Hawaiian History Month

As Hawaiian History Month draws to a close, we want to share some resources to help you stay connected.

You are always welcome to search our Hawaiian Pacific Collection at the Sullivan Family Library while the library is open. The collection cannot be checked out but can be enjoyed in the library.

Below are external organizations you can connect with:

Hawaiʻi Ponoʻī

Founded in 2007, the organization aims to educate those living in Hawaiʻi, and those visiting as well, about the true history of this islands and provide information on the Native Hawaiian people. 

Hawaiian Council

The Hawaiian council aims to lift the lāhui and enhance the cultural, economic, political, and community development for Native Hawaiians.

Office of Hawaiian Affairs

OHA aims to improve the wellbeing of all Native Hawaiians and was born out of the activism of the 1970s. Annually, OHA provides Native Hawaiian students with $500,000 in scholarships to help pay for college and has given out over $34 million in loans to help Native Hawaiians start businesses, improve their homes, and consolidate debt.

Hawaiian History Month: Hawaiian Renaissance

In this week's installment of blogs to commemorate Hawaiian History Month, we focus on the Hawaiian renaissance.

The first Hawaiian renaissance is associated with King Kamehameha V and his nationalist sentiments that were carried on through the reign of King Kalākaua, for whom the Merrie Monarch festival is named in honor of.

The second Hawaiian renaissance begun in the 1970s with a surge of music, arts, and scholarly interest in Kānaka Maoli culture and identity.  Below are resources sharing information on the Hawaiian renaissance and Hawaiian history. For more information, please reach out to the Hawaiian-Pacific Librarian, Krystal Kakimoto, at krystal.kakimoto@chaminade.edu.

Arista, N. (2019). The kingdom and the republic: sovereign Hawaiʻi and the early United States. University of Pennsylvania Press. 

"Noelani Arista  uncovers a trove of previously unused Hawaiian language documents to chronicle the story of Hawaiians' experience of encounter and colonialism in the nineteenth century. The result is a heretofore untold story of native political formation, the creation of indigenous law, and the extension of chiefly rule over natives and foreigners alike." -- from publisher

Beamer, K. (2003). Mohala hou: music of the Hawaiian Renaissance. ʻOhe Records. 

Songs in Hawaiian and English associated with the second Hawaiian renaissance. 

Kamae, E. (2004). The Sons of Hawaiʻi [videorecording]. The Hawaiian Legacy Foundation. 

"Documentary on the Sons of Hawaiʻi, one of the most influential and enduring music groups of the Hawaiian cultural renaissance. Follows the group over a forty-year time span." -- from publisher

Low, S. (2013). Hawaiki rising: Hōkūleʻa, Nainoa Thompson, and the Hawaiian renaissance. Island Heritage Publishing. 

"The true story of Hōkūleʻa and the men and women who sailed in t he wake of their ancestors to discover pride in their culture and themselves." -- from publisher

Hōkūleʻa, Copyright Herb Kāne

Hawaiian History Month: Hula

In this week's installment of Hawaiian History Month, we focus on hula which was created in Hawaiʻi when the first Polynesians settled in the Islands. 

The hula of pre-Western contact is called hula kahiko and features traditional musical implements accompanied by an oli (chant) or mele (song). After Westerners visit the Islands, hula ʻauana is born and incorporates Western instruments such as guitar, ʻukulele, and percussion instruments.

The complex dance and artform is much more nuanced than many realize so we are excited to share the following resources to help everyone learn more about this fascinating aspect of Hawaiian culture. The resources not only cover the art but also touches upon academic aspects to understand the art in context to the world.

Library Books

Hopkins, J. (2011). The hula. Bess Press.

"Hawaiʻi in the 1970s was a vibrant time; a Hawaiian Renaissance was being led, in part, by the renewed popularity of and interest in hula as an integral part of Hawaiian culture... Hopkin's book was the first to offer readers a comprehensive history of hula aimed at a general audience." -- from publisher

Imada, A. L. (2012). Aloha America: hula circuits through the U.S. empire. Duke University Press.

"Aloha America reveals the role of hula in legitimizing U.S. imperial ambitions in Hawaiʻi. Hula performers began touring throughout the continental United States and Europe in the late nineteenth century. These "hula circuits" introduced hula, and Hawaiians, to U.S. audiences, establishing an "imagined intimacy," a powerful fantasy that enabled Americans to possess their colony physically and symbolically... Imada focuses on the years between the 1890s and the 1960s, examining little-known performances and films before turning to the present-day appropriation of hula by the Hawaiian self-determination movement." -- from publisher

Kaeppler, A. L. (1993). Hula pahu: Hawaiian drum dances. Bishop Museum Press.

"Adrienne Kaeppler analyzes dance movements and explains their evolution from early haʻa (ritual) taditions. She accounts for the sacred nature of hula pahu by placing its origin in ritual worship of the "state gods" of the Hawaiian religion." -- from publisher

Stillman, A. K. (1998). Sacred Hula: The Historical Hula ʻĀlaʻapapa. Bishop Museum Press.

