Mixed methodology Framing the research project

There are several methods of research and inquiry, which have been employed for this thesis. These methods include both Western design as well as indigenous processes. It is an inter-disciplinary approach, which addresses the union of Western academic structure and Native Hawaiian cultural thought. The mixed methodology is incorporated into a framework based on Native Hawaiian epistemology and which I term Pono Hawaiʻi. The following is a description of the framework and the elements, which are contained within. These are the tools which were utilized in the research and which comprise the methods of inquiry, which I utilized in my research.

This work is enveloped within a Native Hawaiian framework for research methodology called Pono Hawaiʻi. It is founded on cultural elements, which are commonly understood in the Native Hawaiian community and which form a basis for understanding among the community and between generations. Elements of this Native Hawaiian framework include:

• A set of principles of which Pono Hawaiʻi methodology is comprised and

which guide and govern the research process;

• Moʻolelo or stories: Weaving my own life story throughout the thesis as a

reflection of a challenged but successful journey through academia;

• ‘Ōlelo Hawaiʻi or Hawaiian language: Use of ‘Ōlelo Noʻeau or Hawaiian proverbs and wise sayings, oli or chants and mele or songs into the

• Aʻo aku, aʻo mai or Hawaiian teaching and learning: Historic research

into modes of Native Hawaiian teaching and learning and the introduction of the American education system. Description of the failure of Native Hawaiians to thrive under the Western system from early education through to community college and tertiary levels.

• Ola nā ‘ōiwi: A review of well-being theory, including Native Hawaiian well-being and its relationship to Native Hawaiian identity.

• Māla ‘uwala3: A survey and analysis of students entering Hawaiʻi

Community College in 2006 and a comparison of their academic record over three years to 2009.

• Kūkākūkā Talk story sessions with students and faculty relating to family

support and the effect of historic trauma on their ability to succeed in higher education.

Pono Hawaiʻi: An Hawaiian methodology framework

Pono Hawaiʻi is the name I use to describe the methodology, which defines key elements for researching, understanding, interpreting and acting in concert with the principles, societal rules and understandings, and protocols of Hawaiian culture. Inherent in this particular methodology is the intent in which the researchers primary goal is in the best interest and priority of all that comprises the Native Hawaiian universe; the people, the culture and language, ʻāina, spirituality, beliefs and practices.

Pono is defined as “goodness, uprightness, morality, moral qualities, correct or proper procedure, excellence, well-being, prosperity, welfare, benefit, behalf, equity, sake, true condition or nature, duty; moral, fitting, proper, righteous, right, upright, just, virtuous, fair, beneficial, successful, in perfect order, accurate, correct, eased, relieved; should, ought, must, necessary (Pukui & Elbert, 1986, p. 340). Pono is the root of hoʻoponopono, the deep-rooted Hawaiian cultural and spiritual cleansing process and prescribed ceremony “to make right” (Pukui, 2001a, p. 142). It is a readily recognizable concept throughout the community. Pono Hawaiʻi is a Native Hawaiian methodology, rooted in the cultural processes specific to Native Hawaiian culture. As in the practice of hoʻoponopono, the

commitment to conduct research in and of the Hawaiian people, culture and practices utilizing Pono Hawaiʻi methodology involves a commitment to ensuring not only the best intention but also the highest integrity in all manners. This is not to imply that other research methodologies or researchers who engage in other methodologies lack integrity. This particularly methodology, however, is based firmly on the Hawaiian concept of pono as a place to begin, a foundation which governs all intent, activity and interaction rather than being one element of its framework.

Pono is a concept shared and understood by other Polynesians as well. Hirini Moko Mead (2003) discusses the test of pono for understanding the current practices of Māoritanga to determine if they are true to the values and principles of Maori culture. Pono Hawaiʻi reflects the similar principles as Kaupapa Māori, which was developed by Graeme Smith (1990) and expressed in Berryman et al. (2013, p.10). Borrowing from Smith’s framework of Kaupapa Māori, I propose that Pono Hawaiʻi methodology:

• Relates to Native Hawaiian people;

• Connects to Native Hawaiian philosophy and principles;

• Takes for granted the legitimacy and validity of nā mea Hawaiʻi or all things or persons that are Hawaiian;

• Takes for granted the legitimacy and validity of ʻīke and ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi,

Hawaiian thought, beliefs and practices, knowledge and understanding, language and expressions; and

• Is concerned with the struggle for Hawaiʻi autonomy, both cultural and

political.

