Native Hawaiians

Native Hawaiians, also known as Kānaka Maoli, are the indigenous people of the Hawaiian Islands. They are part of a broader Polynesian family that shares similar languages and traditions across the Pacific. The history of these people began at least 800 years ago. Polynesians sailed from the Society Islands to settle the archipelago. Over many centuries, these settlers became distinct from their original homelands. They developed a unique culture, religious systems, and a specific identity. This new civilization was built to pass vital knowledge from one generation to the next.

The spiritual life of the Kānaka Maoli is deeply connected to the land, or ʻāina, and the family, or ʻohana. Their religion is polytheistic, meaning they worship many gods. Two primary gods are Wākea and Papahānaumoku, the mother and father of the islands. Their second child, Hāloa, is the god from whom all Hawaiians descend. Because of this connection, they call themselves kamaʻāina, which means "people of the land." This bond is symbolized by the cultivation of taro. Taro is a plant considered the manifestation of Hāloa and represents the deep roots of the people.

Ancient Hawaiian society used a specific system to manage land and resources. Each island was divided into large areas called moku. These were given to people of high standing and kept within families. Each moku was further split into smaller sections called ahupuaʻa. An ahupuaʻa typically ran from the mountains down to the sea. This design ensured that every community had access to all necessary resources. They could find hardwoods in the mountains and food sources by the ocean. Managers oversaw these areas and collected tributes for the island chiefs.

The political history of the islands changed greatly through unification. Before 1795, the islands were independent. Kamehameha the Great, a leader from the island of Hawaiʻi, began a campaign to unite them. In 1795, he conquered Oʻahu, Maui, Molokaʻi, and Lānaʻi. By 1810, the last inhabited islands, Kauaʻi and Niʻihau, joined the kingdom. This created the Hawaiian Kingdom, a unified monarchy. History is often divided into four periods: pre-unification, the unified monarchy and republic, the U.S. territorial period, and the U.S. statehood period.

Contact with outsiders brought massive changes and great loss to the population. When Captain Cook arrived in 1778, the population was estimated between 250,000 and 800,000 people. This was the peak of the Native Hawaiian population. However, immigrants and visitors brought diseases like smallpox, measles, and whooping cough. The Kānaka Maoli had no natural resistance to these illnesses. This caused a catastrophic die-off that lasted for many years. By 1950, the population reached a low point after a long period of decline.

Despite these challenges, there has been a significant cultural renaissance since the 1970s. The 1978 Hawaiʻi State Constitutional Convention helped commit the government to preserving Hawaiian history and language. Today, Hawaiian culture is taught in public schools. Organizations like the Polynesian Voyaging Society work to revive traditional sailing. They build double-hulled canoes, such as the Hōkūlea, to practice ancient navigation techniques. These voyages help people appreciate the connection between the environment and Hawaiian culture.

Modern demographics show a growing and widespread population. In the 2010 U.S. census, 540,013 residents reported Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander ancestry alone. Of those, 135,422 lived in Hawaiʻi. When including other races, 1.2 million people in the United States identified with this ancestry. People with Native Hawaiian roots now live in all 50 U.S. states, as well as Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The Hawaiian sovereignty movement continues to seek autonomy or independence for the islands.