WRITINGS ON HAWAI‘I
by
ROBERT J. MORRIS / 司徒毅 / KAPĀ‘IHIAHILINA (JD, PhD)
Background
The following publications focus specifically on the nexus of Hawai‘i culture, language, law and politics. There are many other Hawai‘i-related publications listed at the other links on this Web page for specific subjects (see, e.g., the links My Bibliography on Gay Rights & Same-Sex Marriage, The Flexible Definition of “Families,” and My Short Story of Hawai‘i). I worked for several years at the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA), specializing in Native Hawaiian rights. I also served as legal counsel to the Hawai‘i State House of Representatives. I learned to read and speak Hawaiian by, of course, living in Hawai‘i, and also by formally studying the language for five years at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa in Honolulu.
I encourage research in original Hawaiian-language materials. My debt to the language is apparent. Both life and death reside in the language: i ka ‘ōlelo ke ola, i ka ‘ōlelo ka make. “Long live the grand old, sonorous, poetical Hawaiian language.” —The Rev. Lorenzo Lyons (Makua Laiana), 1878 (author of the song, “Hawai‘i Aloha”). I especially love the great Hawaiian story of the ruling chief, Lonoikamakahiki, and his aikāne, the commoner Kapā‘ihiahilina. I urge everyone to read that story. My Hawaiian name is Kapā‘ihiahilina in honor of the story and of them. The version that I rely on is found in both English and Hawaiian in volume 4, part 2, of The Fornander Collection of Hawaiian Antiquities and Folklore. Most big libraries have these or can get them via interlibrary loan.
Of all the works cited below, the one that has perhaps been cited the most by others in their research is the first, the 1990 article on the Cook voyage journals. I suspect that one reason for this is that it reports a view of Hawai‘i by outsiders (i.e., British sailors) that other outsiders (i.e., non-specialists in Hawaiian culture) find accessible. That is understandable and is perhaps both the article’s strength and its weakness. It is always important to have the outside view, but it is also necessary to have the inside view as well—hence, the motivation for the publications that followed which deal with primary Hawaiian sources.
Publications
1977 Book review essay of Alfons L. Korn, News from Moloka‘i: Letters Between Peter Kaeo and Queen Emma, 1873-1876, 17(3) BYU Studies 379; full text available at http://byustudies.byu.edu/showTitle.aspx?title=8145
1979 “Products Liability in Hawai‘i,” 14(4) Hawai‘i Bar Journal 127.
1979 Book review essay of Thomas H. Creighton, The Lands of Hawai‘i: Their Use and Misuse, 6(1) Journal of Contemporary Law 115.
1980 Robert J. Morris, “The Crossroads of the Pacific: The Development of Multicultural Families in Hawai‘i,” paper delivered at The World Conference on Records, “Preserving Our Heritage,” August 12-15, 1980, Salt Lake City, Utah (Series 815); www.robertjmorris.net/WorldConference.pdf
1990 “Aikāne: Accounts of Hawaiian Same-Sex Relationships in the Journals of Captain Cook’s Third Voyage (1776-80),” Journal of Homosexuality 19(4): 21-54.
1992 “Same-Sex Friendships in Hawaiian Lore: Constructing the Canon” in Stephen O. Murray, ed., Oceanic Homosexualities. New York & London: Garland Publishing Co., 71-102; American Anthropological Association Kenneth W. Payne Prize for LGBT Scholarship (1992):
http://queeranthro.org/awards/winners-of-the-kenneth-w-payne-prize
http://www.aaanet.org/customcf/section_awards/index.cfm?execute=10
1994 “Court Bashing in the Legislature: A Modern Lesson in Civics From the ‘Federalist,’” 6(6) Law Reporter: The Journal of the Hawai‘i Trial Lawyers Association 5; www.robertjmorris.net/FederalistBash.pdf
1996 “Configuring the Bo(u)nds of Marriage: The Implications of Hawaiian Culture & Values for the Debate About Homogamy,” Yale Journal of Law & the Humanities 8(1): 105-60; http://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1153&context=yjlh http://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1153&context=yjlh
1997 “‘What Though Our Rights Have Been Assailed?’ Mormons, Politics, Same-Sex Marriage, and Cultural Abuse in the Sandwich Islands (Hawai‘i),” 18(2) Women's Rights Law Reporter 129-204.
2006 “Translators, Traitors, and Traducers: Perjuring Hawaiian Same-Sex Texts Through Deliberate Mistranslation,” Journal of Homosexuality 51(3): 225-47; received the American Anthropological Association Kenneth W. Payne Prize for LGBT Scholarship (1992):
http://queeranthro.org/awards/winners-of-the-kenneth-w-payne-prize
http://www.aaanet.org/customcf/section_awards/index.cfm?execute=10
2012 Book Review Essay, reviewing Thomas A. Metzger, The Ivory Tower and the Marble Citadel: Essays on Political Philosophy in Our Modern Era of Interacting Cultures, 19(4) China Review International 629-50.
2015 “Hulihia ke Au: Implications of Hawai‘i Same-Sex Marriage for Policy, Practice, & Culture,” 20(1) UCLA Asian Pacific American Law Journal 1, http://escholarship.org/uc/item/9rf644pd#page-1
2016 “Transgender training legally required, as are guidelines,” Op-Ed article, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, May 18 www.staradvertiser.com/editorial/transgender-training-legally-required-as-are-guidelines
Feb. 1, 2017
www.robertjmorris.net
www.facebook.com/Kapaihiahilina
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