The Politics of Hawaiian Blood

Received this announcement via email:

The Indigenous Politics Speaker Series Welcomes: J. Kehaulani Kauanui

Tuesday, June 14, 2005, 7:00p.m.
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Kamakakuokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies Halau o Haumea

The Politics of Hawaiian Blood: Genealogical Descendants and Racialized Beneficiaries

The state of Hawai`i currently defines "native Hawaiian" by a fifty-percent blood quantum rule. This legal definition originated in the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1921, which allotted approximately 200,000 acres of land for eligible "native Hawaiians" defined as those "descendants with at least one-half blood quantum of individuals inhabiting the Hawaiian Islands prior to 1778" (Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, 1920). Blood quantum is a fractionalizing measurement that entails the assumption that one's "blood amount" indicates one's cultural orientation and identity. Blood quantum classification is a calculation of "distance" in relation to some supposed purity: how closely can someone compute their generational proximity to a "full-blood" forebear (1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, 1/32, and so on)? While some assume genealogy is a proxy for race, blood quantum classification as a marker for race, is often used as a proxy for ancestry. In dominant American society, genealogy is assumed to be the same as blood notions and racial identity. But what about Hawaiian discourses of identification in relation to genealogy and notions of blood? A look at Hawaiian genealogy and kinship practices can open up meaningful ways of engaging indigenous concepts of identity. This lecture will explore the deep cultural resonance blood quantum classification continues to have in day to day lives of indigenous Hawaiian people and operates in both cultural and legal contexts.

J. Kehaulani Kauanui is an assistant professor of American Studies and Anthropology at Wesleyan University.

Sponsored by the Political Science Department, Kuali'i Council, Kamakakuokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies, Ethnic Studies Department, Anthropology Department, William S. Richardson School of Law, and Ahahui o Hawai'i and Alumni.

I would just like to note that the issue of blood quantum and race has nothing to do with Hawaiian nationality, and these concepts were imposed by the United States through the politics of division, but it is nevertheless an interesting discussion to look at this history and how it relates to Hawaiian identity and genealogy. - scott

Posted: Thu - June 2, 2005 at 01:16 AM

getBlogName(); > getCategoryName("C259362623"); >

The Politics of Hawaiian Blood

> >