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I'm no expert, but I wouldn't mix the numbers for (native) Hawaiians with other Pacific Islanders (even if the census bureau does). Those numbers would be skewed by Samoans, Tongans, etc. living in Hawaii and the mainland. I'm sure there are numbers out there for the Hawaiians alone. I seem to recall it was closer to 50% living on the mainland--but I'm too lazy to look it up now.
I've been trying to find reliable numbers that split Pacific Islanders out from those of native Hawaiians, but I've had trouble locating them. Mainstream Census reports combine them into one demographic number, while other sources seem to depend on estimates rather than surveys. HBH sent me some sites to look into, but they were all linked to older data. If anyone has better numbers than the following, please post them.
I did, however, find a health report on the CDC site that broke out the most recent US numbers, but only for the whole country, not for Hawai'i alone.
Quote:
In 2011, the population of Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islanders (NHOPI), including those of more than one race, was estimated at 1.4 million in the U.S. population.
In 2011, those who identified themselves as Native Hawaiian constituted the largest detailed NHOPI group with 518,000 individuals, followed by Samoan (174,000) and Guamanian or Chamorro (108,000) individuals.
Also:
States with the largest Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander populations in 2011 were Hawaii (359,000) and California (329,000).
The Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander population is most concentrated in Hawaii. In 2011 26% of the total state population reported being Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander (including those with more than one race).
So by that accounting, 37% of the combined total of Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders across the country are self-identified Native Hawaiians on the US Census.
But the Census rules for reporting different racial mixtures have changed, and they seem to be overlapping and confusing to many of the respondents, so conclusive numbers for the number of Native Hawaiians in Hawai'i are hard to come by and are sometimes contradictory. According to the American factFinder, in the country, at the time of the 2000 Census there were:
Quote:
401,162 people who identified themselves as being "native Hawaiian" alone or in any combination.
140,652 people identified themselves as being "native Hawaiian" alone.
The majority of native Hawaiians reside in State of Hawaiʻi, California, Nevada and Washington. Two-thirds live in the State of Hawaiʻi while the other one-third is scattered among other states, with a high concentration in California.
But wait... oh, I give up...
Even the term native (or Native) Hawaiian means different things to different people.
Quote:
“Native Hawaiian” versus “native Hawaiian”
The Office of Hawaiian Affairs and other agencies and organizations frequently use the terminology: “Native Hawaiian” and “native Hawaiian.”
“Native Hawaiian:” Native Hawaiian with a upper case “N” refers to all persons of Hawaiian ancestry regardless of blood quantum.
“native Hawaiian:” Native Hawaiian with a lower case “n” refers to those with 50% and more Hawaiian blood.
Different designations are utilized due to the different level of entitlements and benefits accorded by one’s blood quantum.
“Native Hawaiian:” Native Hawaiian with a upper case “N” refers to all persons of Hawaiian ancestry regardless of blood quantum.
Taken to the extreme, if I moved to Ireland I'd be a Native Irelander.
It's an important distinction in Hawai'i, because it has legal impact.
If you follow the link I provided you can read much more detail on this, but for example, in order to secure a lease in Hawai'i Homelands, administered by the Office of Hawaiian Affars (OHA), which land has been set aside in much the same way reservation lands have been set aside for First Nation tribes, you must be a native Hawaiian, with at least 50% Hawaiian blood.
And the Kamehameha Schools, a private K-12 college prep system that serves 6,900 students on Oahu, Maui and Hawai'i islands, and delivers Hawai'i cultural programs such as teaching Hawaiian language, was created "to improve the capability and well-being of Hawaiians through education." With rare exceptions, the students have to have at least one ancestor of Hawaiian blood.
Quote:
Kamehameha Schools (KS) is a private charitable educational trust endowed by the will of Hawaiian Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop (1831-1884), the great-granddaughter and last direct descendant of King Kamehameha I.
During her lifetime, Princess Pauahi witnessed the rapid decline of the Hawaiian population. With that decline came a challenge to preserve the Hawaiian language and culture she held dear.
If you read a lot of historical material about Hawai'i you will find many references which call native Hawaiians "kanakas," and as has been noted earlier, the word even became a geographical place name in several instances. In his reputation-making "Letters from Hawai'i," author Mark Twain used the word "kanaka" liberally, in the same way we might use the word "Hawaiian," to refer to anyone or anything from the native culture. And I've found it used very commonly throughout the 1800s and early 1900s, but I rarely see or hear it used in a modern context.
