Occupation and Displacement in Hawai'i

I'm on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, where tourism and the real estate market are booming, but what does that mean for the native population of these islands? What does that have to do with colonialism? We have reached this boiling point where we cannot survive. Back home it's like we're being kicked out of Hawaii, and as a native Hawaiian, I'm so sad for our people every day. I think about that and we realize that America is as good as it is that they have taken more. of what they have given us. I came here because I often hear people say that Puerto Rico is on its way to becoming the next Hawaii.

It's good that you asked Native Hawaiians to be welcome to Hawaii. Hawaii is very much part of the United States, we are not. Americans, we will die as Hawaiians, we will never be Americans, the beauty of Hawaii's beaches is that unreal. I've never seen water that shade of blue, so it makes sense that Oahu alone receives more than 4 million tourists a year, but all those stories have something to do with it. It is a twist to see the harsh reality of life in Hawaii, the people who live on the streets, many of the Mauli or Native Hawaiians, the irony is that they cannot afford to live on the land that was once stolen from them. to his ancestors yesterday at the White House.

Clinton signed a formal letter of apology to the people of Hawaii with the apology bill of 1993. The United States admitted to illegally overthrowing the government of Hawaii one hundred years earlier because until the late 19th century Hawaii was an independent nation with its own kingdom led . By Queen Lily Wokalani That was about to change thanks to the missionaries who had come from the United States seven decades earlier to preach about Jesus By the 1890s the San Angelo missionaries had become powerful sugar businessmen who wanted to earn more money they thought they could make. so if only they were in charge they decided to overthrow the government of Hawaii and the United States helped them, they sent a military ship and in 1893 they removed the queen and made Sam Kirby Dole the new leader now if the name Dole sounds familiar. it's because you've probably seen the brand before for a few years after the overthrow, the US struggled over what to do with Hawaii, one president called the overthrow an act of war, then came 1898 and the US won in a power trip with land-hungry leaders. who were now going through Puerto Rico, Cuba, Guam and the Philippines also that same year, the United States annexed Hawaii, the United States did not lift Hawaii out of poverty, it did not bring Hawaii to the Enlightenment, if anything, it crushed one of the progressive places and most amazing indigenous people.

Nations led by you on the planet, the new government effectively banned the Hawaiian language in schools, students were punished for speaking it, and attempted to erase native Hawaiian culture by turning it into something to market to tourists. What we have experienced is the loss of our and the annihilation of our language and our culture were overwhelmed and became increasingly a minority in our own ancestral lands when Hawaii voted for statehood in 1959 they were already a minority. Another thing that changed after the overthrow was the use of the land the new territorial government had other plans for the places that were being used for agriculture we had fish ponds and these tarot patches and our people farmed and I think someone was wondering.

The idea came up that they could develop it and create hotels and that's why they condemned our lands they expelled the Hawaiians from their lands and built Waikiki and dredged a huge area called the Alawi canal today Waikiki looks like this for some it is an image of progress, but Poverty among Native Hawaiians is higher than the state average if there were a time machine. I would not choose statehood for our people. I'll tell you yes. I think statehood was a good thing. This is two bedrooms, two bathrooms, two parking spaces. It costs 799 000. Myla Gibson is a real estate agent in the oau business.

She's great. I mean, of course, it's like a vicious cycle for me because I'm a native Hawaiian and on the one hand I'm grateful to be able to make a living in the place that I love so much, but at the same time my heart breaks. For people who aren't so lucky, the median price of a single-family home on Oahu is over a million dollars. That's the price this house was selling for in a neighborhood next to Waikiki. It was one of my last listings. For me, gentrification is not. What a terrible thing, here's a neighborhood called Kakaako and it was all just warehouse space and a lot of people sleeping on the street and a lot of illegal activity, so now you have Howard Hughes gentrifying the neighborhood.

Excellent amenities, walkable and easy to access. to the 100 acre beach park and of course there are delicious restaurants there, a lifestyle and a community, so for me that is very positive, what I want to see, although in addition to gentrification, it is something for the natives Hawaiians. For people you know from a lower income level, we have to do something, otherwise we will see more people on the streets. 30 miles from the luxury skyscrapers, we found a long line of people waiting to get food. Where is your house? You're watching Cindy Umaka's husband is a native of Hawaii.

I never thought he would end up here. We got to the point where we couldn't afford to pay rent anymore because they kept adding and adding and adding, and there it just was. There is no place we can go. Hawaii is currently the most expensive state to live in the US. Some Native Hawaiians have chosen to move in search of a more affordable life. Today there are more Native Hawaiians living in the US. continentals that in Hawaii I have a Much of my family has already moved to the mainland and I don't want to go there.

I want to see here. This is my home for some of those who stay. Food collections like this can save lives. It helps a lot if not. We will never see vegetables or fruits on your table. This is the lifeline and that lifeline was broken in the name of development. After all that, 100 years after Taro plots like those in Waikiki were destroyed, Hawaii now imports more than 80 percent of its food. That is why those still fighting for independence are prioritizing agriculture again. Aloha, my name is, I am the head of state of the nation of Hawaii, the nation of Hawaii has its own flag, its own Constitution and writes on this 45 acre piece of land in Waimanala.

We always say we left the United States here and entered Hawaii. The history of this land dates back to the 90s, after the United States signed the apology. Bill wanted Independence, yes, not just sovereignty but independence, a group of Kanakamoli occupied this beach park demanding freedom from the United States. They admit and confess to overthrowing our country, right? You confess that and we still have to go through some process that you think is right for us. After 15 months, the governor negotiated with them and offered them a lease of this land in exchange for ending the war.

occupation

this is the beginning of establishing that it is like a point in what belongs to us instead of expanding the land base of what we bring all our people back to this land base and see or here is our country is getting bigger , they are growing food, they produce their own energy and they are creating their own banking system if we break our dependencies and develop independent solutions we do not need anyone to tell us that we are independent, we will be independent it was not until recently that I learned about all the parallels between Puerto Rico and Hawaii, like the decimation of agriculture and how that has led to both places being so dependent on imports, as well as the rise of tourism and how that is causing the

displacement

of the local population that I have reported on.

Both stories in Puerto Rico, so I'll link them here so you can see them and the other thing I wanted to tell you is that part of what I really want to do this year is look at other countries and compare them to Puerto Rico to see what we can learn from their experiences so if you want to help us in that mission I will link my patreon and also a fundraiser because this story, this trip to Hawaii and the video you just saw was only possible thanks to your support. Thank you very much and we'll see again soon