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yourfriendtorie's review
4.0
I had been meaning to read this book for years, and I'm glad I finally did so while spending a month in Hawai'i.
I can see how many people, especially white people of more moderate political leanings, would bristle at Trask's well-founded invective. Like Ward Churchill, Trask straight up lays down all of the reasons a white person, or any foreigner, may not be made to feel welcome on these mythologically friendly islands. More than any other place of former or current colonial possession that I've ever visited, the Hawai'i all around me carries a heavy vibe of paradise lost. Runaway development, tourist culture, Native dispossession, and a host of other ills not unfamiliar to Natives on the mainland U.S. can all be historically linked to the theft of the islands by various European and eventually, Euro-American powers. With all of this evident all around me while I waited for surf, delving into the theory behind Hawai'ian political and cultural resistance made my vacation an even more eye-opening experience than I bargained for.
I can see how many people, especially white people of more moderate political leanings, would bristle at Trask's well-founded invective. Like Ward Churchill, Trask straight up lays down all of the reasons a white person, or any foreigner, may not be made to feel welcome on these mythologically friendly islands. More than any other place of former or current colonial possession that I've ever visited, the Hawai'i all around me carries a heavy vibe of paradise lost. Runaway development, tourist culture, Native dispossession, and a host of other ills not unfamiliar to Natives on the mainland U.S. can all be historically linked to the theft of the islands by various European and eventually, Euro-American powers. With all of this evident all around me while I waited for surf, delving into the theory behind Hawai'ian political and cultural resistance made my vacation an even more eye-opening experience than I bargained for.
sonicdonutflour's review
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
Unsparing and intense. A very Important read on the legacy of colonialism in Hawaii.
silodear's review
5.0
When I told my mom I was reading this book, her response was, "Eww. Why?" Literally. Verbatim.
I was born and raised in Hawaii. I have a child's memory of the struggle for Native sovereignty: rallies, protests and sit-ins obstructing traffic, getting headlines in the newspaper, irritating my mother and other haole grown-ups in my family's social-circle. In school, our Kupuna explained that haoles don't belong in the islands and that the native Hawaiians want sovereignty from the US; want their islands back. When I'd return home and ask my mom about these things, she'd reply, "You're native. You were born here." Somehow that never seemed right. "I'm a haole," I'd reply. "Just because I was born here doesn't make me Hawaiian."
I enjoyed this book. Though I'm familiar with the history of Hawaii (I lived in the islands for the first 17 years of my life and learned about Hawaiian history every year in school), it was incredibly enriching to read a radical Native perspective on the Hawaiian sovereignty movement. Haunani-Kay Trask is fierce and powerful.
I was born and raised in Hawaii. I have a child's memory of the struggle for Native sovereignty: rallies, protests and sit-ins obstructing traffic, getting headlines in the newspaper, irritating my mother and other haole grown-ups in my family's social-circle. In school, our Kupuna explained that haoles don't belong in the islands and that the native Hawaiians want sovereignty from the US; want their islands back. When I'd return home and ask my mom about these things, she'd reply, "You're native. You were born here." Somehow that never seemed right. "I'm a haole," I'd reply. "Just because I was born here doesn't make me Hawaiian."
I enjoyed this book. Though I'm familiar with the history of Hawaii (I lived in the islands for the first 17 years of my life and learned about Hawaiian history every year in school), it was incredibly enriching to read a radical Native perspective on the Hawaiian sovereignty movement. Haunani-Kay Trask is fierce and powerful.
eddygrant's review
Really enjoyed this. Writing felt a little repetitive at times but worth reading nonetheless. Great account of the horrific post-contact history of Hawaii, and the struggles which Hawaiians continue to face today.
spacestationtrustfund's review
3.0
"Raw" is really the best adjective I can think of to describe this. Haunani-Kay Trask was very angry when she wrote this, and I can't blame her. Really, Trask's best point (in my opinion) was when she said that the best thing for non-Hawaiʻians to do would be to stop participating in the tourism industry. There are so many places in the world where the tourism industry is not only accepted but indeed actually welcomed; don't go to the places the locals are telling you to stay away from. It's like the difference between wearing a Japanese kimono or Indian sari, both of which are garments which can be worn by anyone and which their respective cultures broadly approve of being worn by non-natives, and wearing an Indigenous American tribe eagle feather headdress, which is a garment that Indigenous Americans have made explicitly clear that only certain very specific people within certain tribes should even consider wearing. Culture is meant to be shared, yes, but there's a difference between sharing and stealing.
poetloz's review
3.0
Haunani-Kay Trask raises some very important issues about the state of Hawaii and Hawaiian culture. The main problem with this book is it is founded upon the idea of Hawaiian sovereignty, which makes it very hard for many readers to approach, but the care and passion for the subject matter make her well-researched argument valid. The issues she touches on stem from the militarization of Hawaii, the ecology, tourism, and overall presence of America in the Pacific. Its worth a read, even if you don't fully agree with her politics.
biblioghoul's review
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, and Colonisation
Minor: Hate crime, Rape, Cannibalism, and Sexual harassment
bosstweed's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
Trask is a badass and talks about issues surrounding native Hawaiians in an unapologetic way, as she should. The issues concerning the native Hawaiian community are not talked about, there’s is so little education on native hawaiian and even less recognition about current day native Hawaiians. While the book is a little out of date, everything that is talked about is still so replace my and important to know, if only for a historical understanding. This is an incredibly important book and while I didn’t necessarily agree with everything Trask said, I think it should be more widely read.