As one of the thousands of native Hawaiians that left Maui and moved to the mainland. I miss my home everyday. I was born there, grew up there, and had to leave to make a living. Thank you John for highlighting what locals have been complaining about for years
Much love, so sorry to hear. My fam is from Lanai, I lived on Maui & Oahu many years ago and forever will support returning the land to the locals. We must force those billionaires out.
Another note about Queen Liliuokalani: if you've ever heard the song "Aloha Oe," she wrote it. The song translates to "Farewell to Thee," and was Liliuokalani's was of saying goodbye to her kingdom after it was stolen. The song was played at her funeral, and has since come to represent loss for the native Hawaiian people. If you've ever seen Lilo and Stitch, there's a scene where Nani sings it to Lilo when she thinks Lilo is going to get taken from her and put into foster care. She's effectively saying goodbye to Lilo in the most Hawaiian way possible.
While I enjoy this understanding, the Queen wrote this as love song for a romance that happened between her sister Likelike and one of the Boyds after returning from a day trip in Maunawili where the Boyd family is from. What it is interpreted as today is different.
Train to Busan spoilers ahead. It’s also the song the daughter sings at the school talent show and then again while she and the pregnant woman, the sole survivors, are walking through the train tunnel. Despite being ordered to just shoot them, the soldiers could hear and understand her and that’s how they knew they weren’t zombies, thus ensuring they didn’t get shot.
As a service member I’d like to elaborate more on the water crisis on Oahu. it was a terrible thing directly due to the navy’s negligence an attempted cover up. hundreds of thousands of gallons of jet fuel were leaked into the drinking water supply and into 2 of the three major aquifers for drinking water. children on base had seized, while this event started and the commanding officer of Pearl Harbor said and I quote” the water is fine even my kids are drinking it” for 6 months we drank out of water bottles, could not cook, clean, do laundry, shower. many of us broke out into painful rashes. We were not allowed to break our leases and look for housing. the navy denied all responsibility and blamed the army even though the Hawaiian government found them at fault. They fired their safety inspectors when they found issues and would even rewrite regulations to stay “passing” The 93,000 people John Oliver mentioned was most likely higher as our chain of command told us 160,000 people were affected during the crisis. And NO ASSISTANCE was provided for civilians. was this affected as much as 60% of the islands water supply. Military base housing has multiple homes still failing to get the jet fuel out as recent as this year March 2024. The navy is petitioning to have regulations for the maximum allowances of jet fuel be raised so they may finally pass. (Edited after my post from here) Also, the report for jet fuel and diesel fuels in the supply were tested by an independent third party in California AND THE NAVY “LOST” they very first samples taken. but I have the report because I wanted for my VA claims, and it said both fuels were in the multiple hundreds of thousands of parts per billion 140,000 parts per billion and I wish I could’ve sent it to John Oliver’s team cause it’s heinous. This I like the third serious spill (Third edit cause I have the memory of a goldfish) In my base housing when they came to “flush” my whole system. The marine brought a 5-gallon bucket and filled it at the spout from our water heater. then dumped it in our yard and said we were good to go after the one five-gallon bucket and when we tossed out all the ice in the freezer plus two cycles. I asked him “doesn’t oil float?” Cause the spout he used was at the bottom of the water heater. His response was “dude I’m just doing what I’m told I’m not trained enough to know.” Which I get but was still frustration we didn’t have actual professionals. also, the exact spot of grass he poured the water on died and never came back. Sorry for the problematic grammar my hands can have issues typing everyone I promise I’m not a semi literate toddler. My brain be having many wrinkles. ❤ I also didn't think this would get so many likes. thank you all.
Blamed the Army ? The Army is in Schofield Barracks which is in Wahiawā, nowhere near Pearl Harbor. I was stationed there in the late 90’s, so I can’t understand how the Navy can blame the Army ?
That is sickening. For an institution that's given more money than the GDPs of 119 out of 177 countries in the world, you'd think they have some decency to take some pennies in their pocket to fix their mistake instead of trying to shrug off people having to drink their jet fuel.
I'd propose zero jet fuel in anyone's water. If you really like it, move to Texas, though. Fossil fuels contaminate a lot of water & land. You can drive for a hundred miles in any direction from Midland-Odessa (heart of the Permian Basin) and see thousands of derelict wells. Most uncapped. 😢
Hey Leftists & Communists in America: If YOU feel so badly about "stolen land" that YOU ALSO LIVE ON......then by all means, give everything you own, where your live, all that you do.....to the natives......just give your land back to whomever you think your great-great-great white grandfather stole it from-----do it & STFU!-----step up or STFU!
