The State and Indigenous Movements

Using the comparative historical method, this book looks at the experience of indigenous peoples, specifically the Native Hawaiians, showing how a nation can express culture and citizenship while seeking ways to attain greater sovereignty over territory, culture, and politics. It explores one central research question: What are the opportunities for indigenous groups to attain greater rights? Beginning with an analysis of the concept indigenous, this book considers the many definitions of the term, and proposes a new definition that takes into account old definitions. The study then problematizes "indigenous" and discusses it as a relational concept, focusing on how it is a distinction between the colonizer and the colonized. Also included is a brief history of Hawaii since James Cook's arrival, with an emphasis on the present day context and sovereignty movement organizations. To understand the ways of attaining rights in a globalizing world, Iyall Smith looks at expressions of identity (global, local,or hybrid) as means of maintaining culture and dialoging across cultures. The author also examines how indigenous nations are inserting themselves into the global realm of rights and autonomy, comparing protections in state constitutions to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.