UCLA

Inspired by the U.S. Department of the Interior’s 2021 investigation into the intergenerational consequences of the Federal Indian boarding school system from 1819 to 1969, this dissertation unpacks the legacies of settler colonialism and white supremacy in Hawai‘i and the ongoing efforts that Kanaka ʻŌiwi (Native Hawaiian) engage to disrupt oppression in intrapersonal, interpersonal, institutional, and systemic forms (Goodyear-Kaʻōpua, 2005; Silva, 2004). In light of growing awareness of anti-Blackness, misogyny, and xenophobia circulating within the Lāhui Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian nation) (Kawano, 2024), this study critically examines Kanaka ʻŌiwi resistance to internalized oppression: the conscious and unconscious acceptance of intersecting social hierarchies that reinforce and reproduce discrimination, prejudice, stereotypes, and stigma. A Critical Race Wahine ʻŌiwi (Native Hawaiian women) Epistemological lens is first applied to contextualize these phenomena as kūʻē (resistance) and huikau (confusion), respectively, and then to conceptualize a family-centered theory of social change that leverages ʻohana ʻŌiwi (Native Hawaiian families) as the building block of the Lāhui Hawaiʻi. Using a Critical Race Wāhine ʻŌiwi Research paradigm grounded in Indigenous ways of knowing and being (Aluli Meyer, 1998; Tomlins Jahnke and Gillies, 2012; Marin, 2013) and community-engaged design principles, this study interweaves stories and genealogies to understand how kūʻē and huikau are transmitted across three landscapes of Indigenous education: homes, schools, and communities (Meixi, 2019). By triangulating wisdom from twelve interviews, 30 family and community observations, and over 200 artifacts from homes and classrooms, this dissertation (a) identifies intergenerational manifestations of kūʻē to huikau among two ʻohana ʻŌiwi, (b) positions Hawaiian culture-based education as catalysts for intragenerational kūʻē, and (c) re-stories future possibilities for one rural community on O‘ahu to serve as a generative site for multigenerational kūʻē to huikau. Consequently, these findings offer valuable insights into how children and youth internalize notions of identity and culture through verbal and non-verbal discourses circulating in kin-based, school-based, and community-based networks.