Product Description

This revised text includes material that builds on issues and concerns raised in the first edition. It explores issues of native Hawaiian student organizing at the University of Hawaii, the master plan of the native Hawaiian self-governing organization Ka Lahuni Hawaii and its platform on the four political arenas of sovereignty, the 1989 Hawaii declaration of the Hawaii ecumenical coalition on tourism, and a typology on racism and imperialism. Brief introductions to each of the essays bring them up to date and situate them in the native Hawaiian rights discussion.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #94686 in Books
• Published on: 1999-04-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780824820596
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
In this impassioned and provocative collection of 17 essays, Trask, a well-known activist, argues the case of indigenous Hawaiians, persons of Polynesian descent, who have been overwhelmed by the dominant culture. She puts the native Hawaiian experience in its historical context as one of colonialism, initiated by military invasion and sustained through military and economic occupation and oppression. She also touches on the environmental devastation wrought by development on a beautiful and fragile ecosystem, and on the "cultural prostitution" that occurs when native traditions become mere local color for swarms of tourists. Trask examines the claims of Hawaiians to human rights and self-determination before international tribunals. This issue is given a larger frame of reference by a similar discussion of other Pacific island nations. The author convincingly documents continued racism directed at Hawaii's native inhabitants, including at the University of Hawaii where she teaches Hawaiian studies. Uncompromising yet never shrill, this volume is a welcome addition to the growing body of literature on indigenism, the movement for the rights of native people around the world.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Radical, but worth reading
I read this book for an introductory Hawaiian Studies class, and my first thought was to try and find some of whatever the author was smoking. In general, Trask is much too radical for my tastes. But she makes lots of very good points. I was shocked to see her accusing Gawan Daws of racism. I checked the passage she referred to in Shoals of Time, and sure enough, I could see that the paragraph was definitely racially insensitive. This is a book that really makes you think about things you've lived with in Hawai`i all your life and never really noticed. Trask may be a wingnut, but you should read her book anyway.

Trask is the light for truth
"From a Native Daughter" is very intelligently written with strong academic and historical references. Who can fault Trask for being so passionate and angered about Hawaii's wrongful past? For over 110 years, Hawaii has been seized and administered illegally by the United States. The native people have had their culture, their sovereignty, and their spirits taken away. She is demanding a right of sovereignty for this island nation that has been falling on deaf ears for generations.

There have been many interesting comments regarding this book that I've read and some are simply ignorant. No, Haunani Trask is not full Hawaiian but not very many are. One hundred years after Cook 'disovered' Hawaii, the population had been reduced 90% due to disease and cultural shock. There are maybe 5,000 pure Hawaiians left today, and most of them are so disenfranchised they cannot even think of deciding to write a book. Haunani speaks for these people who are powerless.

Another opinion is that her statements have little merit academically. The only revisionism occurring is the glossed tourist culture that is Hawaii today. And for anyone thinking that the wrong done to Hawaiians is not recognized (though very covertly), the Apology Bill signed by Clinton in 1993 displays the American government's fault in the illegal takeover. Interestingly, from this APOLOGY, all programs aimed to serve Hawaiians are being called racist and unfair for non-Hawaiians. This is hyprocrisy in the highest.

Haunani Trask is a racist? Her words are strong and no one can doubt her forceful style. Her political incorrectness is a reflection of how this government has treated the Hawaiians. America does not even recognize Hawaiians as an indigenous people like they do the Native Americans, not to say that Native Americans have a wonderful life either. The United States believes that Hawaiians are not different than other residents of Hawaii and that everyone should have an equal ground. It sounds so altruistic, but its destructive for native peoples. The Hawaiians have been here since the beginning of creation according to their religion. They practiced their culture, cared for the land, and lived in dignity over a thousand years before Cook landed. What are the results since the arrival: their language was banned, their religion was banned, their kingdom was annexed illegally, their people are still suffering today.

I have a brief personal story. I had many relatives and friends on my father's dad's side that lived on a very rural and peaceful area named Makua on Oahu (except for the live military firing that is destroying very rare endemic plants and cultural sites sacred to Hawaiians). They were the kindest Hawaiian people who lived off the land and the sea not bothering anyone. My grandfather was one of these Hawaiians and I loved all of our friends and relatives there. They bothered no one and lived traditional Hawaiians lives, very simple and generous. They weren't homeless like many claimed, they were living simply and beautifully. About 7 years ago, the state said that these people were trespassing on public lands and the tourists did not feel comfortable going there. They were forced off the beaches, many of them having to pack their tents and their belongings and travel somewhere else, a somewhere that does not welcome this lifestyle. A memorable picture is that of the bulldozers coming in and threatening to raze their campsites. So these Hawaiians, with their little piece of land, perhaps the last place of refuge for the Hawaiians, were scattered into streetcorners and alleys. I will never forget what happened to the people in the place I also called home, so symbolic of the Hawaiian people who continue to be subjugated to American interests.

I know that story seemed like a non-sequitor, but I wanted to share an intimate example of how much hurt Hawaiians have endured and continue to endure. Hawaiians are homeless, have the worst health statistics in the state, have the highest prison attendance, the list goes on. If Hawaiians will ever be heard fairly, I do not know. It is a quiet genocide amidst the hula girls and luaus that are at best distant replicas of who the Hawaiians really were.

If there is any injustice in this book, it's in the people who do not venture out of their perspectives and feel the tears and struggle saturated in the pages. Haunani Trask had a purpose with this book: To roar with anger and sadness for a people who live like tiny fireflies fighting the darkness of a long moonless night.

Compelling yet uncomplete
Trasks book is definetly worth reading. She has some wonderful critiques of the tourist industry and its effect on the economy,politics, and sustainability of Hawai'i. I also believe that Trask provides of very long over due and pertinent analization of the historic events that led to the occupation, overthrow, and takeover of the Hawai'ian Islands. In response to one of the reviewers, native Hawai'ians were friendly to you because they are paid to do so. To compare Trask to Hitler or David Duke is utterly ignorant and white backlash against a scholarly critique of white supremacy, imperialization, and colonization. The fact that Trask is not "100 %" Hawai'ian reminds us of the fact that the reason indigenous people are dying off is because of the colonial system that Trask critiques. On the other hand, I do believe that Trask leaves certain things to be desired. The diversity in opinions of various sovereignty groups in Hawai'i are all together left out and I have to disagree with her brand of extremist nationalism which tends to be not only exclusive but conservative as well. However, a critique of the colonialist exploitation of Hawai'i is often ignored and Trask fills in a void left by scholars and the general community alike.