Day 53: Haunani-Kay Trask, University of Hawai’i, Manoa, Hawai’i
📌APIA Every Day (53) - Haunani-Kay Trask, born on October 3, 1949, in San Francisco, California, was a Native Hawaiian activist, educator, author, and poet. Growing up on the island of O'ahu in Hawai'i, she continued her academic journey at the University of Chicago and later the University of Wisconsin-Madison, receiving a Ph.D. in Political Science in 1981. Trask's dissertation, "Eros and Power: The Promise of Feminist Theory," was subsequently published as a book in 1986 by the University of Pennsylvania Press.
Trask founded the Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Driven by her dissatisfaction with the lack of racial, ideological, and gender diversity in the American Studies curriculum, she served as the center's director for nearly a decade. Moreover, she played a pivotal role in securing the construction of the Gladys Brandt Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies. After her directorship, Trask continued her academic contributions by teaching native political movements in Hawai'i as an emeritus faculty member.
Actively engaged in the Hawaiian sovereignty movement, Trask, along with her sister Mililani, co-founded Ka Lāhui Hawaiʻi in 1987, one of Hawaii’s largest and most prominent indigenous sovereignty movements. Her commitment to Native Hawaiian activism extended to representing the Kanaka Maoli at the United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Peoples in Geneva and participating in the 2001 United Nations World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia, and Related Intolerance.
Her activist background underscores her lifelong work to indigenous rights, diversity, and the understanding of Hawaiian culture and studies. How can we comprehend Trask's legacy, which transcends place-based preservation practices?
LEARN MORE:
The NY Times: Haunani-Kay Trask, Champion of Native Rights in Hawaii, Dies at 71
Poetry Foundation: Haunani-Kay Trask
YouTube: Haunani-Kay Trask speech at ‘Onip’a Event A ‘Lolani Palace, Honoloulu on Jan 17, 1993
YouTube: Haunani-Kay Trask on Protecting Hawaiian Burials
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