Portal:Hawaii

The Hawaii Portal

Hawaii (/həˈwaɪ.i/ ^ⓘ hə-WY-ee; Hawaiian: Hawaiʻi [həˈvɐjʔi, həˈwɐjʔi]) is an island state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about 2,000 miles (3,200 km) southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only state not on the North American mainland, the only state that is an archipelago, the only state south of the Tropic of Cancer, one of only two states, along with Florida, with regions that have a tropical climate, and one of the two U.S. states, along with Texas, that were internationally recognized sovereign countries before becoming U.S. states.

Hawaii consists of 137 volcanic islands that make up almost the entire Hawaiian archipelago (the exception is Midway Atoll). Spanning 1,500 miles (2,400 km), the state is physiographically and ethnologically part of the Polynesian subregion of Oceania. Hawaii's ocean coastline is consequently the fourth-longest in the U.S., at about 750 miles (1,210 km). The eight main islands, from northwest to southeast, are Niʻihau, Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, Kahoʻolawe, Maui, and Hawaiʻi, after which the state is named; the last is often called the "Big Island" or "Hawaiʻi Island" to avoid confusion with the state or archipelago. The uninhabited Northwestern Hawaiian Islands make up most of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, the largest protected area in the U.S. and the fourth-largest in the world.

Of the 50 U.S. states, Hawaii is the eighth-smallest in land area and the 11th-least populous; but with 1.4 million residents, it ranks 13th in population density. Two-thirds of Hawaii residents live on Oʻahu, home to the state's capital and largest city, Honolulu. Hawaii is one of the most demographically diverse U.S. states, owing to its location in the central Pacific and over two centuries of migration. As one of nine majority-minority states, it has the only Asian American plurality, the largest Buddhist community, and largest proportion of multiracial people in the U.S. Consequently, Hawaii is a unique melting pot of North American and East Asian cultures, in addition to its indigenous Hawaiian heritage.

Settled by Polynesians sometime between 1000 and 1200 CE, Hawaii was home to numerous independent chiefdoms. In 1778, British explorer James Cook was the first known non-Polynesian to arrive at the archipelago; early British influence is reflected in the state flag, which bears a Union Jack. An influx of European and American explorers, traders, and whalers soon arrived, leading to the decimation of the once-isolated indigenous community through the introduction of diseases such as syphilis, tuberculosis, smallpox, and measles; the native Hawaiian population declined from between 300,000 and one million to less than 40,000 by 1890. Hawaii became a unified, internationally recognized kingdom in 1810, remaining independent until American and European businessmen overthrew the monarchy in 1893; this led to annexation by the U.S. in 1898. As a strategically valuable U.S. territory, Hawaii was attacked by Japan on December 7, 1941, which brought it global and historical significance, and contributed to America's entry into World War II. Hawaii is the most recent state to join the union, on August 21, 1959. In 1993, the U.S. government formally apologized for its role in the overthrow of Hawaii's government, which had spurred the Hawaiian sovereignty movement and has led to ongoing efforts to obtain redress for the indigenous population. (Full article...)

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James Wood Bush (c. 1844–45 – April 24, 1906) was an American Union navy sailor of British and Native Hawaiian descent. He was among a group of more than one hundred Native Hawaiian and Hawaii-born combatants in the American Civil War, at a time when the Kingdom of Hawaii was still an independent nation.

Enlisting in the Union navy in 1864, Bush served as a sailor aboard USS Vandalia and the captured Confederate vessel USS Beauregard, which maintained the blockade of the ports of the Confederacy. He was discharged from service in 1865 after an injury, which developed into a chronic condition in later life. The impoverished Bush was unable to return to Hawaii for more than a decade, during which time he traveled through New England and much of the Pacific. Back in Hawaii, he worked as a government tax collector and road supervisor for the island of Kauai, where he settled down. In later life, he converted to Mormonism and became an active member of the Hawaiian Mission. After the annexation of Hawaii to the United States, Bush was recognized for his military service, and in 1905 was granted a government pension for the injuries he received in the Navy. He died at his home on Kauai on April 24, 1906. (Full article...)

