Adversity and Resiliency in the Lives of Native Hawaiian Elders (Report‪)‬

The Hawaiian stands firmly in the present, with his back to the future and his eyes fixed upon the past, seeking historical answers to present-day dilemmas. Such an orientation is to the Hawaiian an eminently practical one, for the future is always unknown whereas the past is rich in glory and knowledge. (Kame'eleihiwa, 1986, pp. 28-29). Regardless of their racial or ethnic origins or the state in which they live, disenfranchised and oppressed cultural populations across the United States have alarmingly similar social, health, and economic profiles. People indigenous to the lands that currently constitute the United States--Native Hawaiians, American Indians, and Alaska Natives--share a history of forced incorporation into the dominion and the trauma of colonized peoples. This history has contributed to shorter life expectancies and higher prevalence of a number of chronic diseases--diabetes, heart disease, and cancer--when comparing indigenous groups with majority populations in the United States (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2000).