Emergent Allies: Decolonizing Hawai'i from a Filipin
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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by ScholarSpace at University of Hawai'i at Manoa EMERGENT ALLIES: DECOLONIZING HAWAIʻI FROM A FILIPIN@ PERSPECTIVE A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE DIVISION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAIʻI AT MĀNOA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN ENGLISH APRIL 2017 By Kim Compoc Dissertation Committee: Candace Fujikane, Chairperson Vernadette Gonzalez Laura Lyons Cynthia Franklin Noelani Goodyear-Ka‘ōpua ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am deeply humbled by the many extraordinary people who have helped me to achieve this long-held dream. This journey would not have been possible without the support of my exceptional parents, Ted and Julia Compoc. My father gifted me with a deep passion for social justice that motivates my work inside and outside the academy, and from my mother I learned to cultivate the fortitude necessary to face the world as it is. This dissertation is dedicated to them. I wish also to honor my ancestors whose wisdom has sustained me, in particular my paternal grandparents Hipolito and Mary Compoc of Kahuku, O‘ahu and my maternal grandparents Edward and Mary Margaret Detchemendy of Huntsville, Alabama. Many thanks to my dear brother and sister-in-law Jeff and Rita Compoc who made sure I never lost faith in myself. My most cherished O‘ahu cousins Kelly Ho and Darla Peters provided me shelter and encouragement when I was commuting from Maui. Much respect and gratitude is also due to my favorite off-island cousins Shona Compoc and Buffy Compoc Ofisa who paved the path to graduate school before me. Jeffery Compoc, Connie Caulford, Milton Caulford, Paul Compoc, and Mollie Compoc have been the source of much needed warmth and kindness. Writing this dissertation has been easier knowing I was always welcome to go relax and talk story with all of you. I have been profoundly lucky to have such a brilliant and insightful dissertation committee. My co-chairs Candace Fujikane and Vernadette Gonzalez have been my champions from the start, asking me hard questions while providing me the tools I needed to answer as many as possible. I am in awe of the enormous generosity you have shown me over these many years. Laura Lyons, Noelani Goodyear-Ka‘ōpua and Cynthia Franklin have also been tremendous guides. I am so inspired by the work the five of you do as scholars, activists, and human beings. To those who I interviewed for this dissertation, thank you most sincerely for your manaʻo and patience Puni Jackson, Adam Keawe Manalo-Camp, Kihei Nahale-a, Keone Nunes, Elise Dela Cruz Talbert, Kalawaia Moore, Kim Kuʻulei Birnie, and Antonio Taguba. Extra special thanks goes to Aunty Terri Kekoʻolani who has been both friend and mentor. Your lifelong commitment to all our sovereignties is a precious gift in my life. I wish I had space enough to write books on each of you. All errors, of course, are mine alone. I was so fortunate to have been chosen by the Ford Foundation and the American Association for University Women for fellowships that allowed me to truly enjoy my education. I also want to thank the U.H. Mānoa College of Languages, Linguistics and Literature, the Henry E. Renteria Scholarship Fund, Arthur & Beatrice Harris Endowment, and the Hawai‘i Veterans Memorial Fund whose support was also instrumental. I have high hopes that I will pay these gifts forward someday. In Honolulu I have been blessed with a political community whose influence can be found on every page. Daghang salamat to all my fierce Decolonial Pin@ys who taught me to stand taller in the world, especially Ellen-Rae Cachola, Grace Alvaro Caligtan, Christine Lipat, Nicki Sahagun Garces, Reyna Ramolete, Darlene Rodrigues, Melisa Casumbal-Salazar, Maiana Minahal, Sonya Zabala, Johanna Almorin, Katherine Achacoso, Jordan Ragasa and Shannon Cristobal. To our beloved visionary Gigi Miranda, your star is still shining. Deepest thanks to all those at Women’s Voices, Women Speak who continue to give me a genuine sense of security, especially Aunty Terri Kekoʻolani, Aunty Gwen Kim, Aiko Yamashiro, Caitlyn Jeonghye, Christine Ahn, Daniella Ortiz, Kelsey Amos, and Kasha Ho. Respect is due also to my Oceania Rising comrades ii especially Ilima Long, Ken Gofigan, Kyle Kajihiro, Jennifer Vehia, and Pete Doktor. I may have arrived at the meetings grumpy but I always left uplifted by your vision and commitment. Uncle Johnny Verzon gifted me so much both with his interview and the many Eskrima lessons in embodied sovereignty. You are all heroes in my book. My life has been easier thanks to all the shared laughter and tears with my fellow grad students. To my writing buddies, especially those in Professor Gonzalez’s 2014 prospectus writing class and my Richard Simmons Queer Aerobics writing crew: “Don’t ever quit!” Special love to Sophie Kim, Pahole Sookkasikon, Tomoaki Morikawa, Jonathan Valdez, Eriza Bareng, Stacy Nojima, Tuti Baker, Jessica