Process paper
Private property in Hawaiʻi was a huge change for everyone living at the time of the Great Māhele. People were used to living in separate ahupua’a and also used to sharing resources with everyone. The Kuleana Act of 1850 changed the face of what “owning land” meant. It not only forced native tenants off of their own property, but also gave foreigners the opportunity to a fee simple title to land. The Kuleana Act interested me most because in the olden days and even sometimes now, Hawaiians always had a specific kuleana both in society and at home. I wanted to dissect what the Kuleana Act of 1850 was and the impact that it made on Hawaiʻi.
Students in the first semester created an exhibit on the Kuleana Act of 1850 and I took over their project in the second semester with their permission to polish it up a little more. I took their exhibit and converted it into a website. More information and pictures needed to be gathered in order to bulk up the project a little more to make it a little juicier. I first started in the library where I went up to the Hawaiian culture center and gathered some primary sources. After gathering information from books in the library, I went online to find out more about what the Kuleana Act was about and how it affected the people in Hawaiʻi. Videos and pictures were then gathered to add to the content on my website.
Converting an exhibit to a website was chosen because it was decided that a website is able to have sub categories and it’s much easier to edit than an exhibit board is. The exhibit board only limits you to a certain amount of words to put into your project and there is so much information to put down. With the information that I was given from the people that worked on the project before me, I was able to add to its content and edit it to make it sound better. The website category gives you the privilege of putting videos, sub categories, etc. into your project.
There were many more pictures that needed to be added to the website because I wanted to include a visual for every page that was put onto my website. Without a picture or two on every page, the website would look very plain.
I tried my best not to take sides with this project because people have a bad habit of taking sides, but what they do not realize is that there are two sides to every story. When I looked at the Kuleana Act from a foreigner’s perspective I realized that I too would have wanted the opportunity to a fee simple title to land, but the majority of the people in Hawaiʻi didn’t want their land to be taken from them and that too was understood. Many of the Hawaiian people were unable to meet the requirements to gain land, which then left them without a lot to live on.
Researching the Kuleana Act of 1850 has helped me to really better understand both the good and bad about it. It has also helped me to see both sides of the story, from both a Hawaiians perspective and from a foreigners perspective.
Students in the first semester created an exhibit on the Kuleana Act of 1850 and I took over their project in the second semester with their permission to polish it up a little more. I took their exhibit and converted it into a website. More information and pictures needed to be gathered in order to bulk up the project a little more to make it a little juicier. I first started in the library where I went up to the Hawaiian culture center and gathered some primary sources. After gathering information from books in the library, I went online to find out more about what the Kuleana Act was about and how it affected the people in Hawaiʻi. Videos and pictures were then gathered to add to the content on my website.
Converting an exhibit to a website was chosen because it was decided that a website is able to have sub categories and it’s much easier to edit than an exhibit board is. The exhibit board only limits you to a certain amount of words to put into your project and there is so much information to put down. With the information that I was given from the people that worked on the project before me, I was able to add to its content and edit it to make it sound better. The website category gives you the privilege of putting videos, sub categories, etc. into your project.
There were many more pictures that needed to be added to the website because I wanted to include a visual for every page that was put onto my website. Without a picture or two on every page, the website would look very plain.
I tried my best not to take sides with this project because people have a bad habit of taking sides, but what they do not realize is that there are two sides to every story. When I looked at the Kuleana Act from a foreigner’s perspective I realized that I too would have wanted the opportunity to a fee simple title to land, but the majority of the people in Hawaiʻi didn’t want their land to be taken from them and that too was understood. Many of the Hawaiian people were unable to meet the requirements to gain land, which then left them without a lot to live on.
Researching the Kuleana Act of 1850 has helped me to really better understand both the good and bad about it. It has also helped me to see both sides of the story, from both a Hawaiians perspective and from a foreigners perspective.