Kānaka maoli, meaning "true people" or "real human beings" in the Hawaiian Language, is a name that native Hawaiians use with pride for themselves. But the term "kanaka" alone? Is it obsolete? I get the impression that it's just not used much anymore.
First time I can recall even hearing the word was maybe a half-dozen years ago, when I first listened to the late Rap Reilinger's classic Hawaiian comedy sketch "The Young Kanakas," a send-up of radio soap operas. But then, nothing. And I don't recall hearing it used around the island, so I started to wonder if it somehow had gone out of favor? I asked a few friends of Hawaiian descent, here and IRL, if it was an OK term to use or was it considered disrespectful? The response seems to indicate that it's not bad, but just kind of old fashioned, like the word "yank."
Then I found an American Heritage Dictionary listing for the word that indicates two meanings, depending on geographic area...
1. Hawaii: a Hawaiian of Polynesian descent,
2. Australia and New Zealand: A South Sea Islander, especially one brought to Australia as a laborer in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Often used disparagingly.
And then it was followed by:
Quote:
USAGE NOTE: Kanaka, which simply means "human being" in Hawaiian, is found today mostly in historical contexts and is not usually appropriate in ordinary discourse. As with many terms that refer to ethnic identity, Kanaka can suggest ethnic pride in some contexts while in others it may be taken as derogatory.
Location: SF Bay Area /on the banks of Waikaea Canal
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OpenD,
Thanks for broaching the subject about whether "Kanaka" might have at some time been a derogatory term. When I first saw this thread I thought "...oh boy I should really stay clear of this one as my experience with that term may -well - to put it nicely - burst someone's bubble..."
Yes - my understanding from reading letters from my family members still on the islands to other family members who had moved to mainland was that the term "kanaka" was not used as an honorable term...actually - quite derogatory. However those letters were written in the late 1930s an early 1940s. So, as someone coined the phrase for me, the use of "kanaka" as a harsh, bigoted term, "could have been generational."
As I remind myself and others from my other C-D posts, my connection to my island heritage was "cut" many years ago but I am struggliing to re-connect. I try to avoid mentioning the "darker" aspects of island living and heritiage as many who read this site tend to want to think of the islands as ...well ...paradise.
Thanks for digging into the numbers. It's odd that native Hawaiians aren't singled out and have their own numbers. It's almost as if the the US gov't doesn't want to give them any separate recognition (a tendency which could be a unofficial policy). Or maybe they're afraid the numbers would be used politically by the separatist movements.
Quote:
Originally Posted by OpenD
Then I found an American Heritage Dictionary listing for the word that indicates two meanings, depending on geographic area...
1. Hawaii: a Hawaiian of Polynesian descent,
2. Australia and New Zealand: A South Sea Islander, especially one brought to Australia as a laborer in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Often used disparagingly.
The wikipedia article I linked to said the same thing (Kanaka (Pacific Island worker) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia). I believe the word was the same or similar in many polynesian languages across the Pacific (and I wouldn't be surprised to hear there was a similar word in neighboring ethnic groups, such as Melanesia). Note that it is the AUS/NZ context where it was used disparagingly, Kanakas seemed to enjoy a good reputation in the American West (though I'm sure they were discriminated against as well).
Quote:
Originally Posted by OpenD
I'm curious what your understanding is... is it polite, or not? Do you use it, or not?
Were you asking me, or others? I don't use the word Kanaka, because it is more of a historical word as you mention. The modern equivalent seems to be Kanaka Maoli, and I don't use that much at all because it is the self-identification of the indiginous Hawaiian population, and I'm not one of them. I usually just say native Hawaiian, though I don't make any distinction of blood quantum (big N or little n).
Which leads me to a question which could be a thread of its own: do native Hawaiians favor native Hawaiian spouses for the purpose of retaining the benefits of (the arguably arbitrary) blood quantum for their children? I can see how it would be a spoken or unspoken "rule" that varies from family to family, and how it could cause both bonding and strife. I admit it is a sensitive issue, and I'm not really sure I should be asking about it.
Thanks for digging into the numbers. It's odd that native Hawaiians aren't singled out and have their own numbers. It's almost as if the the US gov't doesn't want to give them any separate recognition (a tendency which could be a unofficial policy). Or maybe they're afraid the numbers would be used politically by the separatist movements.
Apologies... I muffed that one.