Tan, Leanne Sims, Sue Hagland, and especially Billie Lee. Big bear hugs to all those others who made themselves available when I really needed help: Lee Kava, Dhiffaf Al-Shwillay, Madoka Nagado, Piper Selden, Lyz Soto, Rajiv Mohabir, No‘ukahau‘oli Revilla, Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio, Cheryl Naruse, Amalia Bueno, Anjoli Roy, Akta Kaushal, D. Keali‘i MacKenzie, Donovan Kūhiō Colleps, Tresa Diaz, Aaron Cornelison, and Iokepa Casumbal-Salazar. Special thanks go out to Bryan Kuwada, Aaron Salā, and Marie Alohalani Brown for their translation assistance, role modeling, and friendship. For library assistance and so much advice on Philippine everything, daghang salamat to Elena Clariza. I have been privileged to be mentored by many professors whose work has made my life better in more ways than I can name. Here at the U.H. English department, I want to acknowledge the superb talents of Paul Lyons, John Zuern, Craig Santos Perez, S. Shankar, and kuʻualoha hoʻomanawanui. Many others at U.H. provided me ongoing encouragement for which I am deeply grateful: Rod Labrador, Vina Lanzona, Joyce Mariano, Ruth Mabanglo, Clem Montero, Lilia Santiago, Monica Ghosh, Aurelio Agcaoili, Brandy Nālani McDougal, Hokulani Aikau, Ami Agbayani, Charlene Cuaresma, Jojo Abinales, and Vanessa Irvin. Extra special agyamanak to the late Julius Soria for your scholarship and spirit; your memory lives on. A deep thanks goes out to those friends outside U.H. who assured me that my research mattered, especially Dean Saranillio, Kale Fajardo, Nerissa Balce, Denise Cruz, Rhacel Parreñas, J. Kēhaulani Kauanui, and Judy Han. Special love to those near and far who cheered me in a multiplicity of ways. My Talking Stories friends on Maui are in my heart always, especially Cheri Nashiwa, Leilani Kepler, Pauahi Bogac and Kea Hokoana-Gormley. Agyamanak also to my Maui Filipino Working Group kasamas Cornelia Soberano, Dr. Virgie Cantorna and Jeny Bissell who continue to keep the fire burning. Many drinks are owed to the following superstars whose example in the world lifts me so high: Danielle Seid, Kai Gaspar, San Hufana, Moses Goods, Deivid Scarlino, Prentis Hemphill, Ed Hemphill, Mary Newson, Eri Oura, Joce de Guia, Chris Durazo, Ada Chan, Jee Yeun Lee, Ami Mattison, Joël Barraquiel Tan, Tina Bartolome, Kiwi Illafonte, Elsa Eder, Tei Okamoto, Marie Morohoshi, Alice Hom, Theresa Navarro, Mazdak Mazarei, and Kathy Dede Neien Jetnil-Kijiner. Joy Enomoto deserves recognition as my editor, sounding board, coach, friend, dance partner, and life partner. I could not have done this without you by my side. iii ABSTRACT This dissertation maps a critical terrain of anti-imperialist Filipin@s in Hawaiʻi from 1990-2015. I investigate those Filipin@ writers, community leaders and activists who take seriously the role of (neo)colonialism in the ongoing fight for self-determination in both Hawaiʻi and the Philippines. I pay particular attention to the influence of Hawaiian sovereignty movement(s) on these contributions, while also investigating the way texts resist anti-Indigenous racism, torture, war, (trans)misogyny, and global capitalism. My intervention marks a shift from a framework of “Filipino Americans” arriving on “American soil,” to a history from below that decenters the U.S. and prioritizes decolonial alliances. This era is marked by several historical milestones including the 100-year anniversary of the overthrow in 1993; the election of Hawaiʻi’s first Filipin@ American governor in 1994; the 100-year anniversary of the Philippine revolution in 1996; the 100-year anniversary of the multiple annexations in 1998 (including Philippines and Hawaiʻi); and the 100-year anniversary of the sakadas’ arrival to Hawaiʻi in 2006. This period also marks the wars on/of terror and the attendant rise in mass surveillance, racialized torture, and deportation. I approached my archive with attention to the historical circumstances within which they were produced, the historical echoes of Filipin@ anti-colonial history, and the decolonial futures these artists, writers, and community leaders envision. I conceive of my dissertation as a kind of gathering of speech acts, both literary and activist. My archive includes English print culture, oral history interviews, and autoethnography. Plays and poetry serve a primary role in terms of traditional literary texts; I also include one government report on torture, one documentary film, newspaper articles, fiction, and iv commemorative documents. As this is a decolonial project, I also foreground Indigenous perspectives through my analysis of several interviews I conducted with Hawaiian sovereignty activist/protectors who have traveled to the Philippines. In terms of autoethnography, I incorporate self-critique of my family’s relationship to U.S. empire in Hawaiʻi, the Philippines, and the Middle East. As colonial violence is deeply gendered, I also attend to how agendas of decolonization intersect with visions of gender and sexual liberation, reflecting on some of my own work as a theater artist and demilitarization activist.