Primary Sources To best analyze the American understanding of the Polynesian Cultural Center, I will look at primary sources both in the time of its founding, the early 1960s, and over the next few decades through to the 1980s. These sources, including photographs from the first year of operation, newspaper clippings from mainland American newspapers, film clips from the first few years, entries from a blog created to allow former Polynesian Cultural Center employees (referred to as alumni), and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saint’s official history of the center. From these sources, I will be able to gather a few different perceptions and opinions of the center- that of the majority Polynesian employees, the Americans visiting …show more content…
The 1964 director of promotion at the Cultural Center, Ralph Barney, stated that it was difficult to motivate the Polynesian workers to participate for a number of reasons- for one, the low or nonexistent pay. He stated that “some of these people were brought up from Tahiti and other places and given some fairly solid kinds of financial help while others who were already established in La’ie were expected to donate their services.” However, while some Polynesians perceived this free or low-paying labor as exploitation, still others saw it as a family business as Shirley Dela Rosa (see story …show more content…
There would be no Polynesian Cultural Center without these highly racially and ethnically charged performances of culture and race, as the tourists were coming to see the full Polynesian experience. The image of culture the Polynesians were asked to perform was dictated by the Mormon Church itself. In Pouli Magalei’s testimony about his time at the Polynesian Cultural Center after having migrated from American Samoa to work there, he states that “some of the students come from the islands not knowing their own cultures, but they learn it here and gain experience they never had before.” Another Native Hawaiian, Jay Akoi, stated that working there was “not so much as a job as being fun, learning our music.” The fact that these Hawaiian and Samoan workers remember learning their own culture’s music and dances for the cultural center demonstrates the performative aspect of the cultural programming at the Polynesian Cultural Center. The Cultural Center sought to portray an image of native culture which wasn’t native to the performers- a culture they thought that tourists would want to
When I visited the Ziibiwing Center’s exhibits at the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tripe of Michigan building in Diba Jimooyung permanent other great lakes Anishinabek . I saw the weapon and plastic models, swords. the displays go through the Seven fires prophecy, an Anishinaabe prophecy which marks phases, or epochs, in the life of the people on Turtle Island, a Native American name for the North American continent. Anishinaabe is the identification often used by the Odawa, Ojibwa, Potawatomi. Also shows winter and summer living quarters, clothing, jewelry and photos from late 19th century. In the present current structure of the association reflects our dedication to our central goal. the staff is organized into three essential office
The first episode details the performance of a group of Kwakwaka’wakw at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The Aboriginal migrant hop field workers in the Puget Sound area are the focus of the second episode and the third looks at the legal proceeding of 1906 wherein the Tlingit artist Rudolph Walton endeavors to get his mixed race children accepted to the White public school in Alaska. Raibmon uses these episodes to discuss the implications of authenticity in a historical perspective and to draw connections between the different people in these episodes and how they handled their encounters with each other. Additionally, Raibmon shows how both the Aboriginal and non Aboriginal people in these episodes tackle the ideas of tradition, modernity and progress, among others, and how they shape those to fit their needs in terms of their cultural survival and their goals.
In this article, Professor Walker discusses Hawai’i in the early 1900s, and how it became a “contested domain, a place where colonial men challenged Native respite and Native surfers vehemently fought haole over waves, women, and beach properties”. He discusses the constant fight put up by the Hawaiian men to defend their land, beaches, families, and most importantly, their waves. “On land, Hawaiians were increasingly marginalized from political, social, and economic spheres in the twentieth century. Yet in the ocean, Native surfers secured a position on top of a social hierarchy. Because Hawaiian surfers contended for this autonomous cultural space, they had the freedom to defy colonial prescriptions for how Hawaiian men should behave. As they transgressed haole expectations and categories in the waves, Hawaiian surfers simultaneously defined themselves as active and resistant Natives in a colonial history that regularly wrote them as otherwise. I argue that these men were empowered in the Hawaiian surf
As part of their efforts to educate others about the true Native image, this small group of Natives put on the first Annual Stanford Pow Wow. The event in the 1970’s was not as big as the Pow Wow everyone has come to know and love today. But the same reasons for having the event motivated that group of Natives: education and experiencing true Native cultures.
Lovely Hula Hands: Corporate Tourism and the Prostitution of Hawaiian Culture written by Haunani Kay Trask was written in 1993. Trask wrote this paper to inform Americans about what she thinks of tourism, a “colonial imposition” towards the Hawaiian culture. Trask incorporates ethos, pathos and logos throughout her essay to show how tourism effects these three points in the Hawaiian culture: The homeland, the language and dance of the culture and the familial relationships.