Digging a little deeper I've found that separate numbers were collected by the US Census for 1. Native Hawaiians, 2. Guamanian or Chomorro, 3. Somoan, and 4. Other Pacific Islander, but they were combined for simplicity in the Databook and American Family reports I referred to. I'll have to pull the numbers we're all interested in from the main database. I'll let you know.
Thanks for broaching the subject about whether "Kanaka" might have at some time been a derogatory term.
I'm all for promoting openness and greater understanding. And through discussion I hope to gain more clarity myself.
Quote:
Yes - my understanding from reading letters from my family members still on the islands to other family members who had moved to mainland was that the term "kanaka" was not used as an honorable term...actually - quite derogatory. However those letters were written in the late 1930s an early 1940s. So, as someone coined the phrase for me, the use of "kanaka" as a harsh, bigoted term, "could have been generational."
That makes sense to me, because the Depression years and War years were times of great racial tensions, strife and struggles in the territory. Learning more about how it was back then helps to better understand how we got to the present.
Quote:
As I remind myself and others from my other C-D posts, my connection to my island heritage was "cut" many years ago but I am struggliing to re-connect. I try to avoid mentioning the "darker" aspects of island living and heritiage as many who read this site tend to want to think of the islands as ...well ...paradise.
I think the key to shedding light into the dark places in life is to have compassion and respect, and avoid being judgmental.
If you read a lot of historical material about Hawai'i you will find many references which call native Hawaiians "kanakas," and as has been noted earlier, the word even became a geographical place name in several instances. In his reputation-making "Letters from Hawai'i," author Mark Twain used the word "kanaka" liberally, in the same way we might use the word "Hawaiian," to refer to anyone or anything from the native culture. And I've found it used very commonly throughout the 1800s and early 1900s, but I rarely see or hear it used in a modern context.
Kānaka maoli, meaning "true people" or "real human beings" in the Hawaiian Language, is a name that native Hawaiians use with pride for themselves. But the term "kanaka" alone? Is it obsolete? I get the impression that it's just not used much anymore.
First time I can recall even hearing the word was maybe a half-dozen years ago, when I first listened to the late Rap Reilinger's classic Hawaiian comedy sketch "The Young Kanakas," a send-up of radio soap operas. But then, nothing. And I don't recall hearing it used around the island, so I started to wonder if it somehow had gone out of favor? I asked a few friends of Hawaiian descent, here and IRL, if it was an OK term to use or was it considered disrespectful? The response seems to indicate that it's not bad, but just kind of old fashioned, like the word "yank."
Then I found an American Heritage Dictionary listing for the word that indicates two meanings, depending on geographic area...
1. Hawaii: a Hawaiian of Polynesian descent,
2. Australia and New Zealand: A South Sea Islander, especially one brought to Australia as a laborer in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Often used disparagingly.
I'm curious what your understanding is... is it polite, or not? Do you use it, or not?[/QUOTE
It's interesting that you bring up Mark Twain and his liberal use of the word "kanaka" to describe Hawaiians. In "Huckleberry Finn", Twain liberally uses the "n-word" to describe African Americans, so it was fairly common for him to use pejorative terms to describe peoples that didn't share his ethnic heritage.
In the Hawaiian language, "kanaka" is a neutral term; however, in Tok Pisin (used in Papua New Guinea) and other Creole languages and pidgins used throughout the Pacific and Australia, it's somewhat pejorative and closely intertwined with the practice of "blackbirding" which flourished during the latter part of the 19th Century. For the most part, "blackbirding" (or the "Pacific Slave Trade") wasn't much better than the "Atlantic Slave Trade" that involved Africans. Unfortunately, "blackbirders" misappropriated the Hawaiian term "kanaka" and used it to disparage their victims, regardless of their origins in the Pacific. And, the negative connotation associated with the term "kanaka" managed to stick and make its way back to Hawaiʻi. Just like the Hawaiian word "haole" can be used in a negative fashion today, some folks used the term "kanaka" to disparage Hawaiians up until the late 1970s.
During the 1970s and 1980s, Hawaiian activists struggled with finding a Hawaiian language expression to denote the indigenous people of Hawaiʻi. In a nutshell, some folks concluded that it would be a good idea to "take back" the term "kanaka" and try to remove its stigma by adding the adjectives "maoli" ("native", "true", "real", "genuine", etc.) or "ʻōiwi" ("native") to it; hence, "kanaka maoli" and "kanaka ʻōiwi." Nowadays, one usually has to add an adjective in front of the term "kanaka" to make it disparaging (e.g. "dumb kanaka", etc.) in Hawaiʻi.
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Kanakas
