Native Hawaiians

Native Hawaiians (in Hawaiian, kanaka ‘oiwi or kanaka māoli) are the indigenous Polynesian peoples of the Hawaiian Islands who trace their ancestry back to antiquity before the arrival of British explorer Captain James Cook in 1778. According to the U.S. Census Bureau report for 2000, there are 476,000 people who identified themselves as being native Hawaiian, part native Hawaiian and mixed native Hawaiian. Most native Hawaiians are residents of the United States in California, the State of Hawaii, Nevada and Washington. Two-thirds live in the State of Hawaii while the other one-third is split among mainland states. Almost half of the mainland share of the population is in California.

Education

An overwhelming majority of native Hawaiians are educated by the Hawai‘i State Department of Education, the largest and most centralized of the United States educational system. Hawai‘i is the only state without local community control of schools. Under the administration of Governor Benjamin J. Cayetano (D-HI) from 1994 to 2002, the state's educational system established special Hawaiian immersion schools. In these schools, all subject courses are taught in the Hawaiian language and use native Hawaiian subject matter in curricula. These schools were created in the spirit of cultural preservation.

Related Topics:
Benjamin J. Cayetano - 1994 - 2002

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A sizeable number of native Hawaiians are educated by the Kamehameha Schools, established through the last will and testament of Bernice Pauahi Bishop, the last princess and heir of the Kamehameha Dynasty. The largest and wealthiest private school in the United States, Kamehameha Schools was intended to teach only native Hawaiian children through all the grade levels. Bishop feared that the education of native Hawaiians would be in jeopardy under the American government. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Kamehameha Schools faced several high profile legal battles where whites sued to be admitted to the school calling the last will and testament of Bernice Pauahi Bishop a racist document. Jurists have often sided with the last will and testament citing special circumstances that merit the race restrictions.

Related Topics:
Bernice Pauahi Bishop - Kamehameha Dynasty

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Another sizeable number of native Hawaiians are educated by the most prominent private academies in Hawai‘i. They include: Punahou School (formerly the Royal School which educated Hawai‘i's royal families), Kamehameha Schools and Iolani School which was established by Anglican missionaries.

Related Topics:
Punahou School - Royal School - Kamehameha Schools - Iolani School - Anglican

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