@@evolution_ethos I mean, it's a completely different video. Multiple people can and should talk about the same issues. There are hundreds of videos talking about this, and for good reason.
@@evolution_ethos You can't be serious lmao (to be clear I'm saying your comment is stupid, not agreeing that John Oliver and his research team "copied" some random youtube channel)
@@evolution_ethosit’s an entirely different video. Is there only allowed to be one video on the exploitation of Hawaii? Tf are you even talking about? Are you okay?
If you *do* vacation in Hawaii, go out of your way to find open air markets and buy products from the locals. Don't eat at or buy from any chains you recognize from home. Spend as much money as you can in normal businesses and bodegas. Go to the artist commune or buy stuff from street vendors. And get their business cards and pay for shipping when you get home and want more. My dad works on the big island sometimes, and it matters when you go out of your way to make sure natives are going to get to keep the money. It's the one thing average people can do right now to improve the situation.
I love when people say 'buy local'. Where do you think the locals shop? I always go to safeway or target lol. Nah but I get fruits from cutting trees for free.
@HeadlampStoplight this is exactly that I'm talking about. Don't shop where locals shop, BUY FROM locals. Find crafts people and buy shit if you're a tourist.
Don’t vacation in Hawai’i! The native Hawaiians (the only people whose opinions that matter in this situation) have said a million times to go somewhere else.
We visited Oahu last year…this is exactly what we did. We were not price gouged and the quality of the food and products we purchased were out of this world!! I agree with everything you said. The swap meet at the stadium is a great place to buy from locals
As a puertorican, it’s interesting to see the parallels with Hawaii, such as the military tests that compare to the use of Vieques as a testing ground, and billionaires buying up land, much like billionaires flooding into Puerto Rico for tax breaks. I hope things get better for both island groups.
Those billionaires buy land and major assets in smaller countries and put those countries into endless debt to use the things they bought up. And then they demand tax breaks and all sorts of incentives "to create jobs" which further puts the countries into endless debt. And when those countries try to take back their assets for the people, it's called socialism, communism. Can't make this stuff up.
As a Native Hawaiian, the amount of research you and your team did is amazing and thank you for pronouncing our Queens name correctly 👌I will never leave Hawai’i. I live in a one bedroom apartment with my wife and three kids. Im currently writing this laying on the ground in the living room because thats where I sleep lol. Were thinking about moving to Big Island and living in a volcano zone just to live in a house. I’d rather risk losing everything to a lava flow than move to the mainland.
Writing from my own one bedroom in Pahoa on the Big I.. living in the lava zone ain't all that bad honestly... I had to abandon my cabin in the last flow but that shit moves pretty slow for the most part so... worth it lol
The fact that you are required to be at peace with your living situations in Hawai'i makes me uneasy about my comparatively luxurious life in New York. How does one help you from 5 time zones away? Can tourists opt to only get service from local businesses? Trying to be less helpless here.
John Oliver shedding light on Hawaii's struggles is a reminder that paradise isn't always what it seems. Thank you for amplifying the voices that have been ignored for too long
@@larsg.2492 most Americans are scared of change and prefer the status quo because they fear any change will result in a diminishment of their lifestyle
People are powerful together, but we have to act and speak together. Alone, the systems around us can take absolutely everything if they so choose, with very little recourse until years later, if then. We must do better standing together when it counts. They are.
I'm a student at University of Hawai'i in the agricultural department - thank you for bringing up this important topic. One thing I wanted to mention for the audience is that the plantation industry destroyed a lot of the soil they used - it's stripped of nutrients, full of lingering pesticides (that had already been banned on the mainland but the pineapple industry got special permission to keep using), and even heavy metals like arsenic and lead. It is essentially dead, in a way that takes generations to heal. On top of that, even though the Big Five plantation companies have shut down most of their farms, they still own a lot of that agricultural land, so even though people WANT to take on the task of trying to farm here and repair the soil, WE CAN'T. The companies just... have the land and they're sitting on it. No one gets to touch it (unless a billionaire feels like building a new mcmansion, then they get the go ahead usually)
I had gone to Lanai for a ecology club 2018 trip and we found they were struggling with this too. There was left over deteriorating sheets of black plastic left over from foreign plantation owners that was used as a cheaper way to help retain water for the crops and its mixed with the soil, really hard to remove. And there also invasive introduced deer there too they been trying to control.
@@robguerin5946 Why would the federal or state governments help commoners? Peasants have no money, and exploiting the land is as profitable, as exploiting the people is.
