Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 40, Number 3, 1 March 2023 — The Blood Quantum Controversy Through Hapa Hawai'i Eyes [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

The Blood Quantum Controversy Through Hapa Hawai'i Eyes

By Megan Ulu-Lani Boyanton Kalikopuanoheaokalani Aiu lived two contrasting realities growing up hapa (part-Hawaiian) on the continent. . With a Greek and English mother, and a father with Hawaiian, Chinese, Filipino and Portuguese kūpuna, Aiu said, "No one could plaee my ethnicity." Born and raised in Colorado, Aius high school peers often spoke to them in Spanish, and stared with raised eyebrows at their lunches of spam, kimehi and musubi. "Times have changed a lot. We haven't moved very far, but we've also eome a long way, all at the same time," the 25-year-old Aiu said. Aiu now resides on O'ahu and has faced imposter syndrome while diving deeper into learning the different threads of their ethnic and cultural identity. Aiu isn't alone. Only 10.5% of Hawai'i's population identifies as Native Hawaiian or other Paeihe Islander alone, while 25% report two or more races, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. However, many of those with koko Hawai'i (Hawaiian blood) can't elaim pieces of the aina today. For example, to apply for a homestead lease through the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) the applicant must be at least 50% Hawaiian to qualify. This specific definition of Native Hawaiian was established in 1921 by the U.S. Congress when the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act was created. As a congressional delegate, Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalaniana'ole pushed for the creation of the Hawaiian Homes Commission to mitigate the suffering of Native Hawaiians after the U.S. illegally invaded and annexed the Kingdom of Hawai'i at the end of the I9th century. Anticipating interracial marriages, Kalaniana'ole proposed a blood quantum requirement of 1/32 (3.13%) Hawaiian to qualify for a Hawaiian Home Land lease. However, polhieal pressure by powerful sugar and ranching interests forced Kalaniana'ole to settle, instead, for a qualifying blood quantum of 50% Native Hawaiian ancestry. Subsequent amendments to the blood quantum requirement in 1986, 1997 and 2005 led to a reduction of the blood quantum requirement for land successors. Today, spouses, children, grandchildren, brothers and sisters of the original lessee with at least 25% Hawaiian ancestry ean succeed a homestead lease. Prior to leaving office, former U.S. Rep. Kaiali'i Kahele brought the blood quantum controversy to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives when he advocated amending the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act. Kahele proposed a bill to further reduce the qualifying blood quantum for Hawaiian Home Land successors from 25% to 3.13% (the quantum Kalaniana'ole originally proposed). However, the bill did not move forward. Kahele has referred to the blood quantum requirement as "a poison pill" that divides Hawaiians today. "Blood quantum matters because the state sees it as

valid, but those laws are restrictive," Aiu said. "They're a ripple effect of colonization and annexation." Aiu's mother, 49-year-old Kumella Aiu, called blood quantum "a eolonial thought process." She continually educates herself on the differences between her lived experience as a first-generation white American, and those of her hapa children, pointing to the racism and microaggressions they've weathered on the continent. "I'm coming to terms with the fact that my ancestors and my children's ancestors would not have seen eye-to-eye on many things." Sara Kehaulani Goo, 46, nurtures her own special connection with the aina. Her kūpuna's ancestral gravesites are located near the Pi'ilanihale Heiau at Kahanu Garden in Hāna, Maui. "Our family donated that land and that site to the National Tropical Botanical Garden, and it was always important to our family that that plaee be taken care of," Goo said. Now living in Washington, D.C., Goo grew up on the continent with a white mother and a father with Chinese, Okinawan and Native Hawaiian roots. "The part that speaks loudest to me is my Native Hawaiian heritage," she said. A number of Goo's relatives live on Hawaiian homestead lands. The program enabled her grandparents to affordably move to O'ahu and spend their retirement years on the island. However, since the pair passed away, her family "is in danger of losing" the land, because Goo's generation does not meet the blood quantum requirement to inherit it.

"It's important that the Hawaiian homestead program continue to be honored and really help Native Hawaiians in the most expansive way possible," Goo said, SEE BL00D QUANTUM ON PAGE 13

Kumella and Kalikopuanoheaokalani Aiu are now living on O'ohu. - C ourtesy Photo

noting that Hawai'i "has some real, serious issues to fix" in providing affordable housing generally.

BL00D QUANTUM Continued from page 12

Abbie Kozik, a 64-year-old Denver resident, describes herself as "ehop suey." With Filipino, Korean, Hawaiian and Chinese bloodlines, she embodies "a little bit of everything." Raised in Honolulu, she considered multiracial people to be the norm, as many friends also identified as mixed-race. "Growing up in such a diverse environment, I never really thought about it," Kozik said. Ultimately, the blood quantum requirement raises questions for her. "What's the process of making that fair for everybody?" she said. "I don't think it's a very Hawaiian concept." ■ Author Megan Ulu-Lani Boyanton proudly identifies as "hapa." She reports on the business beat at The Denver Post, and has covered the Venezuelan refugee crisis in Peru, parliamentary affairs in England, White House press briefings in Washington, D.C., and midterm elections in Arizona. She writes for Ka Wai Ola, Delish and other publications. Megan previously covered agriculture and trade policy for Bloomberg Government.