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Asian Settler Colonialism: From Local Governance to the Habits of Everyday Life in Hawai'i
Asian Settler Colonialism is a groundbreaking collection that examines the roles of Asians as settlers in Hawai‘i. Contributors from various fields and disciplines investigate aspects of Asian settler colonialism to illustrate its diverse operations and impact on Native Hawaiians. Essays range from analyses of Japanese, Korean, and Filipino settlement to accounts of Asian settler practices in the legislature, the prison industrial complex, and the U.S. military to critiques of Asian settlers’ claims to Hawai‘i in literature and the visual arts.
336 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2008
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492 people want to read
About the author
Candace Fujikane
4 books6 followersCandace Fujikane is Professor of English at the University of Hawai‘i and coeditor of Asian Settler Colonialism: From Local Governance to the Habits of Everyday Life in Hawai‘i.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
June 18, 2012
A well-researched, persuasively written, and beautifully structured collection of essays on the ways in which Asian settlers in Hawaii have oppressed (sometimes intentionally, often inadvertently) the Native Hawaiians and what can be done to rectify this. Being a socially conscious Asian settler, these essays weren't always easy to read on an emotional level, but the clarity they provided was priceless. For years, I've struggled with the best way to support my Native friends and (by marriage) family. First off, we need to own up. History is often unpleasant, and the "model minority" success stories of Asian settlers in Hawaii ignore the political, social, and economic disadvantages that Native Hawaiians face. We're complicit in maintaining colonialism in Hawaii (and by extension, oppression of the indigenous population) simply by being here and taking part in its functions. Once we acknowledge this fact, we can move on to the second step: get out of the way. If you're part of the "model minority" group, you've probably been lucky enough to hold several leadership positions during the course of your life. When it comes to the Native Hawaiian sovereignty movement, you need to put any inclinations towards taking the lead aside. This is not your war. What you can do is use your relative power to support the sovereignty movement. Speak up when you see other settlers engaging in behavior that oppresses Native Hawaiians. Try to get them to open their eyes. A good way to start is by recommending this book.
November 26, 2023
Must read for a couple different reasons:
* For everyone, because folks in the US should understand the battle for native Hawaiian sovereignty
* For Asian immigrants and the descendants of Asian immigrants, because we should get this perspective on how our participation in the overlap of patriarchy, white supremacy, capitalism, and colonization hinders indigenous sovereignty
* For everyone, because folks in the US should understand the battle for native Hawaiian sovereignty
* For Asian immigrants and the descendants of Asian immigrants, because we should get this perspective on how our participation in the overlap of patriarchy, white supremacy, capitalism, and colonization hinders indigenous sovereignty
July 8, 2025
took me TOO long to get through this book because I'd get mad & have to stop every 7 pages 😒 Free Hawai'i
Want to Read
October 25, 2020Referring specifically to Asian Americans in Hawai‘i, editor Candace Fujikane states clearly that “all Asians, including those who don’t have political power, are identified in this book as settlers
who participate in US settler colonialism.”Acknowledging the historical exploitation of Asian plantation labor in Hawai‘i, she argues that it is equally important to acknowledge the “ways that they [Asian migrants and their descendants] are beneficiaries of US settler colonialism” and how “early Asian settlers were both active agents in the making of their own histories and unwitting recruits swept into the service of empire.”86 In this formulation it is not necessary for migrants of color to migrate “intentionally” to become settlers; rather, settler status is a mixture of both self-determination and structural contingency. As Fujikane puts it succinctly, “Colonial intent [does
not] define the status of Asians as settlers but rather the historical context of US colonialism for which they unknowingly became a part.” Furthermore, she also dispels the notion that Asians represent a “third space” outside the Indigenous-settler dialectic.
While attributing a settler identity to Asians may be germane in a demo-graphic context such as Hawai‘i, it nevertheless remains unclear whether such a settler identity is generalizable to the situation of Asian immigrant formations that exist elsewhere. Even though Fujikane stresses that political and economical subordination does not exempt Asian ethnic groups from participating as settlers in a colonial system—particularly Filipinos—her emphasis on Asian demographic majority, dominant political representation, and economic power in Hawai‘i emphasizes how political and economic authority are nonetheless dominant features of settler colonial identity. The importance of economic and political leverage embedded in this characterization of settler identity may explain the absence, for example, of comparable discussions of “black settler colonialism.” A case in point is
the postemancipation recruitment of black “Buffalo Soldiers” in anti-Indian wars in the western United States and during the Philippine-American War. The Buffalo Soldiers are a clear example of an oppressed group’s unwitting (and sometimes unwilling) participation in settler colonialism and
imperial invasion, yet the continued economic and political subjugation of African Americans seems to exempt them from most theorizing on settler colonialism, as a “third space” or otherwise. Thus the settler status of racialized migrants to Indigenous lands outside Hawai‘i remains undetermined.
