Camille K. Kalama, University of Hawaii at Manoa, PO Box 23343, Honolulu, HI 96823. ckalama@hawaii.edu.

Ku‘e: the Native Hawaiian Gathering Rights Issue.

In Hawaii today, one aspect of “culture wars” are contests over native Hawaiian gathering rights. Under the Western system of land tenure that came into place in Hawaii in the late nineteenth century, traditional rights came into conflict with the rights of exclusivity so fundamental to western property law. While there were examples of native Hawaiian resistance in the past, over the last two decades contestation has increased, aided by the 1978 amendment to the Hawaii Constitution. This amendment included the protection of Hawaiian culture, including traditional and customary practices. In recent court cases, the resolutions have left open the question of whether native rights supercede Western property law, thus leaving the laws unclear. This paper utilizes texts reflecting different perspectives on the issue to unearth what it is that underlies these issues and why it is that a resolution is so difficult to achieve. At the heart of the issue are two seemingly incompatible epistemologies colliding in a system that allows for only one. The fact that this battle takes place in a Western Court under Western laws has made it difficult for the Native Hawaiian voice to be heard. As of now the issue remains unresolved and will continue to be so until that voice is heard.

Keyword: indigenous peoples, rights, Hawaiian.