Detours: A Decolonial Guide to Hawai'i - Explore Hawaiian Culture & History | Perfect for Travelers & History Enthusiasts

Kenta Sasakado11/30/2020Assignment #3More often than not, when one travels, they view the experience through the lens of a tourist rather than a local. Throughout my personal journey learning about Hawaii’s culture in the class: Impact of Colonization on the People of Hawai’i, I have begun to approach the idea of traveling with a vastly different attitude. The book, Detours: A Decolonial Guide to Hawai’i, has further amplified this newfound perspective of the responsibilities that all tourists should abide to. The purpose of this book is to educate and provide insight into the devastating impact that the tourist industry has on the islands of Hawai’i, and how future incoming tourists should go about traveling to the islands, if they still persist in doing so. Through the use of poetry, photographs, excerpts, interviews, rich recollection of history and more, the authors are able to give a multifaceted approach on redefining tourism on the islands.One vital strength of this text is providing a well rounded view of tourism’s impact on the islands. Through the use of various types of articles/texts, the authors are able to broaden their approach to appeal to various audiences. Many individuals may resonate more so with poetry, as the meaning behind the poems can have a deeper impact on them. Others may be more visual, and so the photography captured can invoke deep emotions that leave a lasting impact on the audience. This text was written so eloquently that it does not have any weaknesses I can think of. One that is entirely subjective is the amount of information stored in the text. Individuals may seem to find it overwhelming at first, but the richness and quality of the information will likely leave the reader turning the pages more often than putting the book down for a break.One common feeling that is drawn out of me when reading about the colonization of Hawaii is heartbreak. I have a lot of empathy for the people of the islands, especially after reading Uncle Joe’s Mo’olelo’s story. The story opens up with the beauty and vibrant nature of ‘Ahua Point and Fort Kamehameha prior to military expansion. This once stunning location was an area for families to fish and gather resources from the sea in order to feed their family, “On weekends father brought uncles, aunts, cousins and Tutus through the military gates to stay with us and enjoy the bountiful pleasures of old Hawai’i” (page 79). After WW2, the place transformed and as a result of heavy military security, care of this land was denied and the area has lost much of its wildlife due to a lack of care and pollution.Another keypoint that resurfaced a prior warning I read about was on page 50. “A sign warns tourists not to leave valuables in their rental cars… one such sign was defaced by adding “LOCALS WILL”, boldly stating who will remove these valuables”. When I first traveled to Hawaii as a child, my father mentioned that he read advice about not leaving valuables in the car due to locals robbing the cars for them. Without my current knowledge of Hawaii’s true culture, I presumptively assumed that this was the complete truth. However, now I realized the injustice and discrimination associated with this false belief. While some locals may have stolen from tourists before, it is entirely ignorant to assume that we have not stolen from them either. We have taken their land and sea to make it our own, rose prices for housing to establish the tourist/service sector, and stripped them of their unique culture in order to replace it with a warped view of “island paradise”.As touched upon before, housing costs continue to rise as a result of colonization on the islands. Locals have sought out work and living elsewhere as a result of the inflation of housing prices. Known as Kanakas, these locals have traveled across North America in search of more affordability. Despite some of them being college educated, they often had no choice but to find work in the service industry. While this industry did not pay well, despite being away from the islands, it wasn’t “paired with a skyrocketing cost of living, especially for housing” (page 358). Many Kanakas bonded with individuals from other walks of life, due to the hardships and adversity that came along with being a person of color and having to face racism. Unfortunately, many Kanakas did not make it home due to poor working conditions and disease.The last key insight I obtained from reading the text was a beautiful and inspiring one that touched my soul. Oftentimes in modern American culture, we value our technology and architecture that we humans have developed, instead of the natural beauty that arises from the natural creator herself, Mother Nature. The Hawaii’an people did not ignore the supreme creator, but instead worshiped it with respect and care. “Malama ‘Aina means to care for and relate to the land”, (page 217). The tradition of viewing the land and its resources, such as the staple food Taro/Kalo, is centered in the culture. In fact, Kalo can be viewed as an elder to the chiefs of the land, which means it is meant to be respected and cared for, and in return it will provide food and protection. This beautiful belief system has reiterated my belief that we need to care for the land we are blessed to be on.I believe that this text is a must read for anybody and everybody. Whether you are planning to travel to Hawaii or not, it is crucial for individuals to understand the impact that colonization has on small nations worldwide. It is also vital for us to realize that the tourism industry is corrupted and needs to be reformatted so that it benefits the locals and their land/sea. I have strong hopes and desires that we, as a civilization, can come together and restore the land and seas of nations worldwide, and begin the act of peaceful transactions that are the opposite of military conquests of our bloody past.