Pono Hawaiʻi is a methodology for research and inquiry embedded in Native Hawaiian principles, practices, protocols and beliefs. It is for Native Hawaiians, by Native Hawaiians. It is named in response to the myriad of Native Hawaiian researchers, educators, anthropologists, social scientists who have been trained to conduct their inquiry within a colonial framework as the “other”, all the while realizing that they were, in fact, insiders. Pono Hawaiʻi methodology creates the

space for Native Hawaiians to engage in research of our own people and therefore, our own selves, for legitimate purposes. It allows for our personal feeling and knowledge to be incorporated into the discovery process rather than feeling isolated or forced to ignore or bottle up our naʻau,4 our innermost emotional and psychological being.

ʻAʻohe e nalo ka iwi o ke aliʻi ʻino, o ko ke aliʻi maikaʻi ke nalo.

The bones of an evil chief will not be concealed but the bones of a good chief will.

Certain sayings point out that the fact that good comes neither to the chief nor to his people out of weakness on the part of the Aliʻi.

Uprightness (pono) must be the foundation of good rule.

(Handy & Pukui, 1998, p. 200)

The concept of Pono Hawaiʻi as a research methodology stems, in part, from my experience attending a conference in 2005. The purpose of this gathering was to develop a statement about Native Hawaiian intellectual and property rights. One of the results of this conference is the formation of the Palapala Kūlike O Ka ʻAha Pono, Paoakalani Declaration (See Appendix 1). The concept of Pono Hawaiʻi is not new or unique although this name has not been used in this context before. Although the Paoakalani Declaration was not written specifically as a research methodology, the language is most appropriate for this purpose.

The Kauoha: Declaration states:

1. Kanaka Maoli have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right we freely determine our political status and freely pursue our economic, social and cultural development, which includes

determining appropriate use of our traditional knowledge, cultural expressions and forms, and natural and biological resources. 2. The lands, submerged lands, waters, oceans, airspace, territories,

natural resources of Ka Pae ʻĀina Hawaiʻi and associated Kanaka Maoli traditional knowledge are, by our inherent birth right, the kuleana and property of Kanaka Maoli and the inheritance of future generations of our people. As such, the standards and criteria for consumption, development, and utilization of these resources shall be there for Kanaka Maoli to promote our culture through principles of pono, aloha ʻāina and mālama ʻāina.

4 _{Native Hawaiian belief is that a person’s emotions are stored in their intestines or naʻau. Naʻau}

is defined by Pukui (1979) as “Intestines, bowels, mind, heart, affections; of the heart or mind” (p. 237).

3. We reaffirm that colonialism is perpetuated through the intellectual property regimes of the west and call upon all peoples residing on our territories to acknowledge, adopt, and respect the cultural protocols of our peoples to maintain and protect Hawaiʻi and its great wealth of biodiversity.

4. We declare our willingness to share our knowledge with humanity provided that we determine when, why, and how it is used. We have the right to exclude from use those who would exploit, privatize, and unfairly commercialize our traditional knowledge, cultural expressions and other art forms, natural resources, biological material, and

intellectual properties.

(Paoakalani Declaration, 2005, p. 4)

In fact, the ideology that natives understand their own culture better than any outsider and therefore are more qualified to speak to, about and for it is innately understood. The purpose of participating in and conducting any form of inquiry into a culture within the framework of Pono Hawaiʻi is for contribution to and the betterment of the lāhui, the Native Hawaiian people. This research framework defies the Western concept that “insider” research cannot be legitimate as the researcher cannot separate themselves from the subject, thereby allowing for cultural intimacy to distract from the real truth, that, in fact, a researcher must maintain “the analytic perspective or distance of an outsider” (Neuman, 2003, p. 279). Pono Hawaiʻi research methodology defies the notion of culture and power being possessed by outsiders whose research and written exploits assume truth (Said, 1979). Exactly the opposite is true. Pono Hawaiʻi research methodology requires that the researcher possesses a strong enough foundational knowledge and understanding of Hawaiian thought, practice, and meaning in order to navigate within the complexities of the culture and societal structures to arrive at the space where authentic dialog can begin. It is genuine cultural relativism.

