What the Tour Guide Didn’t Tell Me: Tourism, Colonialism, and Resistance in Hawai’i

Teaching Activity. By Wayne Wah Kwai Au. 5 pages.
Lesson on the history of Hawai’i and the impact of colonization and tourism.

tour_guide

Download PDF.

“Sex, hula, and naked ladies!”

I had just asked a class of 11th-grade U.S. literature and history students in Portland, Ore., what images come to mind when I say the word “Hawai’i.” I received a volley of stereotypical responses: blue water, beaches, coconuts, sun, surf, luau, hotels, paradise, pineapple, palm trees, vacation, Waikiki, volcanoes, and of course, “sex, hula, and naked ladies.”

This particular answer, given by an enthusiastic young man, was different than most because of its honesty about the sexual overtones the mystique of Hawai’i holds in the “American” mind. To me, what was most significant about his remark was not just its honesty, but that it shows the need for a more critical examination of the history, politics, and culture of Hawai’i in our classrooms.

Published by Rethinking Schools.

Recommended film on the history of Hawai’i: Act of War: The Overthrow of the Hawaiian Nation.

 

 

Keywords: Hawaii, Portland, tourist, culture, Haunani-Kay Trask, Mililani Trask, native, beaches, sun, “From a Native Daughter: Colonialism and Sovereignty in Hawai’i”, United States, O’ahu, Americans, Wi-Moto, resistance, survival, Captain Cook, Queen Lili’uokalani, Honolulu, Resistance in Paradise, advertising, John Tyler, Calvinism, Tyler Doctrine, “sphere of influence”, King Kamehameha III, John L. Stevens, Spanish American War, Stanford Dole, Asian American, Wayne Au

Post a comment

You must login to comment.