Portal:Hawaii

The Hawaii Portal

Hawaii (/həˈwaɪ.i/ ^ⓘ hə-WY-ee; Hawaiian: Hawaiʻi [həˈvɐjʔi, həˈwɐjʔi]) is an island state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about 2,000 miles (3,200 km) southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only state not on the North American mainland, the only state that is an archipelago, the only state south of the Tropic of Cancer, one of only two states, along with Florida, with regions that have a tropical climate, and one of the two U.S. states, along with Texas, that were internationally recognized sovereign countries before becoming U.S. states.

Hawaii consists of 137 volcanic islands that make up almost the entire Hawaiian archipelago (the exception is Midway Atoll). Spanning 1,500 miles (2,400 km), the state is physiographically and ethnologically part of the Polynesian subregion of Oceania. Hawaii's ocean coastline is consequently the fourth-longest in the U.S., at about 750 miles (1,210 km). The eight main islands, from northwest to southeast, are Niʻihau, Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, Kahoʻolawe, Maui, and Hawaiʻi, after which the state is named; the last is often called the "Big Island" or "Hawaiʻi Island" to avoid confusion with the state or archipelago. The uninhabited Northwestern Hawaiian Islands make up most of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, the largest protected area in the U.S. and the fourth-largest in the world.

Of the 50 U.S. states, Hawaii is the eighth-smallest in land area and the 11th-least populous; but with 1.4 million residents, it ranks 13th in population density. Two-thirds of Hawaii residents live on Oʻahu, home to the state's capital and largest city, Honolulu. Hawaii is one of the most demographically diverse U.S. states, owing to its location in the central Pacific and over two centuries of migration. As one of nine majority-minority states, it has the only Asian American plurality, the largest Buddhist community, and largest proportion of multiracial people in the U.S. Consequently, Hawaii is a unique melting pot of North American and East Asian cultures, in addition to its indigenous Hawaiian heritage.

Settled by Polynesians sometime between 1000 and 1200 CE, Hawaii was home to numerous independent chiefdoms. In 1778, British explorer James Cook was the first known non-Polynesian to arrive at the archipelago; early British influence is reflected in the state flag, which bears a Union Jack. An influx of European and American explorers, traders, and whalers soon arrived, leading to the decimation of the once-isolated indigenous community through the introduction of diseases such as syphilis, tuberculosis, smallpox, and measles; the native Hawaiian population declined from between 300,000 and one million to less than 40,000 by 1890. Hawaii became a unified, internationally recognized kingdom in 1810, remaining independent until American and European businessmen overthrew the monarchy in 1893; this led to annexation by the U.S. in 1898. As a strategically valuable U.S. territory, Hawaii was attacked by Japan on December 7, 1941, which brought it global and historical significance, and contributed to America's entry into World War II. Hawaii is the most recent state to join the union, on August 21, 1959. In 1993, the U.S. government formally apologized for its role in the overthrow of Hawaii's government, which had spurred the Hawaiian sovereignty movement and has led to ongoing efforts to obtain redress for the indigenous population. (Full article...)

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Prince Romerson (c. 1840 – March 30, 1872) was a Union army soldier of Native Hawaiian descent. One of the "Hawaiʻi Sons of the Civil War", he was among a group of more than 100 documented Native Hawaiian and Hawaii-born combatants who fought in the American Civil War while the Kingdom of Hawaii was still an independent nation.

Living in the American Northeast before the war, Romerson enlisted in the Union navy in 1863 as part of the Blockading Squadrons responsible for maintaining the blockade of the ports of the Confederacy. After being discharged from naval service, he reenlisted in the Union army under the 5th Regiment Massachusetts Colored Volunteer Cavalry, a United States Colored (USCT) regiment, and was promoted to the rank of sergeant on June 1, 1864. Romerson fought with the 5th USCC until the end of the war. Illness prevented him from continuing with his regiment's reassignment to Clarksville, Texas, and he was mustered out in 1865. After the war, like many former USCT veterans, he remained in the army on the frontier as one of the Buffalo Soldiers. He died in 1872. (Full article...)

