Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 37, Number 1, 1 January 2020 — Native Hawaiians Are Leaving Hawai'i - and What That Means [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Native Hawaiians Are Leaving Hawai'i - and What That Means

By John K.S. Aeto, The Kalaimoku Group Collected every 10 years, the next US Census is set for April 1 , 2020. The population of the United States will onee again be counted, including demographic, social and eeonomie characteristics. For Native Hawaiians, the 2020 US Census may mark a major historic milestone. The last census in 2010 counted 527,077 Native Hawaiians living in the United States, with 237,107 — nearly half of them — living on the continent, while 289,970 live in Hawai'i. It begs the question: Will more Native Hawaiians be counted living outside of Hawai'i in the 2020 US Census? In the 2000 census, citizens could report having more than one race for the first time. This resulted in a huge increase of Native Hawaiians (139.5%) reflected in the census, overall, as compared to 1990 census numbers. It also highlighted the growing trend of Native Hawaiians leaving Hawai'i. In fact, the 2010 census showed there were more "Native Hawaiian and Other Paeihe Islanders" living in Los Angeles County than in either Maui County (Maui, Moloka'i and Lāna'i) or Kaua'i County (Kaua'i and Ni'ihau). In a more recent report, another 5,071 Native Hawaiians moved outside of Hawai'i between 2013-2017, according to the Hawai'i State Department of Business, Eeonomie Development & Tourism. The majority moved to California, Nevada or Utah. Native Hawaiians are not the only Polynesians moving away from their home islands. In the 2010 census the number of Samoans living on the US continent was nearly four times greater than the number of Samoans living in American Samoa. Most leave for the same reasons that nonNative Hawaiian residents decide to leave Hawai'i: more opportunity, more resources, a lower cost of living and higher salaries. Two months ago, in a qualitative study, Kamehameha Schools' Strategy and Innovation Group set out to uncover why Native Hawaiians are leaving. They hope to use the findings to determine if they should implement policy or strategy changes that may help Native Hawaiians choose to stay and thrive

in the islands. "What happens if Hawai'i is no longer a plaee where Native Hawaiians ean have a good quality of life and afford to live?" asks Shawn Kana'iaupuni, executive strategy eonsultant for Kamehameha. "I'm hypothesizing that for many Hawaiians the affordability of housing is an issue," she adds. "For example, I /"*x\ m 1 rl/i I a r»l n \lafnra lower-middle-class Native

Hawaiians who are in the gap group that can't qualify for federal aid or even college hnaneial aid for their children; they might decide that they have to leave to find a more eomfortable life in another plaee." In a way, it's a new Polynesian migration; only this time it's to the continental US. Historically, Polynesians migrated to Hawai'i in two

waves: the first from the Marquesas Islands sometime between 124 and 1120 AD, and then later from Tahiti. There really is not mueh difference why Polynesians migrate today as compared to the past. People were looking for more opportunities and better resources on new land they could settle.

Regardless of the reasons early Polynesians decided to migrate, the data is pointing toward 2020 possibly being the year that Native Hawaiians living on the continent outnumber those living in Hawai'i. For Native Hawaiian organizations funded by the government, the results of the 2020 census could potentially open discussions among their leadership about how - or if - their programs should extend to the continent. In the case of Papa Ola Lōkahi, a non-profit responsible for addressing Native Hawaiian health and well-being as outlined by the Native Hawaiian Health Care Improvement Act, assisting the growing population on the continent is something already on their mind. "What's going to happen is really a huge question, so being mindful and prepared is really important," says Sheri-Ann Daniels, executive director of Papa Ola Lōkahi. The federal Act allows the organization to assist with Native Hawaiian heahh issues, regardless of loeahon, and there are no stipulations regarding how money should be distributed. But it's an unprecedented scenario. Daniels says she'd be interested in looking at partnerships with other organizations to reach Native Hawaiians on the continent "If you've ever had a ehanee to talk to many of the Hawaiians living on the continent, they do feel isolated," she says. "I think that's something that we've got to look at as a community, because I don't know that everybody agrees. But, at least under my tenure, a Hawaiian is a Hawaiian is a Hawaiian. Geography doesn't matter." ■

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^United States® Census 2020

l ^ ^ -1 JkXhA? Signage encouraging Native Hawaiian families to complete the 2020 Census. ■ Photo: Jhewel-6eorlyn Felipe