Fun fact: Disney's _Lilo & Stitch_ has a deleted scene where Lilo goes to the beach and tricks all of the tourists into thinking that a huge tsunami is coming. As the tourists all flee in panic, Mr. Bubbles is seen standing at the beach's entrance, glaring daggers at Lilo. There is a long pause, and then Lilo says, "If you lived here, you'd understand."
Ironically, no one who worked on that movie was a Native Hawaiian. It was just two white guys working from a bunch of watercolor paintings. They simply went to Hawaii, talked to the people, learned everything they could, and wrote based on what they observed.
@@jasminelav.332sort of what happened with "Coco" and it's a wonderful movie everyone likes here in Mexico. Sometimes it takes a team of creative and curious outsiders to create something beautiful inspired in your culture.
I like seeing your thoughts. It makes me feel better about what I'm watching. And I hope you folks have been able to heal since last year's horrors, despite the damned developers and tourists doing their best to pretend they're doing you a favor.
How about a real visitor guide: If you wish to visit our islands: plan on spending X$/day locally in these ways (no destination hotel, no airBNB, no cruise ship tour package, shop in local stores - if it's a chain, it's not local. ) lists of locally owned and operated places to stay, guides, tours... How to have an ALL Hawaiian visit. Then of course the usual stuff, don't take rocks, plants.... A video like this one lays out the problem, but what are some ways to mitigate the situation? As a destination and brand Hawai'i crushes Disneyland and Las Vegas. I visited Hawai'i 20 years ago on a cruise ship. The commercials are 80% great stuff on shore, the reality is 8 hours max on shore, so you book the overpriced tour on the ship and only spend 6 hours (45 minutes queuing for the van and an hour buffer at the end so you don't miss the ship leaving.) And that time is tightly controlled. (I wanted a notebook, in two weeks there was no possible way to buy one. That's not traveling somewhere, that's being in an offshore corporate bubble - and my mother in law.) Use the internet to crack that cruise ship isolation wall. Word of mouth. Better tours booked with locals. I've been many places always trying to figure out how I can spend money locally. Usually it's either the same made in Asia crap, there's zero organization, everyone is copying everyone else. (Nha Trang, Vietnam is 200 coffee shops.) Then the wall of brochures in every hotel that say, Don't even bother - it would take you a week to find anything interesting in this printed noise. Hope Town, Abaco, Bahamas did this well. Local basket weaver, local co op making amazing bags from old sails, a foundation supporting rebuilding from the hurricane, t-shirts, etc.. usual stuff, but better quality. Mahalo
@@ammaleslie509not on every subject. On many they omit a lot of information that doesn’t support their conclusions. And they present things in a way that makes them appear far more simple than what they are.
Billionaires owning private, closed off roads and buying up entire islands for no other apparent reason than to be secluded from the community sounds like something that should be illegal.
To someone from scandinavia it's absolutely insanity.. I could walk into any private own forest or beach (as long as it's not recidence properties)and the owner can do nothing to stop or prevent me, as long as I don't do any harm to the woods.. It' called allemansrätten. It gives me the right to go into any forest to pick berries, mushrooms or to hike. As long as I don't do any environmental harm
I am born and raised native Hawaiian from Maui. Let me tell you it’s somewhat refreshing seeing this video being so informational and available to others that are not from Hawaii. It’s sad to see how the island has changed so much since I was a kid because of tourist not being educated on the islands. All we ask for is respect of the land, the people, and the animals. Mahalo.
i'm from long island new york, also an island, many miles of wide sand beaches, but lacking the natural beauty of hawaii, i have always dreamed of going to hawaii, but definitely not into the mainstream touristy stuff, not that i can afford it. it's also expensive where i live, but we're connected to mainland by many bridges and tunnels, effectively making this not an island anymore. if i went to hawaii, i would probably love to camp, and as an environmentalist, would definitely always have respect for the land, and of course the people. in fact, i wouldn't really consider it a trip to hawaii if i didn't have some genuine connections with some hawaiians, and hear their perspectives about things, or just chill and make a friend maybe. aloha
As someone who’s lived on the islands - this feeling has been there since before the fires. And on every island. The locals have not been respected and treated well. It’s disgusting.
I'm in Texas and I've met so many Hawaiians who say they were forced to leave bc they can't afford a life there 😢 they all say they've been priced out of paradise
@@milede Well, yes, but saying boo hoo, cope with it, isn't very nice or productive, now, is it? Mallorca, Barcelona, and Venice are already protesting. Hawaii should join their protests.
I too have been on a waitlist for almost 20 years. Going to be 70 in a couple years, and I think of my daughters everyday and worry for them. Thank you John Oliver for truth in comedic journalism! 🌺 Aloha from Hawai’i. ( Hilo to be exact)
I'm so sorry ❤ This may be a dumb question, but is the waitlist for just individuals or are your daughters on the list with you. Just wondering how the waitlist works. Does that make sense?
