Indigenous Politics, Knowledge, and Action in the Work of Haunani-Kay Trask

• In Event: Globalizing Political Theory

Abstract

One of the most influential theorists of contemporary indigenous politics, Haunani-Kay Trask spearheaded the modern Hawaiian sovereignty movement and galvanized generations of indigenous and decolonial scholars, activists, and writers. By centering indigenous knowledge and expression, Trask’s writings offer a vivid example of how globalizing political theory can address indigenous perspectives to challenge settler colonial rule, illuminate the violence and impact of Western political structures, and affirm native sovereignty. As I will argue in this paper, Trask’s later writings and activism increasingly focused on the shared concerns – sovereignty, land reclamation, and cultural survival – of indigenous, island, and archipelagic communities around the globe. These oceanic and archipelagic forms of political theory connected the struggles and aspirations of island indigenous movements around the world as they also emphasized shared concerns around climate change, environmental degradation, tourism, and economic exploitation.

Author

• Vicki Hsueh, Western Washington University