Hawai?i's uniqueness is due to its isolation being so far from the continents. The native plants, birds, insects, and other animals that colonized these islands over thousands of years didn't need any defenses against predators or other threats. Isolated islands that were formed from shield volcanoes emerging from the Pacific Ocean floor with delicate ecosystems. The first Polynesian settlements are estimated around the Year 0 to around 300AD. The first canoes brought plants for food, medicine, clothing, wood, and other needs. The first Hawaiians cultivated the lowlands for their food crops as well as fishponds. Some of the lowland native forests and grasslands were cleared for these activities.
Native birds were caught for feathers and then released in order to have feathers in the future. So why have the birds declined? Mainly because of the changes to their ecosystems, i.e. development or large scale export crops, as well as predators such as rats, mongoose, and cats. Hawaiians focused on growing kalo (taro) as their primary staple and recognized the kalo as their elder ancestor. When Captain Cook was the first westerner to come to Hawai?i in January 1778, he put Hawai?i on the map and this allowed for others to come to Hawai?i. Drastic changes took place immediately with introduction of diseases, new animals, new plants and new technology. One of the immediate changes was the harvesting of sandalwood (?iliahi) which depleted the native forests rapidly.
Native Hawaiians also were susceptible to disease because of their isolation after they stopped voyaging in the 1300s. They would be assimilated into a new religion, society, and economies. No longer a subsistence society that managed their resources in a sustainable manner, also known as malama ?aina. Because of the limited amount of land, land was encouraged by the missionaries to convert to private ownership. After the mahele (land division) that converted the land from stewardship to private ownership, a few large land owners would own majority of the land. The land use was converted to sugarcane and pineapple crops, then resort development, and now urban development. The fresh water (wai) was diverted from one moku (district) to another for the sugar industry. In the Hawaiian culture, the wai is a priority, not just for the kalo but other crops and the fishponds and estuaries. I hope all of this historical background helps us understand today's situation in Hawai?i.
Below are the questions for you to respond to this discussion
Why do you think the first Polynesians brought the canoe plants with them? Did Hawai?i's native ecosystems have plants for food and other needs?
Captain Cook wrote in his journals that the Native Hawaiians had a system of cultivation that surpassed other nations. How do you think the Native Hawaiians were able to be so sustainable with the ?aina, wai, and other resources?
What type of new animals, new plants, and new technologies do you think altered the ?aina and how did they change the aina?
What is the difference between stewardship and private land when it comes to land tenure?
Think about Hawaiian words like place names, do they give clues to the importance of the wai?