Hi. I live on Maui, forty years, with one branch of my family tree here since 1912. What I don’t understand is the Homelands, at least the one in Keoka, are two acre lots on a rocky hillside. Supposed to be so people can farm. There is no one subsistence farming. Why not carve that land into 6,000 sq ft lots, put in the infrastructure and provide or guarantee the loans for building? Offer modular home construction. The waitlist would be down to an actual waitlist, as 14 people get served for every 2 acres, instead of just one. The current system has been given little thought to its application in the real world.
@@stacyharvey1383 We can put beneficiaries on our application, but they have to pass a blood quantum just like we do. And considering the US has flooded our islands with foreigners (which includes Americans) and we are a minority in our own islands, most people end up not having enough Hawaiian blood because of interbreeding with the majority of the population that isn’t Hawaiians. Also to note: we do NOT own the land we are “awarded”, the US keeps title to the land, they just give us the “privilege” to rent our own lands from them for cheap.
I lived for 35 years on Oahu. In the early 80’s life was pretty easy there. In the 90’s my rent doubled but my pay remained the same. By the 2000’s rent doubled again and everything was way more expensive and yes, my pay remained the same. Now I live in Washington and there are very many people from Hawaii here. I work with four guys from Oahu who all left for the same reason. Hawaii has become unaffordable for the locals who have been there forever. Most of us who left Hawaii, left our hearts and souls there. For some of us, we won’t even go back for a visit. It’s just too sad what has happened there. Mahalo for covering this story. 🤙🏼
I UNDERSTAND I live in Va. Lived in Norfolk in a little community right on the bay to the outside citizens they considered it crime ridden and lower class to the locals it was blue collar riviera. Then yuppies came no longer can afford it had to move
As a Kānaka Maoli / Native Hawaiian blessed to be still living in Hawai’i , thank you for making people aware of what’s going on here. It’s hard here, groceries are super expensive , houses are $1,000,000 for a 2 bedroom , people keep moving here and moving here and making it harder for a native to become a home owner. My grandpa died waiting for his Hawaiian home lot offer, my mom’s still on the waiting list…but isn’t it silly that a Hawaiian should wait to have a tiny piece of their own land?!.
It's happening everywhere. Younger generations can't even afford to buy a house, or even think about it. They can't afford to have children. I squeak by paycheck to paycheck and I just turned 56. Luckily I bought a small house in the middle of nowhere 17 years ago.
absolutely an injustice. meanwhile, here on my tiny island of long island new york, it's the same, no fucking way i can afford a home here, yep all are pretty much 1million plus. not that i even have enough for a 100k home 😞
I call BS. You can buy land in Hawaii for 10k an acre. You can buy land and build a house there with a basic job. I know Ive done it. You just want to live in a specific place, thats why you are struggling. Stop asking for handouts and get to work. Learn to grow food like I do, to save money.
Additional notes regarding Hawaiian Homelands: * You have to be atleast 50% Hawaiian to apply. With many paper trails being lost during the overthrow, this is hard to prove for many. * You arent "given" the land. You lease the land from the government for $1 a year for 99 years. * Because the land is leased, almost no financial institution exists to grant you a mortgage. With almost all of the building materials having to be shipped to the islands, the cost of buulding a house is astronomical. Even if you do make it through the wait-list, its unlikely that most in Hawaii will be able to afford to build there.
My step grandfather was finally given his plot before he died- on the side of the volcano, in the zone where it's considered stupid to build anything at all. It's so infuriating
Admixture testing (which purports to tell you what your ethnicity is) is the least scientifically valid sort of genetic testing there is. I guess if enough autosomal tests were done (the kind that tells you who else you’re related to) then you could establish that more than 50% of your relatives are ethnically Hawaiian, but that’s not quite the same. So maybe it could help, but it wouldn’t be definitive
This genuinely hurts my heart. My grandmother is native Hawaiian and I have so much family still there today, including cousins who lost everything in the Lahaina fire. I appreciate you all at Last Week who put this story together.
@@lazerentertainment1416 corporations nearby diverted water from the town, emergency response was incredibly slow. Stealing water and bottling it to sell. Drying out land makes it better to build on driving up cost. The people who can afford that land further the deforestation and desertification of our ecosystem. Our Emergency manager was at a conference on a different island enjoying themselves at a hotel and convention center. When alerted about the incident, he did nothing until it was far too late.
