Native Hawaiian healing to treat substance misuse: history through the looking glass

ABSTRACT

Cultural interventions that reflect the history and traditions of Native Hawaiians in therapeutic settings are not a mainstay of standard addiction treatment. In an attempt to address the disproportionately high rates of substance use with comparably low rates of voluntary treatment participation among the Native Hawaiian population, the first Native Hawaiian culturally informed treatment program emerged in the early 1980s to utilize various types of indigenous methods intended to improve treatment response and expected clinical outcomes. This article explores the historical basis and cultural precedence for the contemporary use of Native Hawaiian cultural practices in drug treatment facilities. The history of indigenous healing traditions and the Kingdom of Hawai‘i’s government policy interventions between 1810, when Kamehameha unified the Hawaiian islands under his rule, and 1893, when the U.S. government backed the illegal overthrow of Queen Lili‘uokalani’s constitutional monarchy, are considered in addressing substance misuse.

KEYWORDS:

• Addiction
• alcohol
• ‘awa
• culturally responsive
• cultural practices
• culture
• drug abuse
• Hawaiian
• healing
• indigenous
• kava
• substance abuse
• tradition
• treatment

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Bishop Museum Archives, Hawaiˊi State Archives, the Hawaiian Mission Children’s Society Library and Archives staff, and Dore Minatodani for their generous assistance in allowing us access to the relevant historical records.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).