 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
||||||||||||
| week 9 | Land Issues | ||||||||||||
|
 |
| Land issues are so important because land is one of the scarcest
resources in the world. There is an absolute and finite amount
of land. With such a scarcity of land, problems occur when people
try to decide what they want to do with it. The problems heighten
when one group of people feel that they have a certain bond with
the land, a spiritual bond that permeates through their culture,
a bond that they feel can never be broken. These wars over land
have been fought since the beginning of time, and they continue
to be waged today. Native Hawaiians believed that land belonged to no one. It was a living entity that could provide for the people, if the people took care of it. The ruling chief divided the land amongst his allies. They were to manage the land, by farming and fishing. The land tenure system was feudal in nature, but the people were not tied to the land. The commoners could go from one land division to another without problem. The Hawaiians were concerned with resources, and so they took only what they needed to survive. The kapu system enforced this rule along with a variety of other conservation rules. One example of this is that fish could not be captured during their breeding seasons, and young fry were released. The Hawaiians created a vast system of fish ponds in which they allowed the young fry to grow before they were eaten. This allowed the islands to have a plentiful supply of fish, one of the most important parts of their diet. |
Main Themes/Topics: |
| The Land Issues section of our course was designed to facilitate
discussion and learn about: 1) The historical overview of how land was used and divided throughout Hawaii's history 2) Land and Power and how they are linked in Hawaii 3) The role land plays in the Native Hawaiian Sovereignty Movement The main questions that were raised and discussed were: What is the connection between land and power in Hawaii when the Democrats gained power? Do these types of connections still exist? If so, who are the players and what are the differences? Is there a way to end the perpetuation of the ties between land and power in Hawaii? What role does or should land play in the Native Hawaiian Sovereignty Movement? |
| The concept of land ownership was introduced by Westerners who
had seen a great opportunity in the land rich Hawaiian Islands.
The Hawaiian Constitution of 1840 introduced land ownership across
the islands. The bill stated, "Kamehameha I was the founder of
the kingdom, and to him belonged all the land from one end of
the islands to the other." This gave the monarchy the foundation
for giving away or selling land, often times to pay for their
newly acquired debts. Eight years later, the Great Mahele was signed by King Kamehameha III. With this act the king had hoped to give the Native Hawaiians parcels of land, which they could own and call their own. The Great Mahele redistributed three million acres (3/4 of all lands), and sought to replace the traditional feudal type system with a fee simple land tenure system. While the division was thought of with good intentions, the actual distribution was unequal and eventually exploited. The Mahele sent 1,600,000 acres to the other chiefs, 1,500,000 acres were set aside for public lands to be used by the government, 1,000,000 acres were reserved as crown lands for the royal family, and only 30,000 acres were given to the rest of the Hawaiian commoners. While the 30,000 acres was a small percentage of all the land, the Hawaiians were given prime lands for growing crops like taro. Unfortunately, most Hawaiians did not understand the concept of land ownership and allowed their land to be bought up by western foreigners. Taxes were also placed on the land, taxes which most Hawaiians could not afford. Eventually, the Westerners bought up as much land as they could and begin to develop sugar plantations. The Great Mahele provided the first transaction of land, which in turn created a large transaction in power. The plantation economy, that Hawaii would become so dependent on, moved power into the hands of the few elite white males that owned the plantations. To protect their own interests and to increase their profits, these owners sought to annex Hawaii to the United States in exchange for lower tariffs and taxes. It was these same plantation owners who helped stage the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy in 1893. With control of the government, these men took over state lands as well, and continued to monopolize land and power in Hawaii. As George Cooper put it in Land and Power in Hawaii, "land had always been the political battleground and the prize in Hawaii." This was true or traditional Hawaiian times, when chiefs warred over islands. This was true of the mid 19th century westerners, who used their foreign goods to gain land. And it was true when the westerners overthrew the Hawaiian monarchy. These battles were all fought over the precious yet scarce undeveloped land in the Hawaiian Islands. Eventually the plantation economy began to subside, and Hawaii was forced to adapt. A new Democratic majority began to fill Hawaii's government, because the majority of residents were voters of many ethnic backgrounds. Before they took power, the Democrats spoke about the great changes they would make to land ownership. They spoke of forced land redistribution to make Hawaii more equal. But once they took office, most of the democrats abandoned the forced land redistribution they promised. Instead they opted for land development as a way to reform Hawaii economically and socially. This new development was supposed to create new wealth for new groups. The republicans still owned most of the land, but the democrats had the capital that was necessary to develop the land. So these two groups worked with each other, to create the tourism industry that Hawaii is dependent on. While these groups worked with each other, the Native Hawaiians were continuously displaced from their land, and were left out of this new social development. With no land and no power, Native Hawaiians have suffered and face the worst housing conditions in the United States. This unequal distribution has set the battlefield for the next century, the battle to return the land to Native Hawaiians. Land issues permeate just about every aspect of the Native Hawaiian Rights movement. From establishing housing, to establishing a nation, land is important because it sets up the foundation and base from which everything else can operate from. Land is something tangible that can be fought for, victories can be visually seen. But more importantly, in Hawaii, land is power! The fight for land began with a variety of grass roots organizations who would struggle to protect the land that they considered sacred. The island of Kaho`olawe is considered to be the physical manifestation of Kanaloa, one of the main gods in Ancient Hawaiian religion. Kaho`olawe was seized by the United States military, and was used as a bombing range where every weapon short of the nuclear bomb has been tested.  The island of Kaho'olaweThe Protect Kaho`olawe `Ohana (PKO) was formed to stop the bombing and to return Hawaiian culture to the island. At first the PKO was granted restricted access for religious purposes, but the movement would not stop there. The Kaho`olawe Island Reserve Commission was created to supervise the cleanup of the island and to establish a land use plan for the future. The island of Kaho`olawe is to be returned to the State of Hawaii in 2003. The island will be turned over to a Sovereign Hawaiian entity when one is formed and recognized by the state, to be used as a cultural educational facility by Hawaiians. Land will play a big role in the sovereignty movement that is currently occuring. This battle will likely carry over into the next millinium. How the battle will resolve has yet to be determined. |
| Horwitz, Robert, H. Land and Politics in Hawaii. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1966. This book was very narrow in scope. This piece speaks briefly about the Great Mahele and the proposed 2nd Mahele. The most relevant information out of this book was that in 1961, land ownership was broken down as: state owned 42% 69 largest owners 46% 60,000 12% Chinen, Jon J. Great Mahele, Hawaii's Land Division of 1848. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1958. This books was pertinent in understanding the historical facts about the Great Mahele. It also introduced the traditional, pre-contact, land divisions that were so important to Native Hawaiians. Cooper, George. Land and Power in Hawaii. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1990. The main question addressed was "What is the connection between land and power in Hawaii during the Democratic years?" The information in this book was a little to specific and often listed page after page of people who were involved in land transactions. What was important was that the same names continued to show up in all of these deals. Obviously, land and power came hand and hand and was passed around amongst friends and family. Smith, Zachary A. and Richard C. Pratt ed. Politics and Public Policy in Hawaii. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1992. (Callies, David L. Chapter 8 "Dealing With Scarcity: Land Use and Planning," pp. 131-145. The focal point of Callies' argument is that Hawaii has the "most sophisticated and complete system of land-use planning and control in the United States." Callies also discussed how land-use laws have shaped Hawaii's land base into what it is today, and how this has affected Hawaii. Mackenzie, Melody. Native Hawaiian Rights Handbook. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1991. Most of the readers agreed that this book contained a bit too much legalese. It was a difficult read for our type of course. But for someone who is looking for factual legal information, this book covered a wide range of legal issues Native Hawaiians are currently dealing with. |
| The Office of Hawaiian Affairs |
| Hawaiian Sovereignty Elections Committee |
| Kaho'olawe Island Reserve Commission |
| The Protect Kaho'olawe Ohana |