who participate in US settler colonialism.”Acknowledging the historical exploitation of Asian plantation labor in Hawai‘i, she argues that it is equally important to acknowledge the “ways that they [Asian migrants and their descendants] are beneficiaries of US settler colonialism” and how “early Asian settlers were both active agents in the making of their own histories and unwitting recruits swept into the service of empire.”86 In this formulation it is not necessary for migrants of color to migrate “intentionally” to become settlers; rather, settler status is a mixture of both self-determination and structural contingency. As Fujikane puts it succinctly, “Colonial intent [does
not] define the status of Asians as settlers but rather the historical context of US colonialism for which they unknowingly became a part.” Furthermore, she also dispels the notion that Asians represent a “third space” outside the Indigenous-settler dialectic.
While attributing a settler identity to Asians may be germane in a demo-graphic context such as Hawai‘i, it nevertheless remains unclear whether such a settler identity is generalizable to the situation of Asian immigrant formations that exist elsewhere. Even though Fujikane stresses that political and economical subordination does not exempt Asian ethnic groups from participating as settlers in a colonial system—particularly Filipinos—her emphasis on Asian demographic majority, dominant political representation, and economic power in Hawai‘i emphasizes how political and economic authority are nonetheless dominant features of settler colonial identity. The importance of economic and political leverage embedded in this characterization of settler identity may explain the absence, for example, of comparable discussions of “black settler colonialism.” A case in point is
the postemancipation recruitment of black “Buffalo Soldiers” in anti-Indian wars in the western United States and during the Philippine-American War. The Buffalo Soldiers are a clear example of an oppressed group’s unwitting (and sometimes unwilling) participation in settler colonialism and
imperial invasion, yet the continued economic and political subjugation of African Americans seems to exempt them from most theorizing on settler colonialism, as a “third space” or otherwise. Thus the settler status of racialized migrants to Indigenous lands outside Hawai‘i remains undetermined.
November 26, 2024
I specifically read the chapters by Haunani-Kay Trask, Dean Saranillio, and Karen Kosasa. As a big fan of Fujikane & Okamura’s work, I greatly enjoyed the chorus of island voices they brought together in their publication. Specifically, I believe Haunani-Kay Trask’s inclusion, as a Hawaiian nationalist, scholar, as well as Native Hawaiian activist, was a crucial inclusion in this text. The discussions of Asian settler colonialism from multiple perspectives representing many different ethnic groups on the island was key, another reason why Trask’s voice is so important. She put lived experience behind the book’s words, and gave the perspective of Native Hawaiians, which is often only assumed, from a Native Hawaiian. A Hui Hou, may she rest in peace.
March 15, 2022
A very strong premise in articulating Asian settler colonialism. I wish the chapters better supported/built an argument/theorized the concept.
September 9, 2018
[5 stars] One of the most eye-opening and important nonfiction books I've read in the past three years, Asian Settler Colonialism holds nothing back in its call in's and call out's that center Native Hawaiian sovereignty and self-determination. While many books I've read on colonialism and indigenous resistance focus their attention on white settlers, this anthology tackles the complexity of harm woven into liberal Asian power and oppression in Hawai'i. It's given me a lot to think about as an East Asian immigrant community activist on how to hold myself and others in my communities accountable to the Hawaiian struggle for independence and nationhood. Highly highly recommended to everyone.
September 1, 2013
This collection of essays is a great holiday or anniversary gift for all your friends and family living in Hawaii...or any cluster of islands in the Pacific Ocean where large numbers of Asian immigrants live. Okay maybe not.
If you know your Hawaiian history, you already know that "American" white sugar planters engineered the almost bloodless turnover of Hawaii from Queen Liliuokalani over to the US government. While these white people held power for a few decades, they relied cheap field hands from the countries of Japan, China and the Philippines. And these field-hands had children. Lots of children. After World War II and the whole scary Will-these-Japanese-workers-turn -against-the-Red-White-and-Blue episode, most of the people not taken away to concentration camps on the mainland or deported TAA DAA! became US of A citizens. And guess what? They voted the old white planters - mostly Republicans - out of power.
Soon, a lot of the Democratic Party top hats in Hawaii WERE the sons and daughters of Japanese, Chinese, and Filipino immigrants. So big luau for people of color in Hawaii, right?
