Before white people get offended over being called haoles and not feeling welcomed in Hawaii, heres some context. The second wave of colonization by asians & settler colonialism is directly tied to US Imperialism because asians groups such as Japanese, Chinese, & Filipino (1)

worked the sugarcane plantations run by foreign businessmen since Hawaiians alone couldn’t support the labor force. In 1864, Hawaiian Legislature created the Board of Immigration, which represented the economic interests of the plantation owners. They also regulated (2)

immigration in Hawaii & made sure there wasn’t an overabundance from a certain Asian group to keep workers from forming resistance. Haoles businessmen viewed Hawaii as a financial opportunity, imposing the concept of land ownership and profit. (3)

Overall, the majority of immigrants in the 1800s were Chinese, Japanese, & Portuguese. Then in 1900s, Koreans, Filipinos, Samoans, & Southeast Asians (primarily from Laos, Vietnam, & Thailand) immigrated to Hawaii for different reasons (4)

Ultimately, the U.S. used the idea of Hawaii as a cultural melting pot to entice tourism that Hawaii’s economy is consequently reliant on today. By visiting or moving to Hawaii when your family has no relation to the immigration history or ties to the island, you are directly (5)

Contributing to the ongoing settler colonialism that is marginalizing Native Hawaiians on their own land. (END)