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Emma Kaili Metcalf Beckley Nakuina, c. 1904

Emma Kailikapuolono Metcalf Beckley Nakuina (March 5, 1847 – April 27, 1929) was an early Hawaiian female judge, curator and cultural writer. Descended from an American sugar planter and a Hawaiian high chiefess, she was educated in Hawaii and California. She served as curator of the Hawaiian National Museum from 1882 to 1887 and as Commissioner of Private Ways and Water Rights from 1892 to 1907. In her role as a government commissioner, she is often regarded as Hawaii's first female judge. During the early 1900s, she became a supporter of the women's suffrage movement in the Territory of Hawaii. Nakuina was also a prolific writer on the topic of Hawaiian culture and folklore and her many literary works include Hawaii, Its People, Their Legends (1904). (Full article...)

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A view of the Hanalei Valley which is in Northern Kauaʻi. The Hanalei River runs through the valley and 60% of Hawaii's taro is grown in its fields.

'Ōlelo (Language) -

This section is here to highlight some of the most common words of the Hawaiian Language, ʻŌlelo, that are used in everyday conversation amongst locals.

Haole

any foreigner; foreign, introduced, of foreign origin

A common usage:

"The way that haole person spoke was very funny. The Albizia tree is a haole plant that overconsumes water."

State Facts

Nickname: The Aloha State
Capital and largest city: Honolulu
Governor: Josh Green (D)
Lieutenant Governor: Sylvia Luke (D)
Total area: 6,471 miles²
Population (2010 census): 1,360,301
Date admitted to the Union: August 21, 1959
Form of Government: Republic
Senators: Mazie Hirono (D), Brian Schatz (D)
Representatives: Ed Case (D), Jill Tokuda (D)

State Symbols:

Mammal: Hawaiian Monk Seal
Marine Mammal: Humpback Whale
Land Mammal: ʻŌpeʻapeʻa (Hawaiian Hoary Bat)
Bird: Nēnē (Hawaiian Goose)
Fish: Humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa (Reef Triggerfish)
Flower: Yellow hibiscus
Gem: Black coral
Insect: Pulelehua (Kamehameha Butterfly)
Plant: Kalo (Taro)
Soil: Hilo
Tree: Kukui (Aleurites Moluccana)
Endemic Tree: ʻŌhiʻa lehua (Metrosideros polymorpha)
Motto: Ua Mau ke Ea o ka ʻĀina i ka Pono
Song: Hawaiʻi Ponoʻī
Musical Instrument (ʻauana): ʻUkulele
Musical Instrument (kahiko): Pahu
Individual Sport: Surfing
Team Sport: Outrigger Canoe Paddling

Selected article -

Official portrait, 2013

Brian Emanuel Schatz (/ʃɑːts/ SHAHTS; born October 20, 1972) is an American politician serving since 2012 as the senior United States senator from Hawaii. A progressive Democrat, Schatz served in the Hawaii House of Representatives from 1998 to 2006, representing the 25th legislative district; as the chairman of the Democratic Party of Hawaii from 2008 to 2010; and as the 12th lieutenant governor of Hawaii from 2010 to 2012.

Schatz also worked as chief executive officer of Helping Hands Hawaii, an Oahu nonprofit social service agency, until he resigned to run for lieutenant governor of Hawaii in the 2010 gubernatorial election as Neil Abercrombie's running mate. He served as lieutenant governor until December 26, 2012, when Abercrombie appointed him to serve the rest of Daniel Inouye's U.S. Senate term after Inouye's death. Schatz was the youngest U.S. senator in the 112th Congress. He won the 2014 special election to complete the remainder of Inouye's Senate term with just under 70% of the vote, and was reelected in 2016 and in 2022. (Full article...)

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Did you know? -

... that Henry Kailimai and his Hawaiian Quintet were hired by Henry Ford to serve as official musicians for the Ford Motor Company?
... that a newly discovered bee descends from a single ancestor that reached the Hawaiian Islands between 1 million and 1.5 million years ago?
... that Bengisu Avcı had to abandon her 45-kilometre (28-mile) swim across the Kaiwi Channel after being stung by jellyfish twelve hours in?
... that the shark god Kāneikokala, according to Hawaiian tradition, rescued shipwrecked sailors and returned them to their home islands?
... that geologist E. Dale Jackson conducted experiments with Jello to test theories on the formation of the Hawaiian islands?
... that Tahitian princess Ninito Sumner sailed to Hawaiʻi in 1848 to marry Hawaiian prince Moses Kekūāiwa, only to arrive after learning of his death?