U.S

Rights and Land Ownership of Native Hawaiians 07.10. 2014 Sayo Tsukamoto

Chapter One

Introduction

In May 2002, the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) was coordinated to deal with serious matters concerning the rights of indigenous peoples. Since its enactment, several progress has made on the issues surrounding indigenous peoples around the world, and on 13 September 2007, United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples were authorized with majority of hundred forty-four states in favor, four votes against, and eleven abstentions. This decision was one of the turning points for indigenous peoples as its document claimed essential basic human rights. It specifically recognized the rights of intellectual property, land rights, language, and traditional knowledge, which are beneficial for the lives of indigenous people with sustainable living system. Although a United Nations General Assembly Declaration does not have a legal enforcement power, however, it represents the norms and standards for development of international community and has a strong influence in the UN member states, to commit on certain directions. It is an important standards and recognitions for indigenous peoples.

The establishment of the declaration highlights the rights of indigenous peoples to maintain and strengthen their own communities, cultures and traditions and to pursue their development in keeping with their own control at hand. The process of transferring their rights has moved smoothly, and the issues on human rights, lands and recourses have been repetitively discussed. Such problems are not only seen in indigenous peoples lives, but it is a common issue in developing countries across the globe. In many cases, development projects underestimate the importance of traditional culture of its certain region that it often creates a gap between development path and its people. Therefore, the rights in the declaration concern the issues regarding globalization, development, decentralization, and multicultural democracy. It is essential to consider the conflicts surrounding indigenous people’s rights, which are often forgone in international political fields.

Thesis Statement

The cultures and traditions of aboriginals have suffered its survival after the adaptation of western thoughts and their socio-economic system. Through the influence of western ideas, aboriginals have lost their cultures and traditions, which has evolved overtime simultaneously with its environment, at a very rapid speed. Their economic system of sharing, give-take economic style, has collapsed after the development of idea on possession, the idea of ownership, which was an alien substance to their traditional community. In case of Native Hawaiians, their history follows the predicted path of this matter. Their life has drastically changed and shifted into a different from, far from their traditional culture, after the contact of western cultures that their traditional cultures, languages, and people are at unrecoverable loss. They have developed their unique and outstanding cultures of sustainable economic system within their communities without an outside contact for a long period of time due to their isolated geographical location. However, it has drastically collapsed and overtaken by the United States after several decades of international pressure and force. The issues regarding the ownership and controllership of Hawaiian Islands are currently on the United States’ hand; however, ancestors of native Hawaiians question it. Although Captain James Cook has “discovered” Hawaiian Islands, it was already discovered first by native people of Hawaii that it is precise to say Captain James Cook “re-discovered” the Hawaiian Islands. Despite the facts, many western powers arrived in Hawaii to gain control over its territory after the documentation of Hawaiian Islands by Cook.

The question regarding who has the right over the land is yet unsolved and on agenda in Hawaii politics. This paper will try to elucidate the historical events of Hawaiian history with its relation to their lost land. Despite the enforcement of United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, no particular progress has made to regain the power of Native Hawaiians over their land. This is because there is a gap between international laws of United Nations and how regional communities translate its laws to enforce its rules in their community. Every indigenous community has its unique situation in the world that no one law can manage to improve and solve the problems of all the indigenous people. In this case, this paper will focus on Native Hawaiians and their issues surrounding landholding rights.

Chapter Two

Native Hawaiians and Their Motherland

In less than two hundred years of contact with Western influences, Native Hawaiians have lost control over great amount of their motherland. This also means they have lost their cultures and traditions, which was inseparable with its lost lands. The environment plays a critical role in Hawaiian traditions and customs that have evolved together, along with the development of people’s identity. Their physical and spiritual, genealogical, and sociopolitical structures has its undividable ties to the land and sea.

Physically, a deep source of Hawaiian identity is found in ties to land and sea, expressed in the proverb “ka mauli o ka ‘aina a he mauli kanaka, the life of the land is the life of the people.” As a society living off the natural resources from its land, was fundamental to the social identities of Native Hawaiians, specific to the island or region where they lived. ‘Aina, the Hawaiian word of land, also means “to eat,” symbolizing the physical relationship between people and the earth that they cherished, which was also shown in their traditional practice of collective ownership of land.

Another example of this inseparability of people and their land is found in genealogical traditions. Across the cultures of the Pacific, identity is core of establishing one’s genealogical ties to ancestral beginnings. In Hawaiian tradition, genealogical chants identify the lines of trust and social connection in addition to telling family stories. A lineage of people and place, including connections to a specific mountain, valley, wind, rain, ocean, and water, is central to their identity.

The set of land and people identity relationship is powered not on by ancestral lineage, but also by the collective memory of a common history. Hawaiians have been in Hawai’i for notably two thousand years. As bitter as the past two hundred years have been for them, Hawaiians determined themselves as survivors and there is still a hope of recovery in their people.

Together, these cultural practices and social relations exhibit how their homeland served as a key network in linking Native Hawaiian families to their indigenous heritage, despite the extensive and longstanding multicultural an multiethnic mixing in the state of Hawai’i and beyond.

Chapter Three

Geological Location of Hawaii

The cultural history of Hawaii has its division in Oceania, which are divided into three regions of Polynesia, Melanesia, and Micronesia. Hawaii belongs to Polynesia within the triangle of Hawaii at the north end, New Zealand as a south end, and Easter islands as the east end.

Hawaiian Islands are arranged by major eight islands, which are Hawaii, Maui, Kaho’olawe, Lanai, Molokai, Oahu, Kauai, and Ni’ihau from the eastward. Other than the major islands, there are overall hundred twenty-four islands, which are all under the administration of the United States government today. According to legends and folklores through oral tradition of Native Hawaiians, because there was no practice of documentation, Polynesian sailors in fifth century found Hawaiian Islands, and people started living on those islands few centuries after its discovery.

The first aboriginals of Hawaiian Islands migrated from Marquesas Islands around 250 B.C. by canoes and the second wave of migration came in 900 A.D. mainly from Tahiti Islands. From Tahiti, animals like pigs, dogs, and roosters, and plants like taro, coconuts, and bananas were brought along with group of families. This second wave of migration was made multiple times that people from the first wave of arrival were overwhelmed by the second arrivals from Tahiti. Since these two major waves, Hawaii has established its own distinct culture without a major contact of western influence until the arrival of Captain Cook.

The Land Tenure System of Hawaii

From the beginning, there was no concept of possession in Native Hawaiian communities. There was no individual who claimed his or her own land or the natural resources on those lands. There was no thought in storage of wealth. After twelfth century, the head or the leader, Ali’i, has started division of lands to manage its community. This is the time when Hawaiian caste system has developed as well. Ahupua’a, the concept of private property, was adopted at this time along with the Hawaiian caste system. The highest chief, Ali’i, supervised and managed all of the lands, which were under the control.

The concept of private ownership was unknown to Native Hawaiians, but they did build their own complex land division and management system. The highest chief administered all lands, and held an entire trust by the community that he rurled. The chief supervised and designated area of lands based on people’s ranks and standings. Each island was divided into several unites, running from the mountain height to the shore down. For example, O’ahu was divided into six segments in early history of Hawaii. Then, each division was divided into smaller parts. The size of it depended on the amount of natural resources available to compensate for the relative lack of natural abundance.

The land segmentation based on a basic self-sustaining cycle, broadened Hawaiian spiritually in relation to nature. Each division contained resources that people needed for living, from fish and salt, to fertile land for farming taro and other crops, to koa and other trees growing in upslope areas. Villagers from the coast traded fish for other foods or for woods to build canoes and houses. Specialized knowledge and resources peculiar to small areas were also shared among divided lands. There was no exclusive possession, as each individual depended on each other for trade of goods.

Although there was no private ownership of property, land proprietorship was stable. People paid weekly labor taxes and annual taxes to the local leader, who collected goods to support the chief and their division of community. The chief supervised general labor within the division of land to regulated land, water, and ocean use.

