Abstract
Throughout the centuries of Western colonization of the United States, there has been the repeated denial of educational access for Native students, including Native students in colonized island nations in the Central Pacific. Native Hawaiian students have historically faced barriers in college success (i.e., campuses not prepared for the cultural, educational, and spiritual needs of Native students). To address the issues of Native Hawaiian students' transition to college, this study applied a qualitative case study method to explore Native Hawaiian identity, and its place in the college curriculum as defined by Native Hawaiian and non-Native Hawaiian students, faculty, and administrators at a university in the Central Pacific region. The study’s aim was to provide strategies to the university for Native Hawaiian students and to add to the existing scholarly knowledge on this limited researched topic. Interview and focus group results, triangulated with documents and artifacts, determined two theoretical constructs based on existing themes: multifaceted nature of Native Hawaiian identity, and challenges with implementing Native Hawaiian-infused curriculum. Faculty and administrator support for Native Hawaiian students positively added to student experiences. External factors that are of import to Native Hawaiian students was of the role of families, cultural recognition, and place-based learning to bring meaning to their learning experiences. Five Native Hawaiian-centric proposed solutions are offered to improve faculty teaching strategies focusing on best practices of Native Hawaiian serving campuses and to create a campus-wide institutional indigenization strategy.
Keywords: Native Hawaiian identity, place-based curriculum, faculty professional development