As a lifelong hawaii resident and native Hawaiian i think John did a great job at highlighting the trouble that we as locals have dealt with. Also kudos on the good job of pronouncing Hawaiian names and words.
Yes, he did a great job with pronunciation of Hawaiian and had the good sense not to try “Kaho’olawe.” 😆🌺 Mahalo John for putting the light on these little known - outside of our community - issues.
@@clydebear6914 Literally had to partake in capitalism because yanks made it impossible for them to continue to live as they already were before colonialism? You are intellectually gimped bro.
@@clydebear6914 i mean would they rather have millions of dollars flowing into the pockets of already ultrawealthy landlords or have the right to their ancestral land, a town that isn't drier than the sahara, affordable groceries, and affordable housing? i mean... yeah i think any hawaiian has been complaining about tourists
As a child in the ‘60’s, I was stationed at Hickam with my Air Force family, and I’ve always been fascinated with the culture there. I’ve been very fortunate to have several coworkers, and my best friends wife, who are Kānaka Maoli, so I’ve been able to learn, and understand, their side of the story. NĀNĀ I KE KUMU..
Fun fact: the day the abdication document was signed, Queen Lilikoiaulani said it was “a day that will live in infamy” - some 40 years before Roosevelt said the same thing about Pearl Harbor.
I was a part of a construction product for 1 hotel hanalei. Looking them up turns out they charge up to $14k per night. The way the wealthy have monetized the island is beyond crazy to me.
@@DellikkilleD ik all about economic efficiency you don't have to explain that. What's crazy is the entire exploitative nature of tourism in Hawaii. At $14,000 per night they've priced out everybody who lives there from enjoying their own state. It's an inequality issue. Setting aside supply and demand or EE or any other economic argument, it's simply fd up to charge that much. Plus it'd be one thing if one hotel did it but all of them charge hundreds or thousands per night making the state the playground of the top 10% of society - an entire state. Need I say more?
@@PointlessIFR so, its priced appropriately based on the competing businesses. You are making the argument for, rather then against. They can 'enjoy' their own state, they just cant afford to stay in a hotel. Who vacations in their own state anyway?
I'm still here in Hawaii ever since the day I was brought into this world, 44 years ago. The struggle is real, but I'll never leave Hawaii. She is the breath that gives life and I will be here till my bones return to these lands. This is where we belong! To all of my Ohana that was forced to move, come home. This is where your piko is and your tie to your aumakua! We await your return❤
One thing I do appreciate is the fact that you not only show us the problem but you also discuss what the solution would be... this is often never presented
Am I the only one really tripped out at this episode when the new JoJo part 9 plot is about a magic lava rock in Hawaii that attracts wealth to it hahaha super weird, Araki must have heard about this
Just funny to interview a bunch of howlies about Hawaii or makes me think of south Park and the people there for a few months acting like natives. But yeah..I'm reminded of New Orleans, gentrifying the place after a disaster with BS like golf courses in mockery
I've lived here my entire life (67 years) and now it looks like I'll have to move to the mainland to survive. Last year, my SS payment went up $50. My rent went up $100. Thank you for this video. It's nice to know that someone noticed.
Not trying to be mean, but if you are 67 and still renting instead of owning, you are screwed almost everywhere in the US. Housing costs have significantly outpaced inflation over the last several decades. There seems to be no sign of this changing.
something more to read... Princess/Queen Lydia Paki Liliuokalani was a pseudo Queen....... a puppet!... she cost us Hawaiians our Kingdom via stubborn greed just like her poser non Kamehameha blood electedKing brother did when he traded Pearl River/Harbour to the USA for free Sugar exports and to fill his pockes with loot, then he take bribes and sold-out the Kingdom again with the Opium Bribery Scandal (wiki 'Tong Kee' for info) facts is... most so calledHawaiians are posers who dont know their own history, they have been here on these special islands for only 1/60,000th the time this aina has existed, weve lost 1/3 of the endemic plants in only 250yrs and 1/3 are almost extinct now yet these pseudo kook cant name 6 of the endemic ones, they just know the non-native canoe plants from SE Asia. I can go on and on, but Im pau. aroha
I saw this come up on my feed and was alarmed at first since we usually get ignored. 😅 But I’m really impressed, John and his team really did their homework. As a local, who was born and raised here, all I ask is that as visitors you come here and be respectful, and leave any entitled notions at home. Be polite, we are not here to honor your every whim. Be nice to people who work in hospitality, they put up with a lot of nonsense on a daily basis. Tip them. Thanks John for bringing this to the world’s attention.
As a native Hawaiian, I am very grateful that you brought attention to these problems and made the rest of the globe aware of what we're up against. The US is in Hawaii, not Hawaii in the US.
