A Race to Racism? Ascribe it to Tribe

Hawai‘i is justly admired as an integrated, racially blended, multi-cultural society. Some would call it a model for the rest of the country, and perhaps for the world. The qualities of respect for others and open-hearted kindness, without regard to race or origin or station in life, are common traits among all of Hawai‘i’s people and are part of that
many-dimensioned concept, “aloha.” But some people in Hawai‘i find no comfort in integration and equality. For several years, a counter-current promoting special privileges for persons of Hawaiian ancestry (one-fifth or more of the state’s population) has achieved considerable success. Recently it has expanded into a movement for “Hawaiian sovereignty,” a confused concept which can mean anything from the defense of current race-based Hawaiian entitlement programs to
outright secession of all or part of the State of Hawai‘i as an independent Hawaiian nation.