On The Standard of Being “Hawaiian Enough” Native Hawaiian Lateral Violence and Contemporary Hawaiian Language Acquisition

Abstract

This master’s thesis explores the troubling concept of being “Hawaiian enough” within the contemporary Native Hawaiian community as a pervasive form of Native HawaiianLateral Violence that negatively impacts contemporary Hawaiian language acquisition by Kānaka Maoli. “Hawaiian enough” refers to the set of stereotypical, legal and social expectations placed upon Native Hawaiian people that are primarily foreign in origin and function in a way that attempts to undermine and invalidate Native Hawaiian people and their claim to their ʻŌiwi identities. Using a mix of ethnographic and autoethnographic methods to understand this particular type of social violence, this thesis examines how the internal and external perception of “not being Hawaiian enough” negatively affects Hawaiian Language learning and engagement, community relationships, cultural self-efficacy, and the worth and worthiness of many Hawaiians today. This thesis features primary data collected from 50 Native Hawaiian community members gathered through a series of Hawaiian Language Acquisition and Engagement surveys that detailed personal experiences with learning, attempting to learn, or avoiding altogether, Hawaiian language and its related acquisition opportunities as well as their reasons and perspectives while doing so. Survey responses were analyzed for expressions of shame and shaming, peer judgement, defensive failure, the Hawaiian Language Hierarchy, and the fear or avoidance of speaking Hawaiian, especially with peers, each rooted in some way in Native Hawaiian Lateral Violence. Three social phenomena unique to the Native Hawaiian community that are significant contributing factors to Native Hawaiian Lateral Violence will also be introduced, those being Reactive Skepticism, Aloha Fatigue, and Triggering Whiteness. By documenting the psychosocial challenges to Hawaiian language reclamation experienced by Kānaka today, a currently under-researched topic in academic literature, this project hopes to serve as a catalyst for future investigations into this community issue so that Hawaiian language acquisition might be more accessible and equitable for all Kānaka ʻŌiwi.