I realise I probably will sound weird asking, but it doesn't feel entirely right not to. Can any of us who aren't Native, say who have come here to live, help?
Just more 'I'm a victim' mentality. I grew up in a very tourist-y place as well and it gets really old hearing all of the locals complain about tourism ruining their town, then heading off to work taking money from tourists. Classic 'I want to have my cake and eat it too' syndrome. If all tourism left Hawa'ii, that place would be in serious trouble. I grew up around constantly complaining locals who own nothing but just happened to be born in the local hospital and had to listen to them whine and whine and whine about the tourists ruining 'their' place. I often would ask 'which part of this place is yours?' 'Uh.....I rent over there'. I dont vacation in 'your' place, the last place I want to spend my money is a place filled with entitled nobody's with their middle finger up on one hand and the other hand held out for money.
@@Heathcoatman pretty sad that these so called native Hawaiians are cursing the military, if it wasnt for the military and millions of young americans who sacrificed their lives protecting these islands these entitled so called native people would be in japanese concentrarion camps would be speaking japanese and bow to the emperor twice a day....
I teach anthropology at a small university where over thirty percent of our students come from Hawai'i. The issues brought up here are ones I've been hearing for the last fifteen years. I'll be showing this in my Anthropology of Tourism section. Well done.
@@scaryfascinating-- The videos on your own channel are nowhere near as well-presented or well-researched as this one, so you very literally cannot "do better."
@@scaryfascinating yes, people do say college is a scam. They're also the same people saying it shouldn't be free and loans shouldn't be forgiven. It must be exhausting being that contradictory all the time.
From one Aaron to another, shout out to Professor Greer, one of the best anthropology professors out there, and to everyone in his class watching this!
props to this man for practicing this read enough times to get the pronunciations pretty good. it's hard for people not raised her to get it perfect, but he did it so well i didn't even need to look at the map to see what he meant. and also thank you for teaching your viewers things that we learned in school when we were little. it's a messed up story.
Respect to John! This was absolutely needed! I haven't vacationed in Hawaii for 20 years! It's awful what's happening to the natives. Just heartbreaking!
As someone who was born and raised on Oahu, i had to leave my home for the Mainland in 2013 after trying to start college but having to work 2 full time jobs to pay rent that i split with my brother. It was $1300 a month for a 400 sq ft 1 bd apartment. We still had to get Food Stamps to eat and only got it because i was a collge student. Ty John Oliver and writers for telling OUR story.
What I cannot wrap my head around is how these large hotels that charge these astronomical amounts to stay at their hotel can get away with paying such low wages. From what I have seen the local Hawaiian government will bend over backwards for these giant resorts but they should be forced to pay higher wages. Wages in Hawaii don't equate to the cost of living and that is the real problem. Only 2 percent of the population can afford to comfortably live there
Princess/Queen Lydia Paki Liliuokalani was a pseudo Queen....... a puppet!... she cost us Hawaiians our Kingdom via stubborn greed just like her poser non Kamehameha blood electedKing brother did when he traded Pearl River/Harbour to the USA for free Sugar exports and to fill his pockes with loot, then he take bribes and sold-out the Kingdom again with the Opium Bribery Scandal (wiki 'Tong Kee' for info) facts is... most so calledHawaiians are posers who dont know their own history, they have been here on these special islands for only 1/60,000th the time this aina has existed, weve lost 1/3 of the endemic plants in only 250yrs and 1/3 are almost extinct now yet these pseudo kook cant name 6 of the endemic ones, they just know the non-native canoe plants from SE Asia. I can go on and on, but Im pau. aroha
Thank you for taking the time to highlight the injustices done to the Hawaiians from James Cook onwards. I am part Hawaiian, born and raised in Hilo on the Big Island. I live on the mainland now. Family ask me, "when you coming home?" I can't afford it. And when I do go home to visit, my heart breaks to see the homeless, the drug abuse, etc.
@@user-pe8hg7nb8m The problem is if you are a local struggling to pay your rent and buy food, it isn't such a "paradise". Add in working multiple jobs you need energy. Ice is a big problem in Hawai'i because it gives you energy and makes you feel invincible...then the next thing you know you are addicted and homeless. I used to hate working in Hilo at Basically Books on a Sunday when the cruise ship would come through. Hilo was old style Hawai'i where the town would be busy and active Monday-Saturday, but on Sunday pretty much everything was closed. These tourists would come into the shop badmouthing the town I love calling it "boring". These 🤡 think Hawai'i is Disneyland 😂
@@Jerepasaurus Yeah, its not just Hawaiians. Philippines, Samoa, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Native Americans, Africans dragged here in chains... all people that's not white basically...
