Running head: The Hawaiian People 1

The Hawaiian People

Kristin Tatemichi
Shayla Hosaka
Chaminade University
Multicultural Project
April 8, 2013











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The Hawaiians first arrived to Hawaii approximately 1,600 years ago. It was
likely that they came from Marquesas Islands and Tahiti. The early explorers traveled by
sea using the stars and ocean currents to navigate. They did not have writing and so they
preserved their history in chants and legends. From about 1810, Hawaii was ruled by a
series of kings. There was King Kamehameha I through King Kamehameha the V. The
Hawaiian language is recognized as the second official language of the state. Hawaii is
the only state to have more than one official language. According the Hawaii census in
2010, pure Native Hawaiians were ranked top 4 with 5.9% and 80,337 Native Hawaiians
and with a combination of more than one race they were still ranked 4th with 21.3% and
289,970 Native Hawaiians. The total population at the time was 1,360,301. In 2007,
Wendy Kekahio reported that 16.6% of schools in Hawaii have a predominantly Native
Hawaiian student population. About 23.4% has met the Adequate Yearly Progress that
they must meet as part of the No Child Left Behind Act that aims for every study to be
performing at grade level by 2014. Schools that are made up for the most part of Native
Hawaiian are at 52.2% and are in the restricting phase of the No Child Left Behind
compared to 12.3% of other schools. There is 87% of Native Hawaiian children that are
enrolled in the DOE.
Some important historical events that happened in Hawaiian history was that in
1795, King Kamehameha I unifies Hawaiians. Which led to 1810, where all of Hawaii
was under Kamehamehas control. Later in 1819, Kamehameha I pass away, and his son
Liholiho becomes Kamehameha II. Within six months after assuming the throne as
Kamehameha II, the religious and political code of old Hawaii, collectively called the

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kapu system, was abolished. Its believed that Kaahumanu and Keopuolani persuaded
Liholiho to eliminate the kapu system by eating a meal with women, which is a definite
taboo at the time. Its also said that the Hawaiians had grown increasingly dissatisfied
with the ancient system. This lead to the Protestant missionaries teaching Christianity to
the Hawaiian people in 1820. King Kamehameha III founds the Honolulu Police
Department in 1834. Then in 1835 the first sugar plantation was established on Kauai
Island.
The Chiefs' Children's School (now known as Royal Elementary School) was
founded by King Kamehameha III of the Kingdom of Hawaii as a boarding school to
educate the children of the Hawaiian royalty (alii). The school was first located where
the Iolani Barracks stand now. The need for the school was agreed upon during the
general meeting of the mission in June 1839. The buildings were ready by 1840. No
school in Hawaii has ever produced so many Hawaiian leaders in one generation.
The main goal of this school was to rise the next generation of Hawaiian
royalty to become Christian rulers. Seven families that were eligible under succession
laws stated in the 1840 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii and that had converted to
Christianity were Kamehameha's closest relatives, who made up the whole of the school.
The school consisted the sister of Kamehameha III, Princess Knau's children, Prince
Lot, Princess Victoria Kammalu, Prince Moses Kekuaiwa and Prince Alexander
Liholiho. His half-brother Prince Pauli Kaleiok's great granddaughter and great-great
grandson, Princess Bernice Pauahi and Prince William Knau. Kamehamehas father's
younger brother, Prince Kealiimaikai: his great-great granddaughter, Princess Emma