“Through pono behavior, we perpetuate the life of the land and our peoples” (Paoakalani Declaration, 2005, p. 4) This begs the question then, “Can a non-Hawaiian researcher engage in Pono Hawaiʻi as a research methodology?” As reflected in Kaupapa Māori design and discussed in Linda Tuhiwai Smith’s “Decolonizing Methodologies, Second Edition”, the answer is no, not without a Hawaiian researcher as a full partner” (p. 186). Does this mean, then, that non-Hawaiian researchers should not engage in

research on or about Native Hawaiians? My response would be, not necessarily. By its definition, a non-Hawaiian would not utilize Pono Hawaiʻi as a research methodology. Smith goes on to discuss the difference between a Māori researcher as one who is committed to the principles of Kaupapa Māori versus a researcher who happens to be Māori and does not or chooses not to conduct themselves within this framework (ibid.).

I am certainly not the first nor will I be the last researcher to attempt to describe and define a research methodology specifically for engaging in Native Hawaiian research. I am, perhaps, one of the few Native Hawaiians with the privilege of conducting my research within the framework of an academy which values this particular concept of Kaupapa Māori as a research methodology and who can appreciate my taking a risk to define and name a similar indigenous concept for Native Hawaiians. I am not Māori, nor is it my intent to delve into the rich field of Māori research, although there are a few comparisons upon which I draw on the similarities and commonalities between our culture and history. I cannot and do not claim to conduct my research within the bounds of Kaupapa Māori methodology. Hence, the need to develop and describe the principles, which I believe should govern Kanaka Maoli who engage in Kanaka Maoli research.

“O ka pono o kāhi aliʻi o ka mikimiki me ka ʻeleu”

The thing to do at the court of the chief is to do work and do it efficiently. Those who serve their chiefs must do their work quickly and well. (Pukui, 1983, #2438)

Moʻolelo: Weaving my own life story throughout the thesis

Story telling is a basic indigenous practice. It stems from the basis of oral communication and the transference of intergenerational knowledge and information, which is a common rootstock of indigenous communities. Certainly, Hawaiian knowledge was passed on through oral transmission in ka wā kahiko, ancient times, through a process of maintaining stories of family, events, lives and activities of chiefs, times of peace and war. However, once the writing system was introduced to Hawaiʻi, storytelling transformed in earnest and some of Hawaiʻi’s epoch kaʻao and moʻolelo, legends and stories, have been preserved

through the one million pages of newspapers which proliferated between the 1834 and 1948 (Hoʻolaupaʻi, Hawaiian Nūpepa Collection5).

The purpose of storytelling, in this thesis, is to emphasize a point. The story I have chosen to share is illustrative of the particular topic that is discussed at that point in the thesis, and should be engaging to you, the reader, and help clarify the concept or idea that is being expressed.

‘Ōlelo Hawaiʻi: ʻŌlelo Noʻeau or Hawaiian proverbs and wise sayings, oli or chants and mele or songs

The use of ‘Ōlelo Noʻeau or Hawaiian proverbs and wise sayings, oli or chants and mele or songs within the narrative serves to illustrate the way Native Hawaiians think and express their worldview. It is well expressed by C. Cornelius (1999) who states

Indigenous peoples have a culturally specific way in which they perceive reality, that is, how they make meaning of the world, and that reality is based on ancient beliefs about how this world originated and how human beings should live on this earth (pg. xii).

Ola nā ‘ōiwi: A review of well-being theory, including Native Hawaiian well- being and its relationship to Native Hawaiian identity

This section is named Ola na ‘ōiwi and refers to the life of the people. It can be interpreted as long live the bones or long live the Native Hawaiian people. There is no Hawaiian phrase for well-being. Rather, this phrase captures the essence of the meaning of Native Hawaiian well-being. This chapter introduces the concept of well-being, defined from both the western framework of subjective well-being and the evolvement of the Native Hawaiian sense of well-being. Understanding a Native Hawaiian sense of identity is key to this discussion.