The management of the land and its resources were formalized through kapu system, also known as taboo system, administered and enforced by chiefs, and they placed restrictions on fishing certain species during specific seasons, on fathering and replacing certain plants, and on many aspect of social interaction as well. In this way, the community maintained a sustainable lifestyle, which was essential in living on an island. Though sharing resources and constantly working within the cycle of their natural environment, Hawaiians enjoyed abundance and a quality life style with leisure time for recreation, especially during the harvest season of the year. This explains their unique and fascinating cultures that exist till today.

The system of complex land tenure in Hawaiian tradition successfully sustained an extreme dense population and provided surplus of goods in sufficient manner to support the community system. The hierarchical society paralleled this pattern of land division. At the top, a chief controlled each land, and sub-chiefs controlled smaller amounts of land, and at the bottom on the hierarchy common farmers worked land for the chief’s and community benefit. Commoners also had areas for their own use and had certain gathering rights in the non-cultivated lands. Although a commoner in Hawaii owned a work obligation to those higher in the structure, they were free to lave the divided lands if unsatisfied with their landlord. There was no fixed relationship with the people and the land that they lived in.

This simple and absolute system of landownership were considered convertible, which means that no one had an absolute right over a piece of land, even at the highest hierarchy. Upon the death of a high chief, his successor was free to redistribute the lands among the low chiefs, and when those chiefs died, the lands were not necessarily passed on to the decedent’s heirs. Here also can see that there was no fixed relationship with the people and land. No one was restrained nor obsessed to hold a land, as long as their socio-economic system successfully cycled for living.

Chapter Four

Western Influences

From the unique land tenure system, transition occurred from 1778 to 1846. The arrival of Westerners completely altered socio-economic patterns, as Hawaii became a major revival point for European sailors in the middle of Pacific.

Kamehameha I managed to expand his power over all of Hawaii, except the island of Kauai, through the use of European weapon and power by 1795. The king and his people have started to get attracted on newly available European and Oriental goods. Therefore, the economy turned into take a part in international trade. However, the commoners’ life started to get difficult as traditional notions of feudal responsibility has collapsed as the tax system remained, and western disease destroyed much of the population.

Land tenure patterns reflected and served this new economic system. Kamehameha II who acceded to the throne in 1819, considered it politically undesirable to dismiss the landownership of his predecessor’s sub-chiefs. Foreigners were unhappy with this new stability of landholdings, fearing that it may cause a trouble like a civil war. From this point on, Hawaiian lands established the concept of possession in landownership.

Kamehameha III acceded to the throne at the age of twelve, and with the influence of council of chiefs, which have developed close relations with Englishmen, introduced the Law of 1825, which allowed chiefs to keep their lands upon a king’s death. Simultaneously, Westerns entered Hawaiian Islands, and they were given a piece of land by chiefs, in return for services or simply out of their traditional Hawaiian generosity. After overharvesting, it crumbled sandalwood trade, which advanced their economy. And westerns with significant capital accumulated in that trade began a large-scale plantation on the island. During the period of Kamehameha III, Hawaiian socio-economic system drastically changed by trying to adjust their system with the Westerners, to manage international trade.

First Constitution of Hawaii

The first written constitution of Hawaii was adopted in 1840. It authorized and adjusted land rights to new relationship between Hawaiian chiefs and commoners, and Hawaiians and Westerners. It was the final attempt by Hawaiians to preserve the traditional land tenure system and to reserve the tide of Hawaiians who were leaving their traditional homes for booming towns of Honolulu and Lahaina. One of its regulation stated that those living on farm shall not leave the land without cause, and those landlords shall dispossess his tenant without a care. Through this constitution, Native Hawaiians who had already left their homeland were given an opportunity to return back home by applying to a governor or king.

The constitution also tried to undertake two-conflicted disputes between Hawaiians and Westerners. First, it was to stop chiefs to settle down their landownership in the hand of Westerners without the approval of the king. Second, it was to stop those Westerners who had received land rights, to transfer their land rights to other foreigners without king’s permission. The traditional Hawaiian land system did not encounter these issues, since landholdings before the year of 1825 had been revocable at the pleasure of the king.