The American desire to culturally assimilate Native American people into establishing American customs went down in history during the 1700s. Famous author Zitkala-Sa, tells her brave experience of Americanization as a child through a series of stories in “Impressions of an Indian Childhood.” Zitkala-Sa, described her journey into an American missionary where they cleansed her of her identity. In “Impressions of an Indian Childhood,” Zitkala-Sa uses imagery in order to convey the cruel nature of early American cultural transformation among Indian individuals.
“What if a high school or university wasn't interested in doing these types of cultural exchanges and educational efforts? What would your feelings be about their use of Native imagery?
When I was very young, my parents would take me and my sister to powwows, which are Native American social gatherings. Singing, dancing, and feasting are all characteristic of the powwow, as powwows serve as a means of experiencing Native American culture. During my time at the powwow held at UCSD, I served as an audience member for many of the traditional Native American performances. Through the viewing of these performances, I gained much insight into their symbolism and significance, and I was also able to contextualize some topics discussed in the course.
Kalihi is the geographic area, but Census data exists for Honolulu, Hawaii. Hawaii is one of the most diverse states in the U.S., but current Census information does not filter minority groups such as Chuukese or Filipino. Rather the Census data categorizes various ethnic groups into such as Pacific Islander, Asian, and Native Hawaiian. The assumption is that the Hawaiian culture involves more collectivistic families than individualistic families. Collectivist families have more group cohesion and collectivistic cultures make decisions based on the betterment of the group. The statistic that proves the previous statement is there are 1,673 households out of the total 8,383 with 7 or more people living in one household (Census Bureau, 2010). The languages spoken in Honolulu include Tagalog, English, Hawaiian, and Pidgin, which is a blend of Hawaiian and slang words.
Hawaiian is unique among the fifty states, especially in regards to its native music form, which is still preformed, and captivates audiences even today. Hawaiian chanting, music, and dance are not only key parts of life on the island, but have also become cultural icons as well as profound symbols of nature and religion in Hawaii. Hawaii has a rich history, beginning with the early settlers from Polynesia who brought their traditions and religions to Hawaii. Over the years, the inhabitants took those traditions and adapted them to their new home, creating the definitive culture that, even with Western influences, still is a captivating force within the society.
Paradise Remade: The Politics of Culture and History in Hawaii. Philidelphia: Temple Universtiry Press 1993. Print.
The most important Hawaiian cultural value I saw today was Malama ‘Aina. It means to take care of the land so the land can take care of us. We must nurture the land so it can give back all we need to sustain life for ourselves and our future generations. This value is a sustainable measure that everyone can learn from so we can all live a balanced (Pono) life. The lo’i provides us food to eat, such as the kalo plant, which nourishes our body. It is the kinolau of Kane, God of fresh water. Without Kane’s help, there wouldn’t be any crops for the community to feed on. On-hands learning is the best way to understanding more about our culture and learn why it is important to treat everything with respect. Taking care of the kalo plant made me look
When people plan to attend Hawaii they think of beautiful beaches, great exotic food, and the smell of wonderful flowers never before smelt. That is exactly what they get, from turquoise blue water to skyscraping palm trees Hawaii has so many exotic things to see. Also all the great smells of Hawaii from the wild fruit to the roasted pig on the beach Hawaii definitely brings to mind one thing happiness. In Hawaii there are many things that bring happiness to mind such as the extravagant smells, not to mention the beautiful sights, and most of all the spectacular taste in the exquisite food they have in Hawaii.
Hawaii is a beautiful island and it didn’t take long for people to realize it could be a lucrative business venture. Hawaii’s tourism began, as “bourgeois desires for contact with the rejuvenating "primitive"” became something that interested
“An introduction to Samoan music is an introduction to the Samoan people as a whole (Moyle, p1).” Music had a strong, complimentary presence in traditional Samoan life, and is still a powerful presence today. Although, now, the traditional means for Samoan music has evolved along with it. Traditionally, music was the medium used to tell stories, depict lifestyles, emit warning signals, and to transmit many other things for tribes inhabiting the island. Without the need for a powerful method to transfer signals with the aid of technology; modern day Samoan music has modernized and changed to focus more on the storytelling during a performance. Traditional music in Samoa was a product derived from how they lived their everyday life while blending their voices into song,