The Lost Trust: Hawaiians And Hawaiian Culture
Hawaii Research Essay
If you were to ask someone to pick a place in America where they would like to travel, there is a good chance their answer would be Hawaii. Hawaii is a beautiful island known for its incredible beaches, flowers, and other wildlife. Because there is so much beauty in Hawaii, it has become a very popular tourist destination. Thankfully, Prince Kuhio and other delegates created the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act with the intent that the native Hawaiians would be able to rightfully keep their land regardless of the amount of corporate and Western businesses attempting to intrude.
Unfortunately, many American businesses in Hawaii have found loopholes to the new plan and continue to leave Hawaiians without any of the things that were originally promised. This has left many of the Hawaiian people bitter and angry as they wait for things that may never be returned to them. Previous to the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act was the Hawaiian Organic Act which according to Hawaii produced by the U.S. House of Representatives, established Hawaii as a territory of the United States. This took place in Hawaii in 1900 and at the time was a positive thing for the Hawaiian people because it allowed for Hawaiians to become delegates along with those appointed by the United States. However, it didn’t take long for the Hawaiians to realize the many problems that the Organic Act caused.
Everything had to be reviewed and approved by the United States Congress which made it very difficult for the Hawaiians to maintain and have funding for many of their needs such as housing assistance. Because of all the difficulties with the Organic Act, the delegates in Hawaii began to form committees based on their biggest concerns for Hawaii which included “Agriculture, Military Affairs, Post Office and Post Roads, and Territories” (“Hawaii”). This began to create ideas about how to rehabilitate the Hawaiian people which resulted in the Hawaiian Rehabilitation Bill which turned into the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act and was presented as “the first opportunity given to the poor man” (“Hawaii”). This was very promising to the Hawaiian people because it was one of the first times since the annexation of Hawaii by the United States that the native people of Hawaii felt like they were being treated favorably. This plan was a great starting point in recovering land that was taken from the Hawaiian people and once again giving the Hawaiian people a voice (“Hawaii”)
According to the article Prince Kuhio by The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, The Hawaiian Homes Commission Act was passed in 1921. Prince Kuhio had been working with The Americans in Hawaii to pass a law that would reward the Hawaiian people their land back that had been lost to big businesses and plantation own during the annexation of Hawaii. Prince Kuhio was born into royalty in Hawaii and was not able to take the crown due to the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy. He was thrown into jail and upon his release, became determined to advocate for the Hawaiian people who no longer had a voice. He was the only royally born Hawaiian to be elected a delegate to congress which made him one of the most powerful voices for the Hawaiian population. He was the main supporter of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act and did his best to help the Hawaiians get the justice that they deserved (DHHL).
Many of the large business owners in Hawaii were republicans and Kuhio worked closely with them to create opportunities for the Hawaiian people to gain back their freedom and sense of belonging on the land. When he was a elected a delegate for Hawaii, he worked along side the republicans on creating the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act in order to make it favorable to both the Hawaiians and the Americans. The act continued to support sugar plantations and large businesses but also provided Hawaiians with the reassurance that they would be able to get their land back that they once were able to live off (“Hawaii”)
The Lost Trust
Native Hawaiian Beneficiaries Under the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act by Mark Inciong talks about the advantages of the new plan. It says that the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act grants those with fifty percent or more pure Hawaiian blood a part of the land so that they can continue farming as their ancestors have been doing for centuries. This plan set aside 200,000 acres of land and excluded those who had immigrated to Hawaii for farming, business, or other pursuits from keeping the land. Those Hawaiians that qualified for the land were given a ninety-nine year lease and charged one dollar per year. At the time, this plan was revolutionary and gave the Hawaiians a sense of hope. The plan was meant to help the indigenous Hawaiian people and their culture flourish, however, in modern time the plan is not working as well as it used to, and many Hawaiians are looking to make changes (Inciong).
Because of the large number of Asians and Americans that moved to Hawaii, the amount of Hawaiians with fifty percent or more of Hawaiian blood is dwindling. This is worrisome for those who currently own land because they will be unable to pass it on to their children who may not meet the requirements. This would mean that much of the land would go back to the government or large business and plantation owners and those who consider themselves Hawaiians would be back to where they were before the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act was created. While many Hawaiians have received land, there are just as many if not more who have been on the waiting list for many years and have even passed away without receiving any of their land promised to them by the United States through the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act. This has left many native Hawaiians feeling bitter and angry. The Americans have constantly found loopholes in their laws in order to keep the Hawaiians from receiving the things that had been promised (Inciong).