However, foreign communities had distinct advantages in controversy over land rights between the Hawaiians and foreigners. First, foreign gunboats frequently came to Hawaii to enforce the traders’ views. Although there was no use in military power for enforcement, their presence was intimidating enough to alter the decisions of Hawaiian people. Second, Westerners had assumed many of the most important positions in Hawaiian communities and thus were able to influence governmental decisions in many matters. Therefore, Native Hawaiians had come to fear the foreigners’ accumulation of land. They realized that such holdings would increase the power exercised by foreigners and decrease their own ability over their homeland.

In order to determine the Westerners’ claims on Hawaiian lands, the constitution of 1840 reaffirmed that the king could lose no land. However, fearing a confrontation with Westerners, the king provided in the constitution that property already held by them would not be reclaimed. By this time, Hawaiian Kingdom has learned a lesson that its independence was at the whim of great Western powers, whose nationals increasingly desired to own the lands of Hawaii for business reasons.

Era of the Mahele

By 1845, the traditional land tenure system could no longer hold its function on the face of hostile foreign world. As a response, the government appointed the land commission to be charged to undertake disputes over land property of individuals, whether Hawaiian or foreign. The members of Commission, two were Hawaiians, one was half-Hawaiian, and two were Westerners. From this point on in the history, foreigners appeared to develop a visible power in the politics of Hawaii.

In 1846, the Commission adopted principles that the remaining lands of the kingdom to be divided into thirds: one third to the Hawaiian government, another third to the chiefs and land agents, and the final third to the tenant farmers. This is called the Great Mahele, the division, which began in January 27, 1848. By March 8 of the same year, King retained approximately 1,500,000 acres, and his heirs and successors held approximately 1,000,000 acres. However, commoners received divided title less than 30,000 acres, which was less than one percent of the total land area. Commoners’ lifestyle had close relationship with the traditional land tenure system, as they were depended on the land held by the chiefs. Therefore, by dividing the land into pieces, their homes were stolen and their way of living has been drastically altered by the Commission decisions. Thus, the great bulk of Hawaiian people were separated from the lands of Hawaii. Historically, commoners had only small fields to work for their own benefit, but they also were able to use other non-cultivated lands within the lands in return for labor dues. The foreigners tolerated the hierarchical structure of Hawaiian society by removing its valuable qualities. The transformation into the forms of modern Hawaiian land system was completed by creating formalized mechanisms for the sale of government lands and by allowing aliens to own land in Hawaii. The government had sold over 27,000 acres of lands, and by 1852, thousands of acres of prime Hawaiian lands were in the hands of foreigners.

Most importantly, Western property concepts were imposed on the legal structures and would operate the rapid, steady annexation of Hawaiian-owned lands during the next few decades. Moreover, the government’s commitment to selling its remaining land put Westerners, with their access to capital, in a position to take Hawaiian land through the legal procedure they had established. Western Imperialism had been accomplished without the usual troublesome wars and costly authorization.

Native Hawaiian as Minority

With a permanent population of fewer than two thousand, Westerners took over most of Hawaii’s land in the next half-century and manipulate the economy for their own benefit. By the turn of the century, Hawaiians were a minority in their own homeland. Plantations were made possible by legislation enabling Westerners to purchase large tracts of government land. Intermarriages between Western men and the daughters of land-rich Hawaiians also resulted in the loss of Native Hawaiian control over land. Westerners, having asserted economic dominance over the Islands by the 1880’s, turned to the establishment of complete political control.

Conclusion

Indigenous peoples today stand at the crossroads of globalization. In many ways, indigenous peoples challenge the fundamental assumptions of globalization. They do not accept the assumption that humanity will benefit from the construction of a world culture of consumerism. Indigenous peoples are severely aware, from their own tragic experience over the past five hundred years that consumer societies grow and prosper at the expense of other peoples and the environment. However it seems that the humanity has not learned anything from the human and ecological tragedies caused by the misguided development policies of the 1960s and 1970s. The very existence of the world indigenous movements are a product of globalization, especially in the field of information technology, air travel, telephone and now the internet, have helped to link indigenous peoples together worldwide, to increase the visibility of Indigenous peoples, and to amplify Indigenous peoples' collective voices.