"A study of the genre of ancient Hawaiian hula that is accompanied by the ipu and ipu heke gourd drums, that predates the so-called modern hula of the Kalākaua era. Includes background, mele (songs), terms, classification, implements used, accompanying hula steps, and Hula Pele." -- from publisher

DVDs and CDs

Nā leo Hawaiʻi kahiko: The master chanters of Hawaiʻi.  [CD 601]

"Historical recordings of chants and songs from the audio-recording collection from the Department of Anthropology at Bishop Museum." -- from CD container

Siebens, E. (2003). American Aloha: Hula beyond Hawaiʻi. Bluestocking Films. [DVD 1673]

"Goes beyond the hula stereotypes promoted by Hollywood and tourism to examine the cultural spiritual meaning of the hula and how hula tells the history of Hawaii through music, language and dance. Focuses on the perpetuation of hula among Hawaiians living in California." -- from DVD case

Woolford, K. (2014). The Haumāna. Hula Network Filmworks. [DVD 2527]

"Johnny Kealoha is the charismatic host of a struggling Polynesian luau show for tourists. To everyone's surprise, including his own, he is appointed as the successor to a high school hula class when his former Kumu Hula passes away. He becomes as much a students as a teacher through the demands of leading the boys to a significant hula performance and rediscovers the sanctity of the culture he previously abandoned."  -- from DVD case

Wright, P. K. (2007). Basic hula. Real Hula. [DVD 1844]

"The collaboration of this master teacher and master dancer has produced the first complete visual and verbal road map allowing you to achieve the truly Hawaiian look in your hula dancing. This video is two hours of intensive instruction and demonstration covering 14 basic steps." -- from DVD case

Websites

Hula Preservation Society

"HPS is the piko that connects us together as hula people around the world." -- from website

Nā Hula Festival

80th Annual Nā Hula Festival (online)

Keiki Hula

2021 Celebration Rebroadcast in Honor of Queen Liliʻuoklanai

Hawaiian History Month: Plantations

For this week's Hawaiian History Month blog, we will focus on plantations in Hawaiʻi -- their origins and legacy.  

Sugarcane was first introduced to the islands by the first inhabitants of Hawaiʻi who brought the plant in their outrigger canoes to plant in the new land they settled. The first inhabitants used the sweet juice of the sugarcane for medicinal purposes to offset bitterness found in some tinctures. Sugarcane was also used to sweeten food or chewed to encouraged the strengthening of the gums and teeth. For many years, the plant was used by households on small levels of production. The first industrial mill was erected on Lanaʻi in 1802 but commercial sugarcane did not gain momentum in the Islands until the 1840s. As demand from the continental United States grew for more sugarcane to be produced in the Islands, laborers were imported to live and work on sugarcane plantations across the state. This mix of peoples gave way to the multicultural landscape of Hawaiʻi today.

Check out these selections from our collection below or email the Hawaiian-Pacific Librarian, Krystal (krystal.kakimoto@chaminade.edu) for more information and resources.

Dorrance, W. H. (2000). Sugar islands: the 165-year story of sugar in Hawaiʻi. Mutual Publishers. 

"Sugar Islands tells this story beginning with the early days when pioneer businessmen struggled with nature and imported their machinery and labor from half a world away. Often prosperity would suddenly turn to bankruptcy because of drought, huge shipping costs, warehouse fires, or plant disease. It is not just a story but an epic history as the industry affected every aspect of Island life..." -- from publisher

Felipe, V. M. (2002). Hawaiʻi: a Pilipino dream. Mutual Publishers. 

"Peppered with spicy local language and slang, his [Lilo Bonipasyo] story is told by a multitude of vivid images taking the reader from the Philippines in the early 1900s, to sugar rich Kohala on the Big Island in the 1920s through WWII, then on to rural Waimanalo, Oahu, in the 1970s". -- from publisher

MacLennan, C. A. (2014). Sovereign sugar: industry and environment in Hawaiʻi. University of Hawaiʻi Press.

"Sovereign Sugar unravels the tangled relationship between the sugar industry and Hawaiʻi's cultural and natural landscapes. It is the first work to fully examine the complex tapestry of socioeconomic, political, and environmental forces that shaped sugar's role in Hawaiʻi. While early Polynesian and European influences on island ecosystems started the process of biological change, plantation agriculture, with its voracious need for land and water, profoundly altered Hawaiʻi's landscape." -- from publisher

Murayama, M. (1998). Plantation boy. University of Hawaiʻi Press. 

"NO other writer has attempted such a broad view of the nisei experience in Hawaiʻi at Milton Murayama... the third novel in a planned teralogy [centers on] eldest son Toshio [who] narrates the continuing story of the Oyama family... His struggles are set against the cataclysmic events of World War II -- the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the internment of Japanese Americans, the heroism of the 100th and 442nd in Europe, the atrocities committed by the Japanese army in Asia -- and the social and political uphevals in Hawaiʻi." -- from publisher

Takaki, R. T. (1983). Pau hana: plantation life and labor in Hawaii, 1835-1920. University of Hawaiʻi Press. 

