Archive for January, 2007

Correcting Van Dyke

Jon M. Van Dyke, a Professor of Law at the University of Hawaii, recently wrote an article for the Hawaii Reporter titled, “Further Thoughts on ‘Testamentary Incorrectness: A Review Essay'”. It is a response to a post on this blog reviewing a recent essay by Paul Carrington in the December 2006 (Vol. 54, No. 3) Buffalo Law Review. Several corrections are in order regarding Van Dyke’s statements.

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Testamentary Incorrectness: A Review Essay (Paul D. Carrington – Duke University School of Law)

Given the state of common misunderstanding of Hawaiian history, it is refreshing to read the review essay authored by Paul Carrington in the December 2006 (Vol. 54, No. 3) Buffalo Law Review. An in depth analysis of the book Broken Trust: Greed, Mismanagement, & Political Manipulation at America’s Largest Charitable Trust (2006), Carrington shows not only insight into the racial politics in play, but gives us an accurate and honest account of the surrounding history.

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Heroes of the Hawaiian Revolution

In recognition of the historic occasion of January 17th, 1893 and the Hawaiian Revolution which ended the monarchy of the Hawaiian Kingdom, I’d like to offer thanks to the heroes of that day. Although tensions during that time were high enough to entice the landing of peacekeepers from the U.S.S. Boston, no violence occurred the entire time, save the shooting of one police officer trying to stop a wagon of weapons for the Honolulu Rifles.

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Native Hawaiian “birthright” suspect

In a January 12th response to a January 9th article I wrote for the Honolulu Advertiser, the leaders of OHA claimed, “Native Hawaiians are the indigenous people of Hawai’i, and have the right to thrive in their ancient homeland.” I find this sentiment frightening in its consequences, contrary to the ideas of freedom, and based on false premises.

What we today call “Native Hawaiians” did not spring from the mountains of Oahu, or the beaches of Maui. As exemplified by the quintessential example of Native Hawaiian culture, the Hokule’a (now voyaging to Micronesia), Hawaiians were voyagers, explorers, and colonists from other islands in the Pacific and beyond. Their “ancient homeland” can be arbitrarily placed anywhere between Hawaii and the path they took from Africa, depending on which date one chooses. As with every people who have ever travelled to Hawaii, “Native Hawaiians” came from somewhere else – we are all immigrants here, separated only by the amount of time since our ancestor’s original arrival. To assert some special, distinct status, based on a single drop of blood before an arbitrary point in time, over all of ones’ peers who have lived together side by side for over 200 years is simply abject racism.

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