A piece of land is entwined with self-determination and identity of the present Native Hawaiians in intimate and complex ways. The binding connection that holds Hawaiians together and connects them to a common past, land is likewise a main factor that has been utilized to alienate and fragment the Hawaii inhabitants. However, it is also place that Hawaiians share in their path to spirituality and in seeking their identity. The land of Hawaiians played a role in their racial ethnicity and identity. A study showed that Hawaii is one of the places situated in North America that is significant for the people’s increasing intermarriage rates. Indigenous models perceive people as well as their environment as interacting and overlapping. The idea of land in Hawaiian viewpoint mirrors understanding seen across Pacific crossing civilizations and shares resemblances with other indigenous cultures and Native Americans. Hawaii is the native country of the kanaka maoli. It signifies their kinship and spiritual bonds as well as relationships among people, supernatural world, and nature.

In matters involving identity, land performs a critical role through the customs and traditions of Hawaiian that intertwine genealogical, spiritual, physical, as well as sociopolitical ties to the sea and land. A deep root of Hawaiian identity can be seen in connection to the land. The interconnections of people and land were influenced by conventional methods of collective ownership in which compared to the Western land; rights to land access were under negotiation. All lands in Hawaii were given their respective name. Another measure of inseparability is seen in genealogical customs. In Hawaiian culture, chants create a distinction along the lines of social connection and trust including family histories. Land also creates ties to people through collective memory of a common history.

Majority of the folks consider Hawaii as a state and Hawaiians regard this as a fact. However, the truth is far from what is being said. The reality is that annexation of every single path in Hawaii was conducted in violation of treaties and laws without being concerned about the wishes of the people. History revealed that the annexation caused Hawaii’s lost identity. In addition, globalization also played a crucial part in the people’s distorted identity. It is believed that Hawaii and Tahiti share the same land. The effort to preserve the culture of Hawaii is observed in people’s capacity to provide taro, fish, and food.

The Hawaiian independence movement continued to expand through the years. The Aboriginal Lands of Hawaiian Ancestry (ALOHA), as well as the Principality of Aloha, were established somewhere between 1960 and 1972. ALOHA aimed to separate from the government of the United States because the Hawaiian republic claimed the crown lands. Another group that aimed to seek independence was the Office of Hawaiian Affairs or OHA. This group seeks to represent of Native Hawaiian interests in the administration of Ceded Lands as well as Hawaiian Homelands.

The United Nations Declaration of Indigenous Peoples Rights contains the collective and individual privileges of the indigenous people and their rights to identity, language, culture, health, employment, and education. This declaration likewise puts emphasis on the right of the people to strengthen and maintain their own tradition, culture, and institution and to encourage their development in maintaining their personal aspirations and needs.

The restoration of Hawaii’s independence is justified, legal, and possible. The present economic and political systems of Hawaii aside from being illegal are not being accountable to the timely development of Hawaiian’s rights as well as livelihoods. People in Hawaii are in a method of gradual positive change intended to avoid additional environmental and economic crisis not only in the region but also all throughout the world. Economically, Hawai`i will take advantage the exceptional location in the middle of the Pacific Rim, governing its Exclusive Economic Zone, being a center of global trade, secure financial services, ethical investment banking and a lot more.

In spite of such widespread diversity in Indigenous groups all over the world, all Indigenous individuals share one particular thing in common - historical injustice. Indigenous individuals have been tortured, killed, and imprisoned. In several instances, they have been the sufferers of genocide. They were deprived of the right to take part in governing procedures of the present state organizations. Indigenous peoples are those that make up the abandoned sections of civilizations including absence of political participation and representation, economic poverty and marginalization, and inaccessibility to discrimination and social services. The United Nations urges Indigenous peoples to exercise their rights.

Major References

1. Chinen, J. Jon. The Great Mahele: Hawaii's Land Division of 1848. 1. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1958. Print.

2. Daws, Gavan. Shoal of Time: A History of the Hawaiian Islands. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1968. Print.

3. Kuykendall, Ralph S. The Hawaiian Kingdom Volume 1: Foundation adn Transformation, 1778-1854. 1. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1938. 29-60, 119-. Print.