9:56 I actually work as an environmental scientist in Hawaii, and our company literally has an entire branch dedicated to removing non-exploded ordinances. Basically everything we do is cleaning up the military's various and never-ending messes in one way or another.
Sounds like that should come out of military budget to me. There's parts of the military that just burn money (figuratively) to maintain budget allocation
@@luci0818 We are contracted by the military to clean up their messes. If you're suggesting that they handle it in-house, then I'd ask you if we just watched the same video.
Hello my daughter grew up in Hawaii she is getting her degree in Environmental Science her shortly is there any career opportunities in this industry you could direct her towards.
@@wesharrington5937 the biggest company that does environmental work here is AECOM (they're a nationwide company with a large presence in Hawaii), and if she still has time left in her education, I'd recommend trying an internship or research project, as those are usually a great way to meet people with connections in the industry and basically show off your skillset without having to formally apply for an interview. What specific stuff is she interested in, if you know?
I’m native and live on west side Oahu. This report is spot on, mahalo🌺John for this. More time should have been spent on how illegal annexation was as congress at the time violated their own constitution to annex Hawaii. Motive: the American Government badly wanted Pu’uloa or Pearl Harbor and so they annexed Hawaii by Joint Resolution which is not the process of annexation, the legal way is by treaty. No treaty no annexation, Hawaiian believe that the Hawaiian Kingdom still exists and is being occupied by the US. We hope that this hewa (sin) will be corrected and redressed.
As a current resident with a very long family history in Hawaii, this makes me very happy. You tackled this quite well and pointed out many issues and how complex it all can be in your short time. Kudos to you!
@@aggy5372 it would defn help to elect politicians who sole purpose isn’t just to maintain the status quo. Yes there needs to be more candidates, but ppl also need to vote. Voter turnout was 30%, if just 60% voted, change could happen.
As a native Hawaiian, I can't thank you enough for shining light on these issues and showing the rest of the world what we're dealing with. Hawaii isn't in the US, the US is in Hawaii...
catch1 clue plz... try read... Princess/Queen Lydia Paki Liliuokalani was a pseudo Queen....... a puppet!... she cost us Hawaiians our Kingdom via stubborn greed just like her poser non Kamehameha blood electedKing brother did when he traded Pearl River/Harbour to the USA for free Sugar exports and to fill his pockes with loot, then he take bribes and sold-out the Kingdom again with the Opium Bribery Scandal (wiki 'Tong Kee' for info) facts is... most so calledHawaiians are posers who dont know their own history, they have been here on these special islands for only 1/60,000th the time this aina has existed, weve lost 1/3 of the endemic plants in only 250yrs and 1/3 are almost extinct now yet these pseudo kook cant name 6 of the endemic ones, they just know the non-native canoe plants from SE Asia. I can go on and on, but Im pau. aroha
Native Hawaiian wahine here from Kalihi, O'ahu. I am 68 years old and have watched Hawai'i go from a fun, beautiful, safe place where a child could walk to the corner store without fear - to something unrecognizable. As a child, we - as a Native Hawaiian family - always struggled to make ends meet. Food prices were always high, and so was rent. When I was in elementary school, we were scolded if we spoke Hawai'ian (o'lelo Hawai'i) or if we spoke pidgin English. We were taught that "people" would think of us as "stupid Hawai'ians" so we better learn to speak "proper English." I lost count of how many times my knuckles were hit with a ruler because I was caught during lunch or recess speaking my native language. When I grew up, getting a job was seemingly impossible since, unless you could speak Japanese (at the time), you couldn't work in the tourist industry. Working anywhere else was difficult as well. I know what it's like to go to an interview only to be told you don't qualify - even though you know you do. The look on their faces told you all you needed to know. After meeting my husband (a Manoa boy) and getting married, we rented a little two-bedroom house for $500 a month in Aiea, which was in 1979. By 1985, the rent was $2,500 a month. That was when we sold everything we owned and left our beloved Hawai'i for the mainland, where we have lived ever since. We have never gone back home. The struggles for Native Hawai'ians are real; they always have been, so mahalo for making this video for us. ❤ ~ Me Kealoha Pumehana ~
