Who Qualifies as "Hawaiian"?

A gentleman I interviewed recently on the topic of Aloha Leadership mentioned before our conversation that he wasn't "born here", meaning he isn't native Hawaiian. That said, he arrived on the islands for good in 1950, which by my reckoning gave him sixty years to acclimate.

We define ourselves in large part by where we live, where we were born, and who we cheer for. I was born in Boston, grew up in Western New York state, and have lived almost exclusively in the Rocky Mountain region since 1988. My immediate family lives in Boston, New York and Seattle. When people ask, I say I'm a native of Massachusetts with roots in Rochester NY and New Mexico. It gets kind of confusing.

The need to identify ourselves with a place or a culture is deeply set. When the cavemen introduced each other many years ago, I'm sure they said "My name is Phil, from Cave 16!" and so regional affiliations were born. In Hawai'i, those who can trace their roots back to "native" Hawaiians carry that proudly. It's important to remember where we come from, and to honor our native culture. It's also important to recognize that in the end we're all products of a cultural, social and regional mish-mash. Our differences may keep us apart from time to time, but our similarities create synergy that fosters creativity, healthy curiousity, and hopefully mutual respect.

Regardless of where we call "home", we're all native human beings after all.