Hawaiian people

Hawaiian people
Group	Hawaiian people
Native name	Kanaka Maoli
Population	~300,000 (self-identified)
Regions	Hawaii, United States, Pacific
Languages	Hawaiian, English
Religions	Native Hawaiian religion, Christianity
Related	Other Polynesians, Tahitians, Samoans, Maoris

Hawaiian people Hawaiian people are the Indigenous Polynesian inhabitants of the Hawaiian Islands, with cultural, linguistic, and genealogical ties across the broader Polynesian Triangle. They have shaped the pre-contact polity of the Hawaiian Islands, the 19th‑century Hawaiian Kingdom, and modern movements concerning cultural revitalization and political sovereignty.

Etymology and Terminology

The endonym Kanaka Maoli is used by many to assert Indigenous identity and distinguish from Kanaka, ʻŌiwi, Hawaiʻi as place-name usage, and the English exonym Hawaiian. Debates over terminology involve institutions such as the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, the Hawaiʻi State Legislature, and community organizations like the Hawaiian Civic Club and Hui Maoli Ola. Legal texts including the Apology Resolution and rulings associated with the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii reference various terms, as do anthropologists like Napoleon A. Chagnon and historians like Sandy Kitaoka.

Origins and Migration

Linguistic, archaeological, and genetic research links Hawaiian ancestry to broader Polynesian migrations from areas associated with Samoa, Tonga, and Tahiti. Studies citing Lapita cultural markers reference voyages across the South Pacific, navigational techniques similar to those attributed to Maui, and oral genealogies mentioning ancestors linked to Havaiki and Hawaii (island). Scholars such as David Lewis (sailor), Te Rangi Hīroa (Peter Buck), and Patrick Vinton Kirch discuss canoe voyaging, settlement chronology aligned with radiocarbon dates found at sites investigated by teams including Wilhelm Dittmann and Kenneth Emory.

Language and Culture

The Hawaiian language (ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi) is part of the Austronesian languages family, closely related to Māori language, Samoan language, and Tahitian language. Revival efforts led by figures such as Mary Kawena Pukui, Samuel Kamakau, Pua Kanahele, and institutions including Kamehameha Schools, the Hawaiian Language College (ʻAha Pūnana Leo), and the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa have expanded immersion programs. Cultural forms include mele (chants) preserved by practitioners like Papa Ola Lōkahi affiliates, hula traditions associated with lineages such as those of ʻIolani Luahine and Isadora Bennett, and navigational knowledge revived by organizations like Nā Koa Moana and voyaging canoes Hōkūleʻa under leadership like Nainoa Thompson.

Society and Social Structure

Traditional social divisions featured aliʻi (chiefs), kahuna (priests), makaʻāinana (commoners), and ʻōpio (youth), with land tenure organized in ahupuaʻa referenced in records of the Kamehameha dynasty, including Kamehameha I and Kamehameha II. Genealogies (moʻokūʻauhau) are central to lineage claims and ceremonial practice recorded by chroniclers such as Loaʻa Kaʻōleiokū and commentators like David Malo. Institutions like ʻAha ʻAina meetings, hereditary lines preserved in the collections of the Bishop Museum, and legal contests involving families such as those of Bernice Pauahi Bishop shaped land and resource relationships later addressed by courts including the Supreme Court of the State of Hawaii.

Historical Contact and Colonization

First sustained Western contact occurred during voyages by James Cook and was followed by increased interaction with traders from Boston and missionaries from organizations such as the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. The overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom involved actors like Lorrin A. Thurston, Sanford B. Dole, and the Committee of Safety, culminating in annexation by the United States of America and legal instruments including the Newlands Resolution. Key events and agreements affecting Hawaiian sovereignty include the Bayonet Constitution, the reigns of monarchs like Queen Liliʻuokalani, and international responses involving diplomats such as John L. Stevens.

Demographics and Distribution

Census data and community surveys indicate Native Hawaiian populations concentrated on Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi (island), Maui, Kauaʻi, and diaspora communities in California, Washington (state), Nevada, and on Pacific islands including American Samoa and Tahiti. Prominent population studies by the United States Census Bureau, researchers at University of Hawaiʻi System, and community groups like the Hawaiian Health Chartbook document trends in self-identification, language use, and migration tied to factors including tourism economies centered in places like Honolulu and Waikīkī.

Contemporary Issues and Identity

Contemporary movements address land rights linked to sites such as Mauna Kea, cultural resource stewardship involving the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and health initiatives organized by institutions like Hawaiʻi Pacific Health and Kaiser Permanente regional programs. Activists and scholars including Kealoha Pisciotta, Noe Noe Wong-Wilson, Haunani-Kay Trask, and Kanalu Young have engaged in debates over sovereignty, co-management agreements with agencies such as the National Park Service, and policy frameworks like the Native Hawaiian Education Act. Cultural resurgence efforts span language immersion preschools, legal cases in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and community archives held by the Hawaiʻi State Archives and Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum.

Category:Ethnic groups in Hawaii