North Shore Reign: The Hui 'O He 'e Nalu and the Surfing Borderlands of Hawai'i

In the mid-1970s a Native Hawaiian surfing group called the Hui `O He'e Nalu protested a burgeoning professional surfing industry on O`ahu's North Shore. One of few Hawaiian traditions to survive the onslaught of colonialism, he `e nalu (surfing) was a treasured gem for these Hawaiians. Through the preservation efforts of Hawaiian surfers throughout the twentieth century, the surf zone was secured as both a sanctuary and a borderland. It was a place where Hawaiians were empowered and colonial hierarchies were turned upside down. Popular media have since portrayed the Hui as a group of unruly, savage-like Native troublemakers, but oral history interviews with Hui members reveal that they had clear anti-colonial objectives. This dissertation also examines why their objectives were not seen as rational or political. American representations of Pacific Island men had often stereotyped Hawaiian men as submissive and unmanly, yet Hui members were branded terrorists. Such labels have historically helped colonizing nations justify their exploits. In the context of the Hawaiian Renaissance, Hui members nevertheless found ways to achieve their objectives within these parameters and to reassert Hawaiian masculinity.