Hawai'i

Basic Information
Hawai’i (roughly pronounced ha-vai-ee) is a chain of volcanic islands spanning thousands of miles located in the center of the Pacific Ocean, and is considered by some the fiftieth state of the United States as of 1959 (World Population Review, TRACKS). It has a population of about 1,406,430 residents, with most living on seven major islands. Almost a million live on the largest island, Oahu.

The median age of a resident of Hawai’i is 38.5 years, with the binary gender distribution falling almost fifty-fifty. The ethnic distribution is as follows (rounded to the nearest whole percent): 38% Asian, 25% White, 24% Mixed, 10% Indigenous Hawai’ian, 2% Black, and 1% Other, as well as almost 0.4% Indigenous American (World Population Review, History Summarized). This reflects a history of migration primarily from Southeast Asia, as well as its troubled relationship with the United States, who, among other things, allowed big business leaders to stage a coup purely for profit and overthrew the then-independent nation’s monarchy in 1893.

Melemaikalanimakalapuaa McAllister
Please visit this page to learn about one of Hawai'i's cultural social media activists.

Sustainability
Please visit this page for information on Hawai'i's commitment to sustainability.

Treatment of Native Hawai'ians
As for my further research, I focused on the history of the treatment of native islanders (thus utilizing an ethnic lens), having previously seen media discuss high rates of homelessness among their ethnic group and continued discrimination.

After the annexation of Hawai’i against the wishes of the populous, for example, a new educational system was imposed which forced out the use of the local language without actively banning it as well as the local culture (TRACKS). “They took our language, they took our land, they took our identity, and it nearly succeeded in taking our will to live”, according to Sam Kuailani. In the 1920s, legislation involving the “blood quantum” stated that only those of “half-native blood” were legally considered Hawai’ian, enforcing U.S. standards of genetic relevance on a completely different culture. As recently as 2009, the Akaka Bill aimed to grant “Native Hawai’ians" federal protection, but many of the native people see themselves as nationals and still see the treaties of the Kingdom of Hawai’i as being applicable to this day. Thus the bill attempts to bind Hawai’i further into statehood.

Sovereignty
There is actually a thriving movement for Hawai’ian sovereignty, including (but not limited to) the reinstated Lawful Hawai’ian Government, which legislates based on the principles of the Kingdom of Hawai’i prior to annexation. It is not currently recognized by the United States. Its primary focus is currently land grants and poverty relief. They are concerned about the large increase in houseless people in particular.

Further information can be found here.