Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians: Ep 18 of Crash Course Native American History

Key Concepts

• Federally Recognized Tribal Nations: Indigenous groups formally acknowledged by the U.S. government, granting them certain rights and powers of self-governance (sovereignty).
• Non-contiguous States: States not physically connected to the main body of the United States (Alaska and Hawai'i).
• Subsistence Lifestyle: A way of life centered on hunting, fishing, and gathering for survival, often in harmony with natural cycles.
• Land Claims: Legal assertions by Indigenous peoples of their rights to ancestral lands, based on original occupancy and unceded territory.
• Sovereignty: The inherent right of a nation or people to govern themselves without external interference.
• Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA): A landmark 1971 U.S. law that settled land claims by Alaska Natives, exchanging aboriginal land titles for land and monetary compensation managed by Native corporations.
• Kanaka Maoli: The self-designation for Native Hawaiians, descendants of Polynesian navigators.
• ‘Aumakua: Ancestral spirits in Native Hawaiian belief, sometimes taking the form of plants, rocks, or animals.
• Kumulipo: A sacred Hawaiian creation chant detailing the origin of the universe and life.
• Annexation: The formal act of incorporating a territory into an existing country or state.

The video explores the unique and contrasting relationships between Native populations in Alaska and Hawai'i and the U.S. government, highlighting why 40% of federally recognized tribal nations are in Alaska, while none are in Hawai'i. These two non-contiguous states represent exceptions to the general patterns of Native American history in the lower 48 states.

Alaska: A Path to Corporate-Based Federal Recognition

Alaska, a vast state larger than Texas, California, and Montana combined, has been home to Alaska Natives for at least 10,000 years. They traditionally lived a subsistence lifestyle, hunting, fishing, and gathering with the seasons. Alaska Natives are divided into five major cultural groups:

• Athabascans (Den'a) in the interior.
• Inupiat and St. Lawrence Island Yup’ik in the north.
• Yup’ik and Cup’ik in the southwest.
• Aleut and Alutiiq in the southern islands.
• Haida, Tlingit, Tsimshian, and Eyak along the southeastern coast.

Colonization and Land Claims: Alaska Natives' initial colonizers were Russians. Their relationship with the U.S. began in 1867 when the U.S. purchased Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million, approximately two cents an acre. Crucially, Alaska Natives had never ceded their land through treaty or lost it in war. They argued that the U.S. had purchased only the right to negotiate for the land, not the land itself. Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, Alaska Natives asserted their rights through "land claims," which remained unresolved.

Discrimination and Internment: While the U.S. largely did not forcibly remove Alaska Natives from their lands as in the lower 48, they faced severe discrimination. During World War II, over 800 Aleuts were forced into squalid internment camps, leading to many deaths. Overt discrimination, such as "No Natives Allowed" signs, was common until 1945, when Tlingit activist Elizabeth Peratrovich successfully campaigned for an anti-discrimination law.

Statehood and the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA): When Alaska became the 49th state in 1959, the Alaska Statehood Act recognized existing Native land titles. However, it also allowed the state to claim 104 million acres of "vacant, unappropriated, and unreserved" public land, often encroaching on traditional Native hunting and fishing areas. This led to widespread disrespect among Alaska Natives.

In 1966, over 400 representatives from 17 Native organizations formed the Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN) to file comprehensive land claims. They successfully pushed for a "land freeze" until Native claims were settled. This culminated in the groundbreaking Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) of 1971. Under ANCSA:

• Alaska Natives agreed to relinquish claims over 360 million acres of the state.
• In return, they received 43.7 million acres of land and $962.5 million in monetary compensation.
• This land and money were distributed among newly formed corporations, unique to Alaska, designed to benefit Native communities.

Federal Recognition of Sovereignty: ANCSA did not initially grant federal recognition as sovereign nations. However, through advocacy in state courts during the 1980s, the U.S. government finally recognized all Alaska Native Entities (the corporations established by ANCSA) as officially sovereign governments in 1993. This granted them the same protections, powers, and limitations as other federally-recognized Native nations. Consequently, 229 of the 574 federally recognized Native nations in the U.S. are located in Alaska.

Hawai'i: The Absence of Federal Recognition and Divided Perspectives

Native Hawaiians, known as Kanaka Maoli, are descendants of Polynesian navigators who arrived over two thousand years ago. They developed sophisticated methods for thriving on the islands, including slash-and-burn agriculture, canals, and terraces. They maintain a profound connection to their islands, including relationships with ancestral spirits ('aumakua) and the recitation of the Kumulipo creation chant.

Western Contact and Overthrow: Upon the arrival of Europeans in 1778, diseases decimated over 80 percent of the Native Hawaiian population. Throughout the 19th century, Western settlers and their descendants gained immense influence, land, and wealth, largely through sugar plantations.

In 1891, Lili'uokalani became the Kingdom of Hawai'i's first and last queen. Her power was severely curtailed by white businessmen who, at gunpoint, forced her brother to sign away much of the monarchy's authority, including Native voting rights, while granting voting rights to white, land-owning non-citizens. Their ultimate goal was to make Hawai'i a U.S. territory for profit. In 1893, a secret society, backed by over 160 U.S. troops, invaded the palace. Fearing war, Lili'uokalani surrendered her authority. White elites then actively Americanized Hawai'i, requiring English in schools and suppressing evidence of Kanaka Maoli sovereignty.

Annexation and Statehood: In 1898, the U.S. officially annexed Hawai'i as a territory. Congress claimed the Hawaiian government was "100 percent on board" with "ceding sovereignty," despite over 21,000 Kanaka Maoli citizens petitioning against it. Over the next sixty years, U.S. citizens from the mainland moved to Hawai'i in large numbers, eventually outnumbering Natives. In 1959, Hawai'i became a state, with 93 percent of voters approving. However, many of these voters were mainland U.S. citizens, and some Native scholars argue the vote did not adhere to international rules, as it lacked an option for independence.

Apology and Legal Impasse: In 1993, one hundred years after the overthrow, the U.S. Congress issued an apology, acknowledging that Americans had illegally conspired to overthrow a lawful government and that the Kanaka Maoli never directly relinquished their land or sovereignty. While symbolically significant, this apology had no legal effect. In 2009, the Supreme Court ruled that the apology did not create new rights for the Kanaka Maoli or restore any land claims. Today, Native Hawaiians still lack formal federal recognition as a sovereign nation.

Division on Federal Recognition: The Kanaka Maoli community is divided on whether they even desire federal recognition:

• Those in favor argue it would facilitate addressing inequality and advocating for Native interests.
• Those opposed contend that the Kingdom of Hawai'i still legally exists and is illegally occupied. They believe accepting federal recognition would imply giving up the ultimate goal of achieving true independence.

Synthesis and Conclusion

Both Kanaka Maoli and Alaska Natives have endured political marginalization, discrimination, and systematic attempts to eradicate their languages and cultures. They also face higher rates of poverty and preventable illness, and have less access to healthcare and education compared to white Americans. However, their distinct historical trajectories with the U.S. government have resulted in vastly different legal and political statuses. Alaska Natives achieved federal recognition through a unique corporate model following a comprehensive land settlement, while Native Hawaiians remain without federal recognition, grappling with the legacy of an illegal overthrow and a divided vision for their future, with many prioritizing full independence over U.S. federal recognition. Understanding these diverse experiences is crucial for a comprehensive grasp of Native American history and contemporary Indigenous life.