Colonization. Annexation. Assimilation. These are the three steps followed time and time again by the United States of America when venturing into the unknown lands to the west, and eventually, to seize control of the Hawaiian Islands in the late 19th century. The overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1893, followed by its annexation in 1898 by the United States, marked the beginning of the ongoing struggle for preservation of the Hawaiian language, traditions, lands, and most importantly, the representation of Native Hawaiian people. The suppression of Hawaiian culture and identity as a whole has been swept aside by the U.S. government which fails to see the spirit of Hawaiʻi fading away. This is why it is imperative that action be taken through a set of policy solutions aimed at strengthening the Native Hawaiian presence in the political landscape, reviving the Hawaiian language and culture, and protecting the land and environment of the Hawaiian Islands.

When Queen Liliʻuokalani ascended to the Hawaiian throne in 1891, Hawaiʻi was suffering from the influence of American and European missionaries. The Bayonet Constitution, signed into law by King Kalākaua in 1887 under duress, shifted from the King to the missionary-controlled cabinet, due to the new restrictions on voting rights based on land ownership and income (The Foundation for Global Sports Development 2022). Native Hawaiians typically were not landowners, causing voting and political power to shift to the American, British, and German business parties in Hawaiʻi. Following her tour of the Hawaiian Islands, Queen Liliʻuokalani learned of the growing discontent with the Bayonet Constitution, prompting her to draft a new constitution. Despite her best efforts to secure her people’s interests, the Committee of Safety, composed of wealthy businessmen, was determined to secure their own interests. On January 17, 1983, the Committee of Safety, assisted by the U.S. Navy, overthrew the government of the Hawaiian Kingdom, forcing Queen Liliʻuokalani to abdicate. This event stripped Native Hawaiians of their political autonomy and subjected them to policies that supplanted their cultural and social structures. As part of the imposition of Western values and the suppression of Native Hawaiian culture, in 1896, the newly-formed illegitimate Republic of Hawaiʻi passed Act 57, an English-only law which banned the Hawaiian language as the medium for instruction in publicly funded schools (Sang n.d.). The Hawaiian language was not again used as the medium of instruction in public schools until 1987, with the ban lasting for 91 years. Native Hawaiians were frequently punished for speaking Hawaiian in school, and many were picked on for not being able to speak English well. Hawaiʻi becoming the 50th state in 1959 further marginalized Native Hawaiians and continued the horrors of militarism, imperialism and colonization in the archipelago. Today, Native Hawaiians only make up 21.8% of the population of Hawaiʻi, and as a result, their cultural practices and traditions are at risk of fading into obscurity (Rico et al. 2023). However, Native Hawaiians have not remained quiet in face of this injustice. In the 1970s, the Hawaiian Renaissance sparked a new cultural and linguistic pride in Native Hawaiians (ʻĀina Momona 2021). Political activism among Native Hawaiians became widespread and still continues to be prominent today, with a major example being the success in 1980 of the decades-long movement to end the bombing of the island of Kahoʻolawe, which was used as a bombing range and training ground. Despite these advancements, much work remains to be done to ensure that Native Hawaiians have a political voice in shaping their future and that their cultural heritage is preserved for future generations.

To properly address the challenges facing Native Hawaiians, policies focused on increasing political representation, safeguarding cultural heritage, and preserving the Hawaiian Islands should be implemented at the local, state, and federal levels. Firstly, one of the primary obstacles to Native Hawaiian empowerment is the lack of adequate political representation. While Native Hawaiians are U.S. citizens, their political voice has been historically marginalized in both state and national decision-making processes. A policy solution to this issue would be the creation of designated seats for Native Hawaiians in the Hawaiʻi State Legislature and the U.S. Congress. This would be modeled after the Māori electorates in New Zealand’s parliament. The Māori Representation Act in 1867 established four Māori seats in New Zealand's Parliament in order to reduce conflict between the indigenous Māori and the European colonists, and to reward iwi (tribes) who fought with the government in the New Zealand Wars (Rawiri 2012). This system has continued into the present day, where there have been seven seats for Māori representatives in every New Zealand general election since 2008. By adapting the Māori electorates to Hawaiʻi, seats designated for Native Hawaiians in the Hawaiʻi State Legislature and the U.S. Congress would ensure that Native Hawaiians have a direct voice in shaping policies that affect their communities. Furthermore, the establishment of a Native Hawaiian governing entity with authority over cultural and land matters would provide a platform for greater self-determination. This entity could advocate for the protection of Native Hawaiian rights and coordinate efforts to promote cultural preservation and economic development.

