Hawaii-Piha-Statement
A Hawaiian isnʻt just anyone who lives in Hawaiʻi. A Hawaiian is a Kanaka Maoli. ʻŌʻiwi. The indigenous people of Hawaiʻi. They are the navigator, astronomers, fishermen, artisans, providers, healers, warriors, and royals who have populated the Hawaiian archipelago for over one thousand years. They are my ʻohana and my kupuna.
In ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, Hawaiʻi Piha translates to full Hawaiian or pure-blooded Hawaiians.
There were an estimated half a million pure Hawaiʻi Piha when Europeans first visited Hawaiʻi in 1778.
It is estimated that fewer than 4,000 pure Hawaiians now remain.
It is estimated that no Pure Hawaiians will be left by 2050.
An estimated 400,000 people of partial Native Hawaiian descent remain. I am one of them.
This is my ongoing kuleana, my responsibility, to document, preserve and celebrate my heritage, my ancestors, and our lāhui.
These are Hawaiʻi Piha.
Aloha,
Jordan