Effects of Development on Native Hawaiian Communities

Abstract

This paper is detailed research on a small coastal community named Keaukaha to the east of Hilo, Hawaii. The community is a largely Native Hawaiian neighborhood facing external and internal challenges against its sustainability. Native Hawaiians have had to face some of the toughest challenges socially, environmentally, and economically because they have faced generations of injustices and neglect from the government and competitive foreigners who want to live on an island. Since the Hawaiian Government has created land trusts to set aside for them, there are pockets of Native neighborhoods around the islands and they face these challenges altogether in one place. Within these neighborhoods, there are developments that are encouraged by the people, and developments that are placed there by external players. Using research collection and conducting interviews with residents and community officials, I am able to understand what developments within their community are harming them, and what is beneficial. Assessment of developments was done through three categories: social, environmental, and economic impacts. As was predicted, external developments, the Hilo Airport and the Hilo Sewage Plant that infiltrate the neighborhood cause great distress to the residents and will have long-lasting negative effects on the land and people. Yet, the developments asked by the people, the Keaukaha schools, proved to have huge positive impacts and bring the community together and make them stronger.