Secondly, the revitalization of the Hawaiian language is crucial to preserving Native Hawaiian culture as a whole. To reverse the decline of the language, expansion of Hawaiian language education is necessary, as only 2% of Hawaiʻi residents have at least some fluency in Hawaiian (University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa n.d.). Even fluent speakers find it difficult to read and understand the unfamiliar idioms, vocabulary, and historical context of Hawaiian materials from the 1800s, which further elucidates the need for further intervention to prevent the language from extinction. This is why education policy for expanding Hawaiian language education should be implemented, including funding for Hawaiian language immersion schools, as well as the integration of Hawaiian language and culture into the broader public education system of Hawaiʻi. This would include a mandatory Hawaiian language class throughout elementary and middle school as well as two years in high school, accompanied by a Hawaiian Studies course offered in Hawaiian for the same period of time. By promoting the Hawaiian language at all education levels, from early childhood all the way to adulthood, the State of Hawaiʻi would help ensure that future generations of Native Hawaiians and Hawaiʻi residents can revive Hawaiian as a form of day-to-day communication and bring back the prominence of Hawaiian culture.

Lastly, preserving the land and the environment of the Hawaiian Islands should be prioritized given that land is of great spiritual, cultural, and economic importance to Native Hawaiians. The historical dispossession of Native Hawaiian lands has led to significant economic and social disparities within the community as the U.S. government has continued to push them aside time and time again. For example, under the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1921, the U.S. Congress allocated around 200,000 acres of the poorest agricultural lands to Native Hawaiians (Haunani-Kay 2010). Supposedly granted for farming and living, the lands were inadequate, inaccessible, and undeveloped. To make matters worse, not a single penny was allocated for improving the lands. This is why a Native Hawaiian land trust must be established by the State of Hawaiʻi providing Native Hawaiians with the opportunity to acquire or restore lands that are significant to their cultural practices, which would restore Native Hawaiian control over ancestral lands and ensure that sacred sites are protected from commercial development. Furthermore, environmental policies that respect Native Hawaiian traditions and knowledge of sustainable land and resource management must be developed, prioritizing the ancient Hawaiian ahupuaʻa system. Ahupuaʻa are types of land divisions from ancient Hawaiʻi that typically ran from the mountains towards the sea, containing a cross section of island resources needed to support a community led by an aliʻi ʻai (chief) and managed by a konohiki (overseer and tax collector) (Abraham 2024). The ahupuaʻa system was both efficient and sustainable in managing land and natural resources, and this system is exactly what the State of Hawaiʻi should seek to replicate. This could also potentially involve creating partnerships between Native Hawaiian communities and state or federal agencies to manage land in a way that honors cultural practices and promotes environmental sustainability. Native Hawaiian values prioritize the interconnectedness of nature and people, and by incorporating the ahupuaʻa system into environmental conservation and land use policies, the government can help respect Native Hawaiians while simultaneously protecting the unparalleled ecosystem and environmental beauty of the Hawaiian Islands.

In summary, as the path towards Native Hawaiian political autonomy and cultural preservation is both challenging and urgent, the various policy ideas help preserve the identity of Native Hawaiians through strengthening political representation, expanding language and cultural education, and protecting land and sacred sites. The implementation of the policy ideas for addressing the historical injustices that have affected Native Hawaiians will assist them in reclaiming their political and cultural rights in the lands of their ancestors that rightfully belong to them. It is time for both the government of Hawaiʻi and the United States to acknowledge and support the empowerment of Native Hawaiians, and to take meaningful steps towards restoring the sovereignty and cultural integrity that they have long been denied, ensuring that the spirit of Hawaiʻi can shine bright once more.

Works Cited

ʻĀina Momona. “5 Major Events of the 1970s Hawaiian Renaissance Movement.” ʻĀina Momona, 27 Sept. 2021, www.kaainamomona.org/post/5-major-events-of-the-1970s-hawaiian-renaissance-movement.

Haunani-Kay, Trask. “The Struggle for Hawaiian Sovereignty - Introduction.” Cultural Survival, 2 Apr. 2010, www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/struggle-hawaiian-sovereignty-introduction.‍

Institute of Hawaiian Language Research and Translation. “About Us.” University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, manoa.hawaii.edu/ihlrt/index.php/about-us/.

Parrish, Abraham. “From Mauka to Makai: The Ahupuaʻa of Hawaiʻi.” The Library of Congress, 18 Mar. 2024, blogs.loc.gov/maps/2024/03/from-mauka-to-makai-the-ahupuaa-of-hawaii/.

Rico, Brittany, et al. “Detailed Look at Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander Groups.” U.S. Census Bureau, 21 Sept. 2023, www.census.gov/library/stories/2023/09/2020-census-dhc-a-nhpi-population.html.

Sang, Kauʻi. “History of Hawaiian Education.” Hawaiʻi State Department of Education, www.hawaiipublicschools.org/TeachingAndLearning/StudentLearning/HawaiianEducation/Pages/History-of-the-Hawaiian-Education-program.aspx.

Taonui, Rawiri. “Ngā Māngai – Māori Representation - Representation in Parliament.” Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, 20 June 2012, teara.govt.nz/en/nga-mangai-maori-representation.

The Foundation for Global Sports Development. “Learn about the Rich History of Hawaii | American Masters | PBS.” Public Broadcasting Service, 20 Apr. 2022, www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/learn-the-rich-history-of-hawaii/21599/.