Environmental Justice, Native Rights, Tourism, and Opposition to Military Control: The Case of Kaho’olawe
Author(s)
Blackford, Mansel G.
Abstract
Beginning in the 1960’s, the environmental healing of the Hawaiian island of Kaho’olawe – after years of soil erosion due to ranching and the use of the island as a bombing range by the US Navy during and after the 1930’s – became a primary goal in the 1970’s for environmentalists and native Hawaiians who were engaged in a revitalization movement. Through public protest, the invocation of traditional symbols and rights, and particularly the use of federal courts, native Hawaiians spearheaded by the Protect Kaho’olawe ‘Ohana (PKO) ended the island’s use as a bombing range by 1990 and secured its transfer from the navy to Hawaii in 1994. Before Hawaiian contact with Europeans, Kahoolawe “was important as a spiritual center and navigation marker as well as a source of food.”
