting requirement as racially discriminatory in a 7-2 vote.
That ruling was based on two well-established labels: the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act's 50-percent blood quantum definition, and the Hawai'i Constitution's definition of Hawaiians as descendants of those who inhabited the Hawaiian Islands before and during Capt. James Cook's arrival in 1778 — as if Cook's arrival was the beginning of the Hawaiian people.
In response to the decision, Hawai'i's congressional delegation teamed up with the mainstream Hawaiian leadership to develop legislation that wouldÊrecognize Hawaiians as a "political class" of people. Yet even that effort is under intense scrutiny and has gotten nowhere so far.
Neither the racial nor political classification does justice to the complexities of what it means to be Hawaiian. Worst, the court and government's narrow definition reduces Hawaiians to dependents of the dominant American culture.
The politicization of race neglects the unique spiritual connection to all things, including God, and does little to heal wounds or build a sovereign nation. Defining Hawaiians by blood quantum or as a political group turns us into parodies of "natives" living amid the romanticized remnants of a once-vibrant civilization.
We have a past, but we also have a present and a future. In light of that, I'd suggest a better framework for Hawaiian identity is genealogy.
In introducing ourselves, Hawaiians often reference parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, brothers and sisters, calabash or hanai relatives and even their birthplaces.
Genealogy transcends America's racially and politically limited paradigms. It's is not just a pedigree. It is a culmination of personal histories, of good times and bad. GenealogyÊprovides political perspective, teachesÊus life's struggles and passes on stories that make up ourÊunique identities.
Of course, Hawaiians also have exploited genealogy by using it only for purposes such as proving blood quantum or exercising rights to restricted programs. Thus, Hawaiian programs are accused of being racially discriminatory. When used appropriately, genealogy can be a powerful tool to overcome racial labels and prejudices.
Genealogy tells Hawaiians they have an equally useful place under the sun. Unlike race, genealogy connects everyone, including Hawaiians, to their rich history, a hopeful present and tomorrow's prosperity.
I realize now why the "who are you" question seems so puzzling. Most Americans are conditioned to answer the question within an American framework that categorizes people according to race. If we truly believe in freedom and equality for all, we should be able to challenge the conventional doctrines and live a life according to our genealogical identity.
I continue to hope that the students leave class with an understanding of what it means to be human through the eyes and actions of their ancestors. Unfortunately, people are not quite ready to search beyond the confines of our institutionalized racial definitions.
Reducing people to racial categories will only limit their experience and potential. Our genealogical world view can be liberating and will certainly improve the equality of life once we realize that genealogies can provide a space where race has no place.
