BLOOD QUANTUM

Timothy, Jacob, Mana

UNDERSTAND

Here is a link to a video of Hawaiians that were evicted off of Waimanalo Beach Park:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVlZtphn03w

This video is a piece of what happened to the Hawaiians when they were taken away from their land

Background

Prince Kuhio: He created the Hawaiian Commission Act of 1920, after being elected into congress, to help the Hawaiians get access to Hawaiian lands. He was able to to get them 200,000 acres of Hawaiian land, which can be leased for three purposes: residential, pastoral, and agricultural. The condition of the act was, Hawai’i is required to adopt HHCA into constitution and take on management of land trust. For Hawaiians to get land, they have to be a native Hawaiian. In the act, it defines a “native Hawaiian” as: “a descendant with at least one-half blood quantum of individuals inhabiting the Hawaiian Islands prior to 1778.” This means that you must have at least 50% of Hawaiian blood to apply for a lease. If you have children that have at least 25%, the lease can be given to them. Because of this act, and Prince Kuhio, the Hawaiians are able to get access to Hawaiian land.

Background (Con’t.)

Blood Quantum: Blood quantum laws or Indian blood laws is legislation enacted in the United States to define membership in Native American tribes or nations. "Blood quantum" refers to describing the degree of ancestry for an individual of a specific racial or ethnic group (Wikipedia, 2013).

What is the Problem?

Not all Native Hawaiians have access to native lands due primarily to not meeting established “blood quantum” criteria. There are many Hawaiians out there that applied for access to the land, but some aren’t able to get the lease due to the blood quantum criteria and some are just taking a long time getting it because they are put on a waiting list. Also, there is only a limited amount of land.

Hawaiians are people that are tied to the land culturally and spiritually. By taking them away from their land, they lose their identity as a native people.

Factors

Not enough eligible Hawaiians

-Mixed ethnicities: Hawaiians mix with other races, which lessens the blood quantum and causes them to change their lifestyle

Hard to prove that they have Hawaiian blood: Because of the blood quantum laws and such, it is hard to prove if you qualify.

-Inaccurate records of your families ethnicities

Solutions

Change the blood quantum laws: Lessen the percentage needed to qualify for access to native lands

Try to acquire more lands for Hawaiians: Although there is 200,000 acres of land intended for the Hawaiians, majority of the land is in undesirable places or lack infrastructure

Sources

Akana, Rowena [2002]. Does Blood Quantum Divide Us? Office of Hawaiian Affairs. Published online Oct. 3rd 1994. Accessed Jan. 6th 2013

Kerr, Corina [2009] 5 Questions with ...J. Kehaulani Kauanui. The Wesleyan Connection. Published online. Nov. 30th 2009. Accessed Jan. 3rd 2013

Lewis, Orrin. [2011]. Measuring Blood: The American Indian Blood Quantum. Personal Blog. Accessed Jan. 6th 2012

Villazor, Rose C. [2012] The Role of Blood Quantum. The New York Times. The Opinion Pages. Published online Nov. 14th 2012. Accessed Jan. 6th 2012.