Toward a Kanaka ʻŌiwi racial identity model for a contemporary multiracial world

ABSTRACT

This paper uses a Kanaka ʻŌiwi (Native Hawaiian) Critical Race Theory (KanakaʻŌiwiCrit) framework to conceptualize the relationship between identity and interracial and intraracial relations among multiracial Kanaka ʻŌiwi youth. KanakaʻŌiwiCrit is defined then applied to review research on minority racial identity models and Indigenous identity constructs. To address the gap in literature on the racialization of Kanaka ʻŌiwi youth, a three-dimensional model that explicates how contemporary racial identities form under the social, cultural, and political conditions of multiracial societies afflicted by racism is proposed. Using composite, data-driven narratives, the model conceptualizes four major Kanaka ʻŌiwi racial identity profiles: a state of hōʻole (denial), a state of hoʻokaʻawale (disconnect), a state of huikau (confusion), and a state of mana (power). The significance of geographic contexts in racial identity formation for multiracial Kanaka ʻŌiwi youth living in Hawai‘i versus the global diaspora is also explored before concluding with future paths.

Disclosure statement

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

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

¹ I use Native Hawaiian, Hawaiian, Kānaka (pl. Native Hawaiian), Kanaka (s. Native Hawaiian), and Kanaka ʻŌiwi (singular/plural) interchangeably to refer to the Indigenous Peoples of the ancestral homelands presently considered the U.S. state of Hawai‘i.

² I refer to the killing of Marshallese teenager Iremamber Sykap on April 5, 2021 and African immigrant Lindani Myeni on April 14, 2021.

³ White supremacy is a social, psychological, and cultural lie that produces meaning by ascribing whiteness as an unobtainable goal for People of Color (Coates, 2017).

⁴ Intersectionality is an analytic framework that recognizes the interlocking modes of oppression that characterize people’s everyday lives through the interplay of their numerous social identities (Crenshaw, 1991).

⁵ I use survivance to denote Indigenous survival and resistance against western oppression and subordination (Vizenor, 2008).

⁶ See Appendix A for a list of relevant literature analyzed in this paper.

⁷ Lā Kūʻokoʻa is celebrated on November 28 to commemorate the day that American, British, and French government officials formally recognized Hawai‘i’s sovereignty and independence.

⁸ Davida K. Kahalemaile was a Kanaka ʻŌiwi who supported Hawaiian liberation in 1871.

⁹ This comment is based on a remark made by Dr. Lee about her research on language immersion schools among Mohawk, Ojibwe, Cochiti, Native Hawaiian, and Māori peoples (personal communication, March 30, 2021).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Kourtney Christen Kawano

Kourtney Christen Kawano is a Kanaka ʻŌiwi (Native Hawaiian) doctoral candidate in the department of education at UCLA School of Education & Information Studies. Her research interests include critical race theory, Indigenous methodologies, and Native Hawaiian culture-based education.