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The pilot episode of the reimagined crime series Hawaii Five-0 premiered on CBS in the United States on September 20, 2010. The pilot's teleplay was written by Peter M. Lenkov, based on a story developed by Lenkov, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, and was directed by Len Wiseman. The episode introduces the four main characters: Alex O'Loughlin as series protagonist and Navy SEAL, Lt. Commander Steve McGarrett, Scott Caan as Steve's partner Danny Williams, a former Detective from New Jersey who moved to Hawaii to be close to his daughter, Grace, Daniel Dae Kim as Chin Ho Kelly, a disgraced HPD cop and Grace Park as Kono Kalakaua, a former surfer-turned-HPD Academy graduate who is also Chin's cousin. In the pilot, McGarrett returns to Hawaii to find Victor Hesse (James Marsters), a terrorist who murdered his father, John McGarrett. The Governor of Hawaii, Pat Jameson (Jean Smart) offers McGarrett to head a new task force to fight serious crimes by any means.

Since the end of the original Hawaii Five-O series, there had been a number of attempts to create a remake, but ultimately none went beyond the pilot stage. CBS later hired Lenkov to pitch a pilot story. Kurtzman and Orci were approached; while originally hesitant to participate in the project, they were impressed with Lenkov's pitch. The episode was filmed in March 2010 and took over two weeks to shoot. When the episode became too long certain sequences were cut from the final product, including the funeral scene with Taryn Manning as McGarrett's sister; the character would be introduced in a later episode. Almost 14.2 million Americans viewed the pilot, increasing to 17.59 million when Live+7-day digital video recordings (DVR) are taken into account, and was also considered a ratings success in other countries. Critical reactions were generally positive. (Full article...)

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This section is here to highlight some of the most common words of the Hawaiian Language, ʻŌlelo, that are used in everyday conversation amongst locals.

Hauʻoli

Happy, glad, joyful

Some common uses:

Hauʻoli Makahiki Hou, Happy New Year; Hauʻoli lā hānau, happy birthday

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State Facts

Nickname: The Aloha State
Capital and largest city: Honolulu
Governor: Josh Green (D)
Lieutenant Governor: Sylvia Luke (D)
Total area: 6,471 miles²
Population (2010 census): 1,360,301
Date admitted to the Union: August 21, 1959
Form of Government: Republic
Senators: Mazie Hirono (D), Brian Schatz (D)
Representatives: Ed Case (D), Jill Tokuda (D)

State Symbols:

Mammal: Hawaiian Monk Seal
Marine Mammal: Humpback Whale
Land Mammal: ʻŌpeʻapeʻa (Hawaiian Hoary Bat)
Bird: Nēnē (Hawaiian Goose)
Fish: Humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa (Reef Triggerfish)
Flower: Yellow hibiscus
Gem: Black coral
Insect: Pulelehua (Kamehameha Butterfly)
Plant: Kalo (Taro)
Soil: Hilo
Tree: Kukui (Aleurites Moluccana)
Endemic Tree: ʻŌhiʻa lehua (Metrosideros polymorpha)
Motto: Ua Mau ke Ea o ka ʻĀina i ka Pono
Song: Hawaiʻi Ponoʻī
Musical Instrument (ʻauana): ʻUkulele
Musical Instrument (kahiko): Pahu
Individual Sport: Surfing
Team Sport: Outrigger Canoe Paddling

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The Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, designated the Hawaiʻi State Museum of Natural and Cultural History, is a museum of history and science in the historic Kalihi district of Honolulu on the Hawaiian island of Oʻahu. Founded in 1889, it is the largest museum in Hawaiʻi and has the world's largest collection of Polynesian cultural artifacts and natural history specimens. Besides the comprehensive exhibits of Hawaiian cultural material, the museum's total holding of natural history specimens exceeds 24 million, of which the entomological collection alone represents more than 13.5 million specimens (making it the third-largest insect collection in the United States). The Index Herbariorum code assigned to Herbarium Pacificum of this museum is BISH and this abbreviation is used when citing housed herbarium specimens.

The museum complex is home to the Richard T. Mamiya Science Adventure Center. (Full article...)

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... that an editorial cartoon in The Honolulu Advertiser called Civ-Alert "Hawaii's Paul Revere"?
... that the ancient Hawaiian village known as the Kāneiolouma Complex is across the street from a popular beach on the island of Kauaʻi?
... that Beta brought Scandinavians to the Hawaiian Kingdom to work on sugarcane plantations?
... that Marie Catharine Neal, an expert on Hawaiian plants, authored the acclaimed book In Gardens of Hawaii in 1948, which described more than 2,000 species with detailed scientific information and illustrations?
... that geologist E. Dale Jackson conducted experiments with Jello to test theories on the formation of the Hawaiian islands?
... that Georgia O'Keeffe's Hawaii series began as a commercial art commission for Dole pineapple juice?