I wish! Not only are these Asian people slaughering a lot of pigs, but they weren't letting the Native Hawaiians get the meat. You see, the Democratic Party loves Native Hawaiians because they vote for the Democrats (when they get around to voting), but it doesn't REALLY love them. Like a niece or nephew who is the legal caretaker of an already one-foot-in-the-grave grandmother, these Asian Democrats are not laboring in the grimy crevices of politics out of love, but in order to use the Native Hawaiian bank account and property and stuff like that.
So, yeah... Fujikane and Okihiro are two Japanese Americans who didn't appreciate the mud being thrown at Native Hawaiians claiming land, water, fish, and ability to practice their culture by their Japanese relatives, you know? So they put together a book with a lot of different perspectives of peeple who are RAA RAA RAA about Native Hawaiian rights, including some Native Hawaiians, and some Asians and a Filipino or two (still not sure if Filipinos count as Asians).
Not always an easy or fun read. There's a few photographs and B&W rendering of paintings surrounded by big words. Yeah. Basically, read it if you like your race theory complicated and you believe there's something seriously wrong with Native people being robbed and raped and stuff. Otherwise, you'll get bored or feel so guilty that you become a VIP customer at the ice cream parlor.
If you know your Hawaiian history, you already know that "American" white sugar planters engineered the almost bloodless turnover of Hawaii from Queen Liliuokalani over to the US government. While these white people held power for a few decades, they relied cheap field hands from the countries of Japan, China and the Philippines. And these field-hands had children. Lots of children. After World War II and the whole scary Will-these-Japanese-workers-turn -against-the-Red-White-and-Blue episode, most of the people not taken away to concentration camps on the mainland or deported TAA DAA! became US of A citizens. And guess what? They voted the old white planters - mostly Republicans - out of power.
Soon, a lot of the Democratic Party top hats in Hawaii WERE the sons and daughters of Japanese, Chinese, and Filipino immigrants. So big luau for people of color in Hawaii, right?
I wish! Not only are these Asian people slaughering a lot of pigs, but they weren't letting the Native Hawaiians get the meat. You see, the Democratic Party loves Native Hawaiians because they vote for the Democrats (when they get around to voting), but it doesn't REALLY love them. Like a niece or nephew who is the legal caretaker of an already one-foot-in-the-grave grandmother, these Asian Democrats are not laboring in the grimy crevices of politics out of love, but in order to use the Native Hawaiian bank account and property and stuff like that.
So, yeah... Fujikane and Okihiro are two Japanese Americans who didn't appreciate the mud being thrown at Native Hawaiians claiming land, water, fish, and ability to practice their culture by their Japanese relatives, you know? So they put together a book with a lot of different perspectives of peeple who are RAA RAA RAA about Native Hawaiian rights, including some Native Hawaiians, and some Asians and a Filipino or two (still not sure if Filipinos count as Asians).
Not always an easy or fun read. There's a few photographs and B&W rendering of paintings surrounded by big words. Yeah. Basically, read it if you like your race theory complicated and you believe there's something seriously wrong with Native people being robbed and raped and stuff. Otherwise, you'll get bored or feel so guilty that you become a VIP customer at the ice cream parlor.
September 23, 2008
Okay, admittedly, I haven't read this book yet--at least not in its entirety, but I have read the amazing introduction (and you can too--see link below) to the book, and I plan--with all sincerity--to go out and buy the actual book one of these days when I have a second and can run up to UH Press to cop the book, which means a lot, considering I haven't seen a pay check since I've been here.
I've had nothing to do with this book's publication, so I hope you'll take me seriously when I say that you should at least read the Intro! (again, it's free, and the link is below)
This book touches on so many important themes, including the current status of the various indigenous communities within the US, particularly Hawaiians in Hawai'i, and the responsibility/effect of settlers--particularly settlers of color; even more particularly, Asian settlers--on these lands. Anyway, it's blown my mind, and also helped me to put this special place that I am occupying (yes, also in the capacity of a settler, as I am anywhere else in the US) into perspective.
Much love to you all!~
a
LINK TO INTRO: http://www.uhpress.hawaii.edu/books/f...
I've had nothing to do with this book's publication, so I hope you'll take me seriously when I say that you should at least read the Intro! (again, it's free, and the link is below)
This book touches on so many important themes, including the current status of the various indigenous communities within the US, particularly Hawaiians in Hawai'i, and the responsibility/effect of settlers--particularly settlers of color; even more particularly, Asian settlers--on these lands. Anyway, it's blown my mind, and also helped me to put this special place that I am occupying (yes, also in the capacity of a settler, as I am anywhere else in the US) into perspective.
Much love to you all!~
a
LINK TO INTRO: http://www.uhpress.hawaii.edu/books/f...
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews