Native Land and Foreign Desires: Pehea LA E Pono Ai? How Shall We Live in Harmony? [Paperback]

Lilikala Kame'Eleihiwa (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 424 pages
• Publisher: Bishop Museum Pr (March 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0930897595
• ISBN-13: 978-0930897598
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #871,505 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars compelling historical account, February 10, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Native Land and Foreign Desires: Pehea LA E Pono Ai? How Shall We Live in Harmony? (Paperback)

Compelling and unforgettable historical account of ancient Hawai`i from pre-Captain Cook up to the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy, by prominent historian and Native Hawaiian Lilikala Kame`eleihiwa. Moving and detailed description of the devastating impact American imperialism exacts upon the minds, culture, and lives of the Native Hawaiian people. A must for those interested in a true history of Hawai`i.

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars To the haole reader above, June 27, 2006

By 

Hoku Peters "Hokukomohana" (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Native Land and Foreign Desires: Pehea LA E Pono Ai? How Shall We Live in Harmony? (Paperback)

In response to: "Then, in a display of conspicuous consumption well-grounded in traditional Polynesian culture, most of them splurged their new wealth and went bust." -- a reader

Actually, traditionally, splurging wealth is a much westernized approach to living life. Self-interest is a concept that does not even exist in the Hawaiian language. Don't forget that Native Hawaiians inhabited the islands for thousands of years before good ol' Cap'n Cook even set his stinky, white feet on the sand of Kealakekua. You cry conspiracy, I pronounce truth. Indeed, the land WAS STOLEN BY GUNPOINT (annexed) under President Benjamin Harrison, by, you guessed it, conspirators. Namely, Lorrin Thurston and John L. Stevens.

For you, maybe no grand conspiracy is relevant because the way you see life is just as you describe... "people act in their own self-interest." Sorry, that is not the Hawaiian way, but the haole way.

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the best hawaiian history book i've ever read, February 11, 2006

By 

A Reader, Writer & Teacher - See all my reviews

This review is from: Native Land and Foreign Desires: Pehea LA E Pono Ai? How Shall We Live in Harmony? (Paperback)

native land and foreign desires is the best book i've ever read on hawaiian history and the history of the mahele. using hawaiian language sources, lilikala kame'eleihiwa opens the book with several chapters that introduce the reader to hawaiian cosmology. she clearly and eloquently explains how hawaiian society was politically, culturally, spiritually, economically, and socially structured by reciprocal relationships among the land, animals, plants, and people. given this understanding, she describes how that system was transformed by relationships with US colonizers, businessmen, and missionaries and analyzes its dramatic consequences. this book is one of the few books that offers history from a native hawaiian perspective. it is an absolute treasure and a brilliant contribution to critical historical scholarship.