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Naea and great grandson, Peter Young Kaeo. The younger brother of his father, Prince
Kalaimamahu, his great grandson, Prince William Charles Lunalilo. His father's eldest
brother, Prince Kalokuokamaile, his great granddaughter, Princess Elizabeth Kekaaniau
Laanui. His grandfather's cousin, a direct line from one of the royal twins,
Kameeiamoku's great great grandchildren, David Kalkaua, Lydia Kamakaeha and
James Kaliokalani. And his grandfather's cousin, Kahekili, daughters of Liliha III with
Kalaniulumoku, Jane Loeau Jasper; and with Namaile, Abigail Maheha.
In 1846 the Kingdom government took over funding of the school under the
Minister of Public Instruction Richard Armstrong (18051860). By 1848 the school
declined as the children graduated or married. For example, Moses left school in 1847 to
live with his father and died in the 1848 measles epidemic. Jane married Mr. Jasper.
Missionary children were also allowed to attend in 1849. It was moved to its present
location in 1850 and became a day school instead of a boarding school for the general
public. The next principal was Edward Griffin Beckwith (18261909) until he became
president of Oahu College (now Punahou School) in 1854. In 1853 it had 121 students, of
which only 8 were pure Hawaiian and 18-part Hawaiian.
In 1795, the land known as Ka Punahou was taken in battle by King
Kamehameha I. Along with Ka Punahou, he gave a total of 225 acres of land to chief
Kameeiamoku as a reward for his loyalty. After Kameeiamoku died, the land was
passed down to his son, Ulumheihei Hoapili, who lived there for twenty more years.
When Hoapili left to become the governor of Maui, he gave the land to his daughter,
Kuini Liliha.

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Ka Punahou was given by Liliha and her husband, Oahu's Governor Boki, to
Reverend Hiram Bingham, who was one of the first Christian missionaries in Hawaii.
Punahou School was founded in 1841, originally a school for the children of missionaries
serving throughout the Pacific region. It was the first school with classes only in the
English language west of the Rocky Mountains. The first class was held on July 11, 1842,
and consisted of only fifteen students. Daniel Dole (18081878) was its first principal. It
was known as Oahu College from 1853 to 1934.
There is a number of Native Hawaiian children that deal with many types of
barriers to learning. Many of these disadvantages affect the students
academically. Some of these barriers are unstable families and communities, financial
hardship, health problems, and high rates of depression and suicide, high levels of
substance abuse, and few social and economic resources. Many of these are mostly
things outside of school that affect students learning. Other barriers inside the school
setting could be language problems, students personal resources, teacher centered
learning and not enough student centered learning, etc.
Teaching styles that show promise in working with Hawaiian students will be to
provide that extra effort to make a difference. By doing so, teachers can provide
resources and services through literacy enhancement programs, tutorial assistance, and
mentoring and tutoring programs that may not be available to Hawaiian students at home
because of economic disadvantages that these children face.
The traditional learning styles of the Native Hawaiian culture are learning through
interaction with peers/classmates, learning settings where group effort and group

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achievements are accepted, knowledge and skills are imparted through demonstration and
direct assistance, deriving general rules and principles from experience, learning in the
context of task completion rather than learning for the purpose of learning, and learning
in which both teacher and student participate in a common task. I feel that the Hawaiians
most important learning styles are collaborative, group-oriented, interactive, meaningful
hands-on activities, and experiential learning opportunities. Hawaiians embrace family
as the basic unit of society. The Hawaiian Ohana (Family) believes in working together
for the good of the community as a whole. They accept everyone who shares a common
sense of aloha (love and compassion) and not just those related by blood. Many
Hawaiians come from close families that work together in lokahi (harmony). It is best for
Hawaiian students to work in small groups. Communication style is also important.
Students feel comfortable when they reflect the communication style of their home
community. Students also work best when engaged in instructional conversation. This is
work that uses prior knowledge and experiences with new material to enhance
understanding. Students prefer learning experiences that are practical and meaningful.
Some common Hawaiian sayings are aloha which has multiple meanings. It is
commonly used to say hello, good-bye, and to express love. E komo mai means
welcome. Malama pono means to take care. It is common to hear malamapono a hui
hou, which means to take care, until we meet again. Mahalo expresses gratitude and is
used to say thank you. Makai refers to the ocean, so some local residents will give
directions using the term Makai or Mauka. Mauka means they are referring towards the
mountains.

