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Imaging And Imaginings Of Hawaiianness In The Contemporary Hawaiian Islands Item Type Thesis Authors Meredith, Ashley Download date 26/09/2021 15:50:01 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/11122/8568 IMAGING AND IMAGININGS OF HAWAIIANNESS IN THE CONTEMPORARY HAWAIIAN ISLANDS By Ashley Meredith RECOMMENDED: 2>Yt.£ jLl<zs\ : \ j . l Advisory Committee Chair Chair,^Department of Anthropology APPROVED: Date IMAGING AND IMAGININGS OF HAWAIIANNESS IN THE CONTEMPORARY HAWAIIAN ISLANDS A THESIS Presented to the Faculty of the University of Alaska Fairbanks in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS By Ashley Meredith, B.A. Fairbanks, Alaska May 2010 Ashley Meredith © 2010 UMI Number: 1486004 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMT Dissertation Publishing UMI 1486004 Copyright 2010 by ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This edition of the work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. uestA ® ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Abstract The desire for the Hawaiian Kingdom to be restored and recognized as a nation state has been a common interest among Hawaiians since the illegal United States occupation in 1893. However, colonial induced turbulence, caused by annexation, statehood, an early 20th century ban on Hawaiian language and cultural activities, the 50 percent blood quantum rule, and tourism, have had a profound impact on perceptions of Hawaiianness and Hawaiian identity and unity. With this historical backdrop, the thesis presents an analysis of the role and impact of the visual landscape in the construction and maintenance of individual and group identity in Hawai‘i. The ethnographic fieldwork for this study, in addition to general observations, involved three programmatic research activities: participant photographic observations, a pile sort, and category tests. These exercises used images that reflected various aspects of Hawaiian history, symbolism and iconography. The aim of these open-ended but controlled activities was to gain a deeper understanding of contemporary Hawaiian identity through indigenous Hawaiians’ and Hawai‘i residents’ perceptions of Hawaiianness. Perceptions and expression of Hawaiianness and Hawaiian identity were examined on the basis of responses to visual elements of the public environment such as street signs, advertisements, activities, and landscapes on Hawai‘i Island. Such visual elements in the public environment are often designed to meet visitors’ and residents’ desires and expectations. With the Hawaiian Sovereignty Movement as an important driving force, many Hawaiians are working towards “socio-visual sustainability” and a culturally sustaining and more unified future. iv Table of Contents Page Signature Page ........................................................................................................................... i Title Page ...................................................................................................................................ii Abstract.....................................................................................................................................iii Table of Contents .....................................................................................................................iv List of Figures ........................................................................................................................ viii List of Tables ............................................................................................................................ xi List of Appendices ..................................................................................................................xii Acknowledgments .................................................................................................................xiii A Note to Readers ...................................................................................................................xv Chapter 1: Introduction ......................................................................................................... 1 Initial Perceptions.........................................................................................................1 1.1 Diminishing Hawaiianness in the Hawaiian Islands ........................................................3 Context o f Hawai ‘i........................................................................................................4 1.2 Research Design..................................................................................................................7 1.3 A Theoretical Framework for Researching Hawaiianness ...............................................9 A Geosemiotic Context and Need for Research..........................................................9 Semiotic Systems: From Language to Landscape....................................................10 An Analytical Framework for Researching Hawaiianness ......................................12 1.4 Outline of Thesis Chapters............................................................................................... 12 Chapter 2: Transformation of a Hawaiian Kingdom ......................................................14 2.1 Pre-Contact Hawaiians ..................................................................................................... 15 Genesis and Hawaiian Social Organization .............................................................15 TheKumulipo Chant...................................................................................................16 Traditional Ways o f Life............................................................................................. 19 2.2 The Hawaiians and Europeans Meet ...............................................................................21 2.3 The Plantation Era and The Great Mahele of 1848 ........................................................23 Sugar Plantations ........................................................................................................24 The Great Mahele. .......................................................................................................25 2.4 Protection from Annexation ............................................................................................. 28 Events Leading up to the Overthrow o f the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1893.............. 29 2.5 Cultural Implications and Diminishing Hawaiianness .................................................. 31 Language ......................................................................................................................31 Land..............................................................................................................................32 Tourism and Hawai ‘i Island.......................................................................................34 2.6 Hawaiian Resistance ......................................................................................................... 37 Chapter 3: Hawaiianness and Hawaiian Identity Politics ..............................................40 3.1 Tourism: Hawaiianness, Identity, and “The Hawaiian Vacation” ................................. 41 3.2 Hawai‘i State Ideology and Contemporary Tourism ......................................................45 Variation from Island to Island..................................................................................47 The State, Tourism, and Residents.............................................................................48 3.3 Immigrants’ Descendants and Local Identity ................................................................. 49 3.4 Hawaiian Homestead, and Hawaiians According to the U.S. Government ................. 50 The Crown and Governmental Lands from 1848-1959............................................51 3.5 Justification for Sovereignty ............................................................................................55 3.6 In the Context of Geosemiotics ........................................................................................57 The Geosemiotics o f Tourism..................................................................................... 57 The Geosemiotics o f Local Identity........................................................................... 58 3.7 Identity Politics and What it Means for Sovereignty .....................................................58 Chapter 4: Hawaiians’ and Hawai‘i Residents’ Perceptions of Hawaiianness 60 4.1 The Nature of the Study..................................................................................................61 Researcher’s Photographic Observation.................................................................. 61 Rationale for Use of Photography.............................................................................62 Participant Recruitment and Participation.............................................................. 62 4.2 The Walk-through............................................................................................................. 65 Walk-through Results..................................................................................................68