"History is written by the Victors"
Kehaulani M. Rand
HWST. 290V
September 15, 2008
“History is written by the Victors”
Winston Churchill
Quoted by Winston Churchill “History is written by the Victors.”
According to the above quote. How has US History affected Hawai’i and her people? On January 14, 1893 John L. Stevens connived a small group of non-Hawaiian residents of the Kingdom of Hawaii, including citizens of the United States, to overthrow the indigenous and lawful Government of Hawaii. This was the beginning of American History for the native people of Hawaii. Following the overthrow in 1896 all Hawaii public and private school instructions were taught only in English. Hawaiians believed that it was the plan of the white man (haole), to take their language & culture so they would loose their identity, and soon they would be forced to learn about their history according to the “Victors.”
In reading “From a Native Daughter” by Haunani-Kay Trask I felt very huikau (confused) about our school system (DOE), because for generations we the Hawaiian people native to this land we call Hawaii have not been taught about the history of our homeland, but that of a western culture. As Haunani Trask articulates, “Hawaiians are not of the West. We are of Hawai’i nei.” I agree with Haunani! Hawaiians are from Hawai’i nei, but as Jonathan Osorio defines huikau (confusion) he explains why there are many Hawaiians that feel huikau (confused) about what being Hawaiian means. He goes on to say “It isn’t ancestry and it isn’t cultural proficiency, being Hawaiian is ultimately about not wishing to be anything else. “
In doing some research about education and history, I found an interesting article about Iraq’s History. In 2003 with the dismissal of former President Saddam Hussein, US officials said that teachers in Iraq could finally teach a more factual account of historical events. Question is: Whose account would that be?
As I continued to read I found out that soon thereafter, US-appointed Iraqi educators removed an entire swath of 20th-century history from Iraqi history books. Some people in Iraq don’t agree with these changes, and others are for the changes, saying that they don’t what their children to remember the horrible past.
I don’t agree with removing history from text books. If it were written by the people of the land or country, it should remain as their history. However, I feel for the people of Iraq because they too will be huikau (confused) about their history if they let the “Victors” change their history.
For Hawaii I believe our public and privates schools should be filled with text books about Hawaiian history told by people who know the language, and culture. Our future generations should be taught the truth about their history.
Works Cited
Haunani-Kay Trask. From a Native Daughter. University Of Hawaii Press.
Jonathan Osario. On being Hawaiian. University of Hawai’i-Manoa.
Asquith, Christina. “Turning The Page On Iraq’s History.” Csmonitor 4 November 2003. http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/1104/p11s01-legn.html
HWST. 290V
September 15, 2008
“History is written by the Victors”
Winston Churchill
Quoted by Winston Churchill “History is written by the Victors.”
According to the above quote. How has US History affected Hawai’i and her people? On January 14, 1893 John L. Stevens connived a small group of non-Hawaiian residents of the Kingdom of Hawaii, including citizens of the United States, to overthrow the indigenous and lawful Government of Hawaii. This was the beginning of American History for the native people of Hawaii. Following the overthrow in 1896 all Hawaii public and private school instructions were taught only in English. Hawaiians believed that it was the plan of the white man (haole), to take their language & culture so they would loose their identity, and soon they would be forced to learn about their history according to the “Victors.”
In reading “From a Native Daughter” by Haunani-Kay Trask I felt very huikau (confused) about our school system (DOE), because for generations we the Hawaiian people native to this land we call Hawaii have not been taught about the history of our homeland, but that of a western culture. As Haunani Trask articulates, “Hawaiians are not of the West. We are of Hawai’i nei.” I agree with Haunani! Hawaiians are from Hawai’i nei, but as Jonathan Osorio defines huikau (confusion) he explains why there are many Hawaiians that feel huikau (confused) about what being Hawaiian means. He goes on to say “It isn’t ancestry and it isn’t cultural proficiency, being Hawaiian is ultimately about not wishing to be anything else. “
In doing some research about education and history, I found an interesting article about Iraq’s History. In 2003 with the dismissal of former President Saddam Hussein, US officials said that teachers in Iraq could finally teach a more factual account of historical events. Question is: Whose account would that be?
As I continued to read I found out that soon thereafter, US-appointed Iraqi educators removed an entire swath of 20th-century history from Iraqi history books. Some people in Iraq don’t agree with these changes, and others are for the changes, saying that they don’t what their children to remember the horrible past.
I don’t agree with removing history from text books. If it were written by the people of the land or country, it should remain as their history. However, I feel for the people of Iraq because they too will be huikau (confused) about their history if they let the “Victors” change their history.
For Hawaii I believe our public and privates schools should be filled with text books about Hawaiian history told by people who know the language, and culture. Our future generations should be taught the truth about their history.
Works Cited
Haunani-Kay Trask. From a Native Daughter. University Of Hawaii Press.
Jonathan Osario. On being Hawaiian. University of Hawai’i-Manoa.
Asquith, Christina. “Turning The Page On Iraq’s History.” Csmonitor 4 November 2003. http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/1104/p11s01-legn.html
posted by Kehaulani @ 5:19 PM
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