Hawaii has often been heralded for its relatively harmonious race relations, which encompass a great diversity of Asian and Pacific cultures. As the national concern with respect to multi-culturalism escalates into a debate over the merits of ethnicity versus amalgamation into the American melting pot, an understanding of Hawaii's social and racial systems may demand greater scrutiny. The living proof that the islands' people offer is not racial bliss or perfect equality but an example of how the perpetuation of ethnic identities can actually enhance race relations within the limits of a social setting marked by (1) the historical development of diverse ethnic groups without the presence of a racial or cultural majority; (2) the adherence to the values of tolerance represented in the Polynesian concept of aloha kanaka, an open love for human beings; and (3) the integration of Pacific, Asian, European, and Anglo-American groups into a new local culture.
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References
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1. Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., The Disuniting of America: Reflections on a Multicultural Society (New York: Norton, 1992), p. 16.
2.
2. Ibid., pp. 10, 18-20.
3.
3. James Michener, Hawaii (New York: Fawcett Crest Books, 1959), p. 1130.
4.
4. Leon Bouvier, Pacific Invasions: Immigration and Changing America (Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1992).
5.
5. Quoted in Peter Brimelow, “Time to Rethink Immigration? The Decline of the Americanization of Immigrants,”National Review, 22 June 1992, p. 30.
6.
idem , Interracial Marriage in Hawaii: A Study of the Mutually Conditioned Processes of Acculturation and Amalgamation (Montclair, NJ: Patterson Smith, 1968).
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idem , Hawaii: The Last of the Magic Isles (New York: Institute of Peace Relations, 1969).
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8. Lind, Hawaii's People, p. x.
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Eleanor C. Nordyke , The Peopling of Hawaii (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1977).
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10. Lind, Hawaii's People, p. 20.
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11. See Lily Kameeleihiwa, Native Land and Foreign Desires: How Shall We Live in Harmony? (Honolulu: Bishop Museum Press, 1992), for a contemporary Native Hawaiian historian's interpretation of how conflicting cultural and economic values between the new foreign community and the traditional kanaka maoli resulted in the dispossession of native lands.
12.
Rich Budnick , Stolen Kingdom: An American Conspiracy (Honolulu: Aloha Press, 1992).
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13. Lind, Hawaii's People, pp. 32-34.
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14. Noel Kent, Hawaii: Islands under the Influence (New York: Monthly Review Press, 1983), p. 77.
15.
15. For a review of the arguments against statehood status for hawaii due to the large number of Asian Americans, who could turn against the United States in time of war, see Hawaii Equal Rights Commission, Statehood for Hawaii and the Visit to the Islands of the 1932 Joint Congressional Committee on Hawaii (Honolulu: Hawaii Equal Rights Commission, 1937), pp. 12-13.
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16. For a map of “an island plantation community” that clearly delineates the racially segregated camps, see Lind, Island Community, facing p. 308.
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17. For a multicultural perspective on plantation work, recreation, and lifestyles, see Ronald Takaki, Pau Hana: Plantation Life and Labor in Hawaii, 1835-1920 (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1983).
18.
18. Despite Americanization pressures on Hawaii's plantation laborers, ethnic cohesion was an equally powerful political and cultural force. The fact that an activist Japanese journalist such as Fred Makino could rally the Japanese community to defy the attempts of the territorial legislature to shut down the Japanese language schools in the 1920s speaks more strongly of the continuance of ethnic pride and maintenance of cultural integrity than the weak efforts of others to promote Americanism. See Dennis M. Ogawa, Kodomo No Tame Ni (For the Sake of the Children): The Japanese American Experience in Hawaii (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1977), pp. 145-149.
19.
19. Lawrence Fuchs, Hawaii Pono: A Social History (New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1961), p. 55.
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20. W. Somerset Maugham, The Trembling of a Leaf (Garden City, NY: Garden City Publishing, 1921), pp. 207-208.
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21. For the history of Puerto Ricans on the islands, see Norma Carr, “Puerto Ricans in Hawaii: 1900-1958” (Ph.D. diss., University of Hawaii, 1989).
22.
22. Dennis M. Ogawa, Jan Ken Po: The World of the Japanese Americans of Hawaii (Honolulu: Japanese American Research Center, 1973), pp. 113-149.
23.
23. See Theon Wright, Rape in Paradise (Honolulu: Mutual Publishing, 1990).
24.
24. Marc Scruggs, “Anthony D. Allen: A Prosperous American of African Descent in Early 19th Century Hawaii,”Journal of Hawaiian History26:55-94 (1992).
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25. For a discussion of Kamehameha IV's dislike of American manners and attitudes, see Ralph S. Kuykendall, The Hawaiian Kingdom, 1854-1874 (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1953), p. 35.
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26. For a full discussion of the policy of racial unorthodoxy, see Lind, Hawaii.
27.
27. Hormann's pidgin culture is discussed in John F. McDermott, Jr., “Toward an Inter-ethnic Society,” in People and Cultures of Hawaii: A Psychocultural Profile, ed. John F. McDermott, Jr., Wen-Shing Tseng, and Thomas W. Maretzki (Honolulu: John A. Burns School of Medicine and University of Hawaii Press, 1980), p. 228.
28.
28. John Kirkpatrick, “Ethnic Antagonism and Innovation in Hawaii,” in Ethnic Conflict: International Perspectives, ed. J. Boucher and D. Landis (Beverly Hills, CA: Sage, 1987), pp. 298-299.
29.
29. In 1988-90, Kapi`olani Community College in Honolulu offered several workshops under the title “The Island Way: An Introduction to Hawai`i's Multicultural Lifestyles,” taught by Glen Grant through the Office of Community Services. Enrolled in the workshops were not only newcomers to Hawaii but also long-term haole residents and military personnel attempting to unravel the local style of behavior.
30.
30. See Glen Grant, “Race Relations in the Hawaiian School: The Haole Newcomer,” in Kodomo No Tame Ni, by Ogawa, pp. 588-596.
31.
31. For a discussion of the Native Hawaiian cultural paradigm of mini-max affiliations and coping strategies, see Alan Howard, Ain't No Big Thing: Coping Strategies in a Hawaiian-American Community (Honolulu: University Press of Hawaii, 1974).
32.
32. Frank DeLima, Frank DeLima's Joke Book, ed. Jerry Hopkins (Honolulu: Bess Press, 1991), p. v.
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33. McDermott, Tseng, and Maretzki, eds., People and Cultures of Hawaii, p. 228.
34.
34. Lind, Hawaii's People, pp. 112-113.
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35. State of Hawaii, Department of Business and Economic Development and Tourism, The State of Hawaii Data Book 1991: A Statistical Abstract (Honolulu: Department of Business and Economic Development, 1991), p. 82.
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36. Thomas F. Pettigrew, “Integration and Pluralism,” in Eliminating Racism: Profiles in Controversy, ed. Phyllis A. Katz and Dolmas A. Taylor (New York: Plenum Press, 1988), p. 26.
37.
37. State of Hawaii, Department of Business and Economic Development, Data Book, p. 42.
38.
38. This statistic is based upon a work in progress on the racial structures at the University of Hawaii, conducted by Dr. Virgie Chattergy, director of the Center for Multi-cultural Higher Education Studies, University of Hawaii at Manoa.
39.
39. Lind, Hawaii's People, pp. 84-90.
40.
40. Jonathan Y. Okamura, “Ethnicity and Stratification in Hawaii,” in Operation Manong Resource Papers No. 1 (Honolulu: University of Hawaii, Operation Manong Program, 1980), p. 11.
