For my many friends who love to visit Hawaii. Quoting Native Hawaiians have been fighting homelessness since the 1800s when settlers first occupied Hawaii. Historians estimate that almost 80% of the original Native Hawaiian population died from contact with European diseases. Already a dwindled population, Native Hawaiians gradually lost more and more control over their lands (to businessmen, missionaries, and the US military, among other stakeholders) until 1893 when the Hawaiian Kingdom was overthrown. (That’s right. Overthrown. They didnt tell you about the genocide and illegal takeover in your textbooks.) In 1921, Congress passed the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, which was designed to rehabilitate the Native Hawaiian population and their loss of native lands — by setting aside a whopping 3% of the total land for Native Hawaiians. To live in the Hawaiian homesteads, Native Hawaiians need to apply and prove their Native-Hawaiian-ness. Native Hawaiian is defined as a person who is at least 50% Native Hawaiian. So if you happen to have a blood quantum (yes, that’s what it’s called) of one-quarter, because someone in your family tree loved a non-Hawaiian, you’re not Hawaiian enough. You lose your right to homestead.
Posted on: Sat, 10 Jan 2015 21:58:44 +0000
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