"Pau hana documents culture retention, transition, and change as Takaki explains the development of Hawaiian pidgin. English, plantation economics, social gatherings, religion, and family development. Throughout the story, one becomes involved with the various peoples and the landowners as their experiences unfold." -- from publisher

LIBRARY CLOSED - Monday, Sept. 6, 2021 - LABOR DAY

 In observance of Labor Day, the library will be closed on Monday, Sept. 6. It will re-open on Tuesday, Sept. 7 at 8:15 AM.

Hauʻoli Lā Hānau, Queen Liliʻuokalani!

Born September 02, 1838, today we celebrate the 183rd anniversary of the birth of Queen Liliʻuokalani. Lydia Liliʻu Loloku Walania Kamakaʻeha, our only queen regent and last sovereign monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom, was born to Analea Keohokālole and Caesar Kapaʻakea. Her hānai (inform adoption) parents were Abner Pākī and Laura Kōnia making Lydia the hānai sister of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop.

The Queen's life was filled with both highs and lows, too many to fit into one blog post, so we recommend the following resources to help connect you more to our Queen and her story.

Iaukea, Sydney L. (2012). The queen and I. University of California Press. 

"In this expose, Sydney L. Iaukea ties personal memories to newly procured political information about Hawaii's crucial Territorial era. Spurred by questions surrounding intergenerational property disputes in her immediate family, she delves into Hawaii's historical archives. There she discovers the central role played by her great-great-grandfather in the politics of the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century..." -- from publisher 

Liliuokalani, Queen of Hawaii. (2019). The diaries of  Queen Liliuokalani of Hawaii, 1885-1900. Hui Hānai.

"Queen Liliuokalani, the eighth monarch of the Hawaiian Islands, is known and honored throughout the world, even though she was never ceremonially crowned. Published here for the first time, the Queen's diaries, which she penned between 1885 and 1900, reveal her experience as heir apparent and monarch of the Hawaiian Islands during one of the most intense, complicated, and politically charged eras in Hawaiian history." -- from publisher

Proto, Neil Thomas. (2009). The rights of my people: Liliuokalani's enduring battle with the United States, 1893-1917. Algora Publishers. 

"Even on the 50th anniversary of Hawaii statehood, sovereignty in Hawaii is still the subject of an active, ongoing legal dispute. The Rights of My People revisits Liliuokalani's decades-long campaign for the dignity and sovereignty of Hawaii." -- from publisher

Siler, Julia Flynn. (2012). Lost kingdom: Hawaii's last queen, the sugar kings, and America's first imperial adventure. Atlantic Monthly Press.

"Deftly weaving together a memorable cast of characters, "Lost Hawaii" brings to life the ensuing clash between a vulnerable Polynesia people and relentlessly expanding capitalist powers. Portraits of royalty and rogues, sugar barons, and missionaries combine into a sweeping tale of the Hawaiian Kingdom's rise and fall." -- from publisher

From: ʻŌlelo Community Media:

On September 2nd at 10:00 AM, celebrate Hawaiian History Month. Hawaiʻi Ponoʻī Coalition presents Hauʻoli Lā Hānau e Liliʻuokalani on 'Ōlelo channel 53 (53 Spectrum or 53 & 1053 Hawaiian Telcom). Also streaming on the 'Ōlelo mobile app.

September is Hawaiian History Month!

Established in 2020 as joint endeavor between the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge and the Hawaiʻi Ponoʻī Coalition, this month-long event celebrates the true history of the islands and honors the birth of our Queen, Liliʻuokalani.

Participate at the Sullivan Family Library

• Check out our weekly blog posts highlighting resources from our collection covering Hawaiian History and Sovereignty issues.
• Visit our Reference Desk for free Hawaiian History Reading Lists and Sullivan Family Library pens.
• Connect with your Hawaiian Pacific Librarian, Krystal Kakimoto, and talk about events and resources! Email: krystal.kakimoto@chaminade.edu.
  
  

How to Celebrate Hawaiian History Month

• Educate yourself on Hawaiian History -- Reading Lists and Librarian assistance available! Email krystal.kakimoto@chaminade.edu for more info.
• Support Native Hawaiian businesses:
  Office of Hawaiian Affairs list of Native Hawaiian business owners: https://loans.oha.org/native-hawaiian-business-owners/ 
  Kanaka Economy Database: https://kanakaeconomy.com/ 
• Attend virtual events hosted by Hawaiʻi Ponoʻī Coalition: https://www.hawaiiponoi.info/. 

Liliʻuokalani: Who was the last Queen of Hawaii?

Stuff You Missed in History Class

 

Until We Meet Again

Noble Blood; The overthrown of the Hawaiian Monarchy

Check back to this blog every Wednesday for more information!