In the Article Hawaiian Natives Have Been Waiting Since 1920 for Promised Land, the author, Brittany Lyte, interviews several native Hawaiians who have watched their ancestors farm since they were young. One of the men interviewed had been dreaming of raising animals like his family had done before him. When immigrants came to Hawaii, his families land was taken to produce sugar. That land is still owned by the United States government and now sits vacant. For many years he has asked to be able to farm on the land and has constantly been told no with varying excuses each time. The Hawaiian Homes Commission Act was created so that native Hawaiians would have access to their land, however, the act has many flaws and the Hawaiians continue to suffer at the hands of the American government. Coincidentally, it is mostly the big businesses that are leasing the land to the Hawaiians.
As the leases get closer to their ninety-nine year end date, many Hawaiians are unsure of what they will do when they lose the land they have been living on. These big businesses who technically still own the land are hoarding what should rightfully belong to the native Hawaiians and only leasing out the worst areas. Lyte tells another story of a single mother in Hawaii who is struggling to feed her family. Because of the high cost of living in Hawaii, she is required to work more than three jobs just to provide the necessities like food and shelter for her family. They are unable to live like they once were and their only hope is that they will receive land from the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act. She is not the only one that is living this way, many Hawaiian people are forced into cramped living areas on very small portions of land and struggling to make enough money to support their families (Lyte). Hawaii played a huge part in the production of sugar for the United States and began when Christian missionaries immigrated to Hawaii. Sugar farming was so popular that many people from all countries in Asia came to Hawaii to take part in sugar farming.
Paradise Found
A History of Pineapple, Sugar, and Seeds in Hawaii by PBS states that “More than 50,000 immigrants came to Hawaii to be part of the sugar production which produced almost a million tons of sugar per year” (PBS). Because of the amount of sugar that was being produced and the resources required, the production of sugar went downhill quickly, and most sites were closed by the mid-1900s. Sugar took a toll on the Hawaiian island and required large amounts of fresh water to be brought to the sugar fields which meant that much of the land was covered in equipment necessary for irrigation. Along with the lack of natural resources, the high cost of labor and growing tourist industry made it difficult to employ such a large amount of people in one industry. This left many native Hawaiians as well as immigrants unemployed and with no where to go. The high production rate of sugar during such a short period of time took a toll on the land, leaving much of what was once farming land empty and practically ruined. This puts Hawaiians in a poor situation because much of the land being rewarded to them through the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act is unfavorable land, which continues to make it nearly impossible for the Hawaiians to use that land for farming and living (PBS).
After years of farming sugar for the plantation owners in order to make a living, the sugar plantations have finally come to an end. An article written in 2016 called Hawaii’s Last Sugar Mill is Closing – The End of an Era in Maui by Hawaii Life commemorated that last sugar mill is officially closing. I believe that this shows that Hawaii is getting closer to being more independent and that the United States is loosening their grip on the Hawaiian people. Hopefully this will be a step in the right direction by allowing Hawaiians to farm what they would like to farm, rather than being forced to grow what the American government tells them to.
Some concerns with the closing of sugar plantations are that many Hawaiians would be without jobs, however many of the business owners are simply branching out into other growing endeavors such as seeds, fruit or livestock that will be better for the Hawaiian land. The hope is to “help support Hawaii’s self-sufficiency in energy, preserve the agricultural lands, and establish a new source of economic projects not only for Maui, but for the entire state of Hawaii.” (Hawaii Life). For those Hawaiians that do not want to pursue other jobs with those industries, there have been welfare plans put into place to help support the native Hawaiians as well as the immigrants who came to Hawaii specifically for the production of sugar (Hawaii Life).
Hawaii is a great island with many resources and other things to offer. However, if we don’t take care of the island then it won’t be there forever. Americans saw the affect that their need for sugar had on the island and was able to stop before it was too late. I can only hope that we can all be more diligent in the future so that we can restore Hawaii to what it once was and not do any further damage. Since the time that American missionaries made their way to Hawaii, the people of the island have been mistreated and used by the United States to further their agenda. Now it is time to put the Hawaiian people first and give them the respect that they deserve.
Works Cited:
- Hawaii Life. “Hawaii's Last Sugar Mill Is Closing - An End of an Era in Maui.” Hawaii Life, Hawaii Life, 28 Dec. 2016.
- Inciong, Mark A. “The Lost Trust: Native Hawaiian Beneficiaries Under the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act.” Heinonline, Arizona Journal of International and Comparative Law. Web.
- History, Art & Archives, U.S. House of Representatives, Office of the Historian, Asian and Pacific Islander Americans in Congress, 1900–2017.
- Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Publishing Office, 2018. “Hawaii,” (October 03, 2018) Web.Lyte, Brittany. “Hawaiian Natives Have Been Waiting Since 1920 for Promised Land.” Aljazeera America, Al Jazeera America, 11 July 2015.
