Aloha Kanaka Me Ke Aloha 'Aina: Local Culture and Society in Hawaii

Abstract

A small minority of Hawaii’s population is descended from the aboriginal people who inhabited the islands prior to the coming of Europeans and Americans in the late eighteenth century. It has become customary to identify only the descendants of these native people as Hawaiian or partHawaiian. Since the term “Hawaiian” is reserved for this specific ethnic segment of the population, the question then arises as to how the remainder of the people in Hawaii, or indeed, all of the people in Hawaii, refer to themselves collectively. The quest for sucha termis difficult becauseofthe island’s ethnic diversity which includeseight major groups. Any inclusive term, if it is to have significance as an identity symbol, must encompass a wide range of ethnic groups of varying status, values, beliefs, activities, and experiences. Not surprisingly, there is no commonly used corporate designation, a fact that Lind perhaps recognized when he titled his book simply, Hawaii’s People.2 Although it cannot be said to represent all the people in Hawaii, the term “local” is increasingly used to refer to people born and raised in Hawaii. However, the meaning and salience of the notion of local have