From a Native Daughter

In the ’70s through the early ’90s, Hawaiʻi went through massive social change.

There was a growing consciousness of the manipulation and exploitation that had accompanied Hawaiʻi’s colonization. With that came a collective desire to right the wrongs of history.

Trask describes the institutional racism, discrimination, and closed doors she faced as she attempted to forge a path for Native Hawaiian studies at the University of Hawaiʻi while participating in a growing movement against continued occupation. 

While working on my book, some suggested I soften the political thread woven within the story. It was Trask’s essay “Lovely Hula Hands”… show more.

In writing From a Native Daughter, Haunani Trask—the late and highly-regarded Native Hawaiian scholar-activist—empowers and articulates the rising Indigenous movements in Hawaiʻi and across the Pacific. Her straight talk about tourism and settlers are disquieting but thatʻs what is appealing, she names the US occupation for what it is. What really shines through is the deep love she holds for her island home. Her precise and elegant language rapt me, reading it the year I relocated to Hawaiʻi Island from the island of Miami Beach, Florida.