10/10/2022
Indigenous Peoples' Day recognizes the history, culture, and sacrifices that Native Americans, Alaskan Natives, and Native Hawaiians have made throughout United States' history.
As someone born and raised in the islands of Hawai'i, I am often mistakenly called "Hawaiian". Hawaiian is an ethnicity of people. Simply being born and raised in the state does not make it so. Here are a few more facts about the Hawaiian people:
🌺 Hawaiians almost became extinct
Due to the isolation of the islands from the rest of the world, when western disease was brought to Hawaii via Captain Cook, it is estimated that the Hawaiian population went from around 1 million to 40,000.
🌺 Hawai'i was a sovereign nation, illegally overthrown by the US.
AND YES, they did recognize and "apologize".
The Kingdom of Hawai'i was an internationally recognized monarchy with trade between the United States, Japan, Great Britatin, etc.
Greed, land control, and control on the sugar industry lead to the overthrown and colonization of the kingdom. President Clinton acknowledged the illegal overthrown in 1993 and a $328 million settlement has been reached... only giving each plaintiff $100,000.
🌺 The Hawaiian language was banned
It was illegal to use any other language than English in schools. This began the systematic deletion of the Hawaiian culture. After 4 generations, it became legal to speak Hawaiian in schools again in 1987. Progress is slow but Hawaiian Immersion Programs are bringing the language back into schools, but most importantly, Hawaiian homes.
Where were you born & raised? Do you know about your Native peoples? Tell me down in the comments👇🏼
