Forced Federalism

I found the distinction between the Peoplehood/nationhood model and the “sovereignty” model quite useful when considering identity.  Rather than a colonial-style, static political/legal approach to defining indigeneity as such; the peoplehood model views indigenous identity as dynamic and malleable.  The Four aspects of the peoplehood model (sacred history, ceremonial cycles, language, and ancestral homelands) give a more holistic, interrelated understanding of indigenous identity than simply asserting a political right to self-determination.  My only concern with the peoplehood/nationhood argument is that, “no single aspect of the model is more or less important than the others.”  I struggle with this claim because isn’t language a transformative power in itself?  Can’t language literally construct knowledge of the world, or the way we understand ourselves and our cultures, better yet the way we perceive reality?  When it comes to indigenous identity, what good are the other aspects if the Native remains ignorant to his/her culture through its vernacular?  This is probably the most controversial issue (both personally and socially) that I’ve encountered this semester on identity.  What exactly is the role of Native languages in (re)creating indigenous identity?  I want to say that it’s absolutely necessary in decolonizing the subjectivity – and therefore a necessary crux in any authentic recreation of indigenous identity.         

        

Clearly, Hawaiians are not stereotyped like the racist image of the “rich Indian.”  However, I do wonder if there are stereotypes, concerning Hawaiians, that continue to influence State policy makers and their decisions.  Can you guys think of any?  The first thing that came to mind was the Board of Health, and how it cruelly treated Hawaiians with leprosy.  Indeed the discourse on leprosy at that time was grounded on the stereotyping of Hawaiians.  Medical, religious, and Euro-American political theories saw leprosy as the result of natives’ “poor hygiene, promiscuity, and fondness of touching one another.” Thus, the (legalized) large-scale displacement of native Hawaiians from their ancestral homelands and ‘ohana was influenced by negative perceptions of indigeneity.  What would constitute a modern politics of perception here in Hawai‘i? What socially constructed images of “Hawaiianess” need to be revisited in order to properly manage the Hawaiian politics of perception?  

Aaron C.