Stereotyping Kanaka Maoli — A Stewing Deterrant

Abstract

For centuries indigenous peoples all across the world have been subject to cultural, spiritual, and corporeal genocide. Many dismiss this as a thing of the past, but the war against Colonialism persists today in the perpetuation of this genocide in the forms of stereotypes and other means of erasure. In this essay I explore how indigenous people around the globe, and more specifically Kanaka Maoli, are battling these forces. I look to our kūpuna, interview modern Kanaka scholars, and draw from the interpretations of imperial historians to construct a strong argument that will inspire Kanaka to strive for more than what the Colonialist would lead us to believe. This essay is a call to arms in a sense, meant to be heard by the masses of Kanaka Maoli, so that we may restore our mauli. E ola mau kānaka! Ola!