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Main dishes that are usually made for a Hawaiian luau is kalua puaa (aka roast
pork). This is prepared in the Hawaiian imu or underground steam oven. Filets of tasty,
flakey white meat island fish that is deep-fried. They serve poke, which is raw fish. Also
served is lomilomi salmon, which in Hawaiian means to massage, or in this case to break
the salmon into small pieces, then this is mixed with tomatoes and onions. This style of
fish preparation was actually introduced to Hawaiians by early western sailors. Some
side dishes include, poi; which is the traditional Hawaiian staple. It is a starch dish made
by pounding boiled taro roots and mixing with water until it reaches a smooth
consistency. Pipi kaula (beef rope) was introduced by the western sailors who brought
their salt beef aboard ship in barrels.

My personal experience (Shayla) with the Hawaiian culture was when I was with
my boyfriends family and we were making lau lau at his house for a huge Hawaiian style
party. They come from a traditional Hawaiian lifestyle where they always make their
own Hawaiian food and usually never buy it and like to practice their Hawaiian traditions
through cooking, hula, music and other activities. The first thing they had to do was buy
the kalo (taro) leaves. After buying the leaves they have to prep the leaves by cutting off
all the stems from the kalo. They use every part of the plant and cut the stems into pieces
to throw inside the leaves. Then they soak the taro leaves in water. The family bought
the taro leaves from their neighbors kalo farm. Then they pick ti leaves from their
yard. The next step is cutting the meat and fat into cubes. They add in the pork butt and
fat in the leaves. Then they use the leaves as a wrap and add everything inside. After

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everything is prepped they have an assembly line where they put the lau lau
together. They start with the base of the leaf and use three to four kalo leaves, two to
three meats, one fat, Hawaiian salt, and kalo stems. Then they fold all the ingredients
inside and get the cut up ti leafs and role it so that it keeps the kalo leaves in tack. Next,
they wrap it in a foil to steam overnight for 8 hours. Their family also makes kalua pig
by making an imu to cook the pig by putting it on top of the lava rocks. The first step is
putting banana stumps, banana leafs, ti leafs, and then the pig. Then they add more
bananas leafs on top and cover it up with burlap bags and soak the burlap bags in
water. They use a tarp to cover everything. Finally, they toss dirt on the edge of the tarp
to hold it in and they leave it to cook for about 12 hours. The next morning only one
person touches the pig so the pig doesnt get spoiled.
My personal experience (Kristin) with the Hawaiian culture is with my dads side
of the family. Some of my Aunties, Uncles, and cousins are Hawaiian, but sadly I am
not. Coming from a Japanese background, my moms side of the family is very soft-
spoken and not too big on family get-togethers. But my dads side, with my Hawaiian
family, we always get together, especially for holidays and special occasions. My
Hawaiian family, especially my Aunties are very loud and outspoken. They tell it how it
is, but in a funny way so whatever they are saying isnt too harsh. Even though my dad is
full Japanese, his background is more laid back and less formal compared to my moms
side, which is more formal. I like how I get to be apart of other cultures and yet be proud
of my own culture.


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References

1. State of Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism
Research and Economic Analysis Division Hawaii State Data Center. (2010). Native
Hawaiian Population by County, Island and Census Tract in the State of Hawaii: 2010.
http://hawaii.gov/dbedt/info/census/Census_2010/SF1/HSDC2010-
4_Native_Hawaiian.pdf
2. Kekahio, W. (2007, 05). Native Hawaiians in public schools: Implications of AYP
status in predominately native Hawaiian schools.
http://www.ksbe.edu/spi/PDFS/Reports/K-12/ayp_200705.pdf
3. Alternative Hawaii. (2011). Beliefs and Values: On Being Hawaiian.
http://www.alternative-hawaii.com/hacul/beliefs.htm
4. http://www2.ed.gov/programs/nathawaiian/apps2012/s362a120019.pdf