5 _{The Hawaiian Language newspaper collection can be accessed at nupepa.org and includes text}

and images of Hawaiian language newspapers published in the 19th and 20th centuries. This incredible resource was sponsored by a coalition of Hawaiian organizations and continues to be a major source for research into Hawaiian language, culture and history.

Māla ‘uwala: A survey and analysis of students entering Hawaiʻi Community College in 2006 and a comparison of their academic record over three years to 2009

I must first acknowledge that the concept of a survey is not Native Hawaiian. In fact, many of the ‘Ōlelo Noʻeau gathered by Mary Kawena Pukui refer to the dislike of Native Hawaiians to be subjected to questioning. The phrase, “Māla ‘uwala”, is an ‘Ōlelo Noʻeau. It literally means “potato patch” and is “said in annoyance by an oldster when another Hawaiian asks in English, “What’s the matter?” “Matter” sounds like “mala,” and the retort “Māla ‘uwala” squelches any more questioning” (Pukui, 1983, #2123). Other examples are:

Wini ‘iʻo no!

How pointed!

Said of a too-bold person who questions his elders, intrudes where he is not wanted or talks out of turn.

(Pukui, 1983, #2942)

The name of this section, Māla ‘uwala, is selected to acknowledge the space where Native Hawaiian culture and Western social science do not in fact intersect but lay adjacent to each other. There are merits in both spaces. This survey methodology itself is not indigenous. However, the layers in which the students’ responses are analyzed are embedded within a cultural framework and understanding. ‘Ōlelo Noʻeau are used to support the analysis, to provide some of the frosting for the cake, much like Māori culture incorporates the use of waiata or a song to emphasize or complete a speech or oratory.

For the purpose of this thesis, this method of inquiry is necessary. It is conducted within the Western processes of inquiry and acceptable methods of social science research. Great care is taken to be as culturally sensitive as possible in its implementation as well as in its analysis.

Dr. Hamilton McCubbin, Professor and Director of Research and Evaluation, School of Social Work at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, was engaged in a research project which investigated the well-being and health of Native Hawaiians. He encouraged me to develop a research project that would expand on

the relationship of the sense of well-being for Native Hawaiians to education. I sought to determine how to positively affect Native Hawaiian students in order to increase their educational success.

The Native Hawaiian Well-Being Research Project involved the development of a Sense of Well-Being Index consisting of 30 items that was incorporated into the 2008 State of Hawaii Department of Health Monitoring annual Survey. This survey involved 853 Native Hawaiians. In cooperation with Dr. Hamilton, my research incorporated the Sense of Well-Being Index into a separate survey to determine the well-being of students enrolled in Hawaiʻi Community College in 2006. The student respondents' academic records were then cross-referenced with their survey responses.

This research incorporated the framework for student success in the Achieving the Dream Initiative. The measurements for success include five items:

a. Successful completion of remedial/developmental courses and continue on to and succeed in degree/certificate applicable courses; b. Successful completion of "gatekeeper" courses, such as introductory

English and Math classes;

c. Successful completion of all courses they take, earning a grade of “C” or higher;

d. Re-enrollment in college from one semester to the next; and

e. Earn certificates and/or degrees. (Achieving the Dream, 2016) For the purpose of this study, included in this category were students who successfully transferred to a four-year institution with a minimum of 24 credits and who did not complete their community college degree.

A Well-Being Survey is employed to gather insight into the attitudes toward educational success from a cohort of students who enrolled at Hawaiʻi Community College in 2006. The student survey responses were then cross tabulated with their educational record for a duration of three years at the college to determine their experience of academic success.

Kūkākūkā or Talk-Story methodology

This methodology is similar to the Western-style focus group activity, except Kūkākūkā or Talk-Story incorporates Hawaiian cultural protocols and acknowledges important relationships within the Kauhale or Hawaiian village structure.

Features of Kūkākūkā or Talk-Story methodology include: