Filipinos are the second largest ethnicity group in Hawai‘i, right after White or Caucasian. The Filipino race and culture have become a very big part of Hawai‘i’s diverse society. In the 20th century Filipino ancestors took the risk, a gamble taken by many around the world to travel 5,445 miles from the Philippines to Hawai‘i. Hawai‘i’s elite haole were in need of laborers in the rapidly growing sugar industry, because sugar was king. The Filipinos were the last race group to arrive in Hawai‘i, and the first sakadas arrived in 1906. It was a difficult decision for many people in the Philippines to travel a great distance in order to experience Kasla Glorya Ti Hawaii . Although hopeful, many Filipinos faced challenges, obstacles, and tasks that would make living in Hawai‘i very difficult. Leaving their homes, and working hard in the plantations proved to be one of the biggest sacrifices an immigrant could make. Through the perseverance of their struggles, the migration of the Filipino race during the 1900s has contributed to the diverse society in Hawai‘i, and become a significant part of what makes Hawai‘i unique and authentic.
Before the Filipinos, the Chinese and Japanese dominated as the sugar plantation laborers and were the biggest ethnicity groups in Hawai‘i. When laws were created to prohibit the Chinese and Japanese laborers from entering Hawai‘i because of control and overpopulation of their race, the Philippines was sought out. Many laboring immigrants also returned home after their contract was over, and mixing ethnicities was crucial to preventing strikes. Ronald T. Takaki author of Pau Hana writes, “…employ as many nationalities as possible on each plantation and thus ‘offset’ the power of any one nationality.”...
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... Pub., 1995. Print.
“Makibaka: Struggle!.” In Ating Tao: Our People. Honolulu: General Assistance Center for the Pacific College of Education, Educational Foundations, University of Hawaii, 1976. 60 89. Print.
Sakahara, Tim. “Committee Supports Cockfighting As A Cultural Activity.” Hawaii News Now. http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/12224788/committee-supports-cockfighting-as-a cultural-activity (accessed April 23, 2014).
Soriano, Fred. Filipino Hawaiian Migration and Adaptation: New Paradigms for Analysis. Hilo: University of Hawaii at Hilo, 1980. Print.
Takaki, Ronald T. Pau Hana: Plantation Life and Labor in Hawaii, 1835-1920. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1983. Print.
Teodoro, Luis V. Out of This Struggle: The Filipinos in Hawaii. Honolulu: Published for the Filipino 75th Anniversary Commermoration Commision by the University Press of Hawaii, 1981. Print.
Often times, the history that is being told is one of Hawaiian weakness, and defeat. The Bayonet Constitution of 1887, the Overthrow of 1893, and the Annexation of 1898, are all often used as examples of moments of powerlessness in the Hawaiian Kingdom. What about all history prior to, in between, and after, these major dates? Surely, it did not just disappear. In the last few decades, Hawaiian history has changed dramatically due to the works of many Hawaiian historians. The history that was lost has been found, and new discoveries are still being made. Hawaiʻi’s history is a story of resistance, pride, and unity. Included within this history is a man named Robert William Kalanihiapo Wilcox. Wilcox was a revolutionist, and a leader, but he enjoyed being a politician the most. Wilcox was the beacon of hope that helped guide the people of Hawaiʻi through darkness. Wilcox was and still is today a symbolic figure in Hawaiʻi’s political history.
The Hawaiian culture is known throughout the western world for their extravagant luaus, beautiful islands, and a language that comes nowhere near being pronounceable to anyone but a Hawaiian. Whenever someone wants to “get away” their first thought is to sit on the beach in Hawai’i with a Mai tai in their hand and watch the sun go down. Haunani-Kay Trask is a native Hawaiian educated on the mainland because it was believed to provide a better education. She questioned the stories of her heritage she heard as a child when she began learning of her ancestors in books at school. Confused by which story was correct, she returned to Hawai’i and discovered that the books of the mainland schools had been all wrong and her heritage was correctly told through the language and teachings of her own people. With her use of pathos and connotative language, Trask does a fine job of defending her argument that the western world destroyed her vibrant Hawaiian culture.
Miller, Stuart C. “Letter from New York-Born Soldier.” Benevolent Assimilation: The American Conquest of the Philippines, 1899-1903. New Haven, CT: Yale University, 1982. 88. Print.
Theme three focuses on the Filipinos use of culture as a resistance or domination. In this context, Filipino culture and tradition is used as a method of maintain Filipino identity while resisting assimilation into the concept of ‘whiteness’. Specifically speaking, Filipino culture is used as a tool to point out the flaws they see in American culture. Additionally, it is a tool they use to steer their children away from the temptation of acting in a way that American culture is said to act; that is,
Racism in Hawaii has caused various issues, and one of them is racial tension. It states that “ some say…”[there are]”...racial tensions between the islands white community and native hawaiians” (Hansen, paragraph 3). Well, in history, it was quite difficult for most of the
In chapter thirty five, author Shelley Sang-Hee Lee explains that “Immigration is an important part of our understanding of U.S. social experience” (Hee 128). Asian immigrants bring their diverse culture, language and custom from various Asian countries. They help improve American economic development. Also, they play an important role in American society. The first Asian immigration flow is the Chinese Immigration in the mid-19th century to work in the gold mines and railroads. The Asian immigrant population grew rapidly between 1890 and 1910 (Hee 130). The increasing of population of Asian immigrants have brought a lot of problems. Many of them were facing the issue of ethnicity, discrimination, and the process of assimilation. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 which banned the immigration of Chinese laborers and proscribed foreign-born Chinese from naturalized citizenship and the Asian Exclusion Act League in 1907 which limited the entry of Asian immigrants have reshaped the demographic of Asian immigrants in the U.S (Hing 45). With the rise of anti-Asian movements, many Asian immigrants were rejected from entering America or deported to their homeland. In the early history of immigration in America, the issue of deportation is an important part of the Asian American experience in the
While walking down the beach, the white, warm sand mushes between your toes. The sun’s radiant rays beam off your glowing skin. The sound of waves crashing blocks out the external world. There is no other place like the gorgeous tropical islands of Hawaii. The wide range of flowers, cuisine, and wildlife makes it one of the most picturesque places on Earth. It also leads the United States with the highest racial minority rate making it the most diverse state. However, there are numerous hidden dangers of Hawaii, and not all ethnic groups get along causing sharp tensions across the island.
Ii, John Papa., Mary Kawena Pukui, and Dorothy B. Barrère. Fragments of Hawaiian History. Honolulu: Bishop Museum, 1983. Print.
After the end of World War I in 1919, a group of thirty Japanese settled in San Joaquin Valley, California making their ethnic community in Cortez. Despite the Alien Land Law of 1913, which prevented Asians from purchasing land or leasing it for more than three years, most of the families were able to establish fruit orchards in large land areas. It is this community that the author of the book conducted her research.
The Polynesian peoples have a lifestyle quite different than that of any other culture, as living on an island requires a level of flexible adaptability in order to cope with such a different, sometimes difficult environment. We see the way diverse cultures build their lives around their circumstances and how they respect them in their cultural myths and stories. The Polynesian legends emphasize the physical environment that they live in. They are quite different than any other region in the world, but the beauty and individuality of the Polynesian culture is prominent as seen in their mythology.
A small archipelago off the northwest coast of Britsh Columbia is known as the “islands of the people.” This island is diverse in both land and sea environment. From the 1700’s when the first ship sailed off its coast and a captain logged about the existence, slow attentiveness was given to the island. Its abundance, in both natural resources physical environment, and its allure in the concealed Haida peoples, beckoned settlers to come to the island. Settlers would spark an era of prosperity and catastrophe for the native and environmental populations.
...e" (Trask xix). This incident beautifully illustrates and signifies tourism's impact in American society. Like most Americans, this woman uses a discourse that has been shaped by tourist advertisements and souvenirs. The woman's statement implies that Trask resembles what the tourist industry projects, as if this image created Hawaiian culture. As Trask asserts, Hawaiian culture existed long before tourism and has been exploited by tourism in the form of advertisements and items such as postcards. Along with the violence, endangered environment, and poverty, this exploitation is what the tourist industry does not want to show. However, this is the Hawai'i Haunani-Kay Trask lives in everyday. "This is Hawai'i, once the most fragile and precious of sacred places, now transformed by the American behemoth into a dying land. Only a whispering spirit remains" (Trask 19).
During Japanese rule Guamanians were forced to work. The Japanese also occupied any housing they needed. The Americans were forced to surrender and Eddie bec...
A. A. The Philippines People, Poverty and Politics. New York: The New York Times. St. Martins's P, 1987. 1-225.