We have felt very lucky to be able to spend vacation time I'm Maui. We love and respect the people, the islands and the history. We try to learn more each time we are able to go. We always shop local. Our planned and paid for vacation (3 miles from Lahaina) made me feel that I should write our host to ask if we should come and what we could do to be as "good guests" as we possibly could. Basically, if we could stay out of the reconstruction area including the roads around Lahaina being used for repair, clean up, etc, we were welcome since tourist dollars were very important right away. We cooperated with all these requests and were thrilled to be there when many of the local eateries reopened! Such joy to see the rebirth! The best experience I had was at the local Walgreen's. 4 years ago my mother's home burned in Paradise California. Ours survived. The staff at Lahaina Walgreens wanted to know how the rebuilding was coming. We talked for hours about the great progress I could see in Lahaina, the changes we had to make in Paradise, Ca, and my sincere hope that the history of old Lahaina would be respected and become the center of the rebirth in the area. We were blessed to share donations, purchase locally and tip as generously as possible. We love and respect your beautiful islands. Blessings and love to the people and the land and sea. Mahalo from California ❤
Thank you for speaking about Hawai’i and the kanaka maoli. Their rights are indigenous rights and then getting their land back makes more steps towards land back for all of us indigenous peoples. Thank you from a Wampanoag person
yeah, land back would be quite something, all over the place... whether between this river and that sea or on the back of the turtle, so many lands should be taken care of by the people who belong, rather than being "owned" and abused in any way imaginable. settler colonialism will come to an end and kinship Eairth will recover its wholeness🙏
@@danarzechula3769 I think possession is where we went wrong.. we should respect the land and our fellow human being's dignity and leave it at that. Possessing something that has been existing for longer than we can imagine and will continue to exist long after we're gone is the epitome of hubris and all that is wrong with our capitalist society.
I am born and raised on Oahu. I am a descendent of King Kamehameha and carry that with pride. The majority of those who come to visit do not comprehend malama the aina or to be pono. Our people have been abused and taken advantage of while being forced to smile while we clean up the garbage you leave EVERYWHERE. Some say Hawaiians are aggressive to haoles… we are. Of course we like SCRAP, we’ve been fighting against those who ILLEGALLY OCCUPY our lands and exploit the beauty of our islands and our spirit of Aloha. This brought me to tears and it’s safe to say that John Oliver has just earned a lot of respect from local people. He did us justice and I appreciate his sincerity.
I say this with no malice or anger… But, with such anger and resentment flowing from the locals, it is safe to say that I am scratching Hawaii off of my bucket list. Your anger and resentment are justifiable, and out of respect for your healing and your homeland, I will not step foot on your shores as a tourist. May peace, healing, light, serenity And justice go with you wherever you go. 💜 🌊
You sold an island to a billionaire, Legally in 2012 for $300 million. You want aina and pono, yet use racist term like haole. Keep up your good scrap tho!
Hawai'i has been exploited.... and turned into a fucking oligarch's playground. Fuck's sake you guys were invaded and a puppet government put in place when the monarchy wanted to try imposing SOME limits on the exploitation even though it was an already lopsided everything degrating natives. I want to visit, but that is both because a friend of mine was born there (Navy Kid ) and iti s deeply facinating from not just a pure geologic standpoint, but the ecosystem and... .honestly? I kinda want ot see what the biking is like. I hate how things are. It is not my home, but someone does not have to live at a place to lament what's happened to it.
@@cryaboutitwhydontya 'Legally' Right. Sure thing. I'm going to debate the legality of papers signed under duress. The signers were just hoping to get something out of it for themselves when the inevetable happened.
Thank you! I was born and raised in Hawaii and worked as a professional advocate on many of the issues brought up. I've felt like I and my fellow advocates are constantly screaming into the void trying to get anyone to notice or care about what we actually deal with on the daily. Hawaii is often forgotten about, so it's nice to see some attention finally.
Dont take EVERY thing he says at face value, understand that after all he is a performer for a show that has an agenda, my dude suports gay right and islam at the same time like wtf😂😂 Also he keep saying white ppl in these episodes not british or nationalists, it is just a dog whitsle for anti-white racists Like every race in history conqured, some was more successful cuz they were not primtive lol
I served in the US Navy and was angrily asked how I could live with myself by a local. At the time I had zero idea of what he was talking about. Now I am more educated and this video has educated me even more. Who knows what I will learn tomorrow. I say let’s get more education on the past to get notice. Not just in Hawaii but everywhere. And from every country. We can’t continue to be justifiably angry and leave it at that. Give people a choice. Make them fully aware of what they are doing. Some won’t care but some will deeply care and those people will spread that knowledge.
Hawaiian here living in Hawaii my whole life. Thank you for making such a succinct yet detailed summary of many if the issues plaguing Hawaii, both past ans present. Also "the beautiful white people of Pearl Harbor" was such a cleverly put line 😂
Native Hawaiian and lucky enough to be raised in Hawaiʻi. Mahalo nui for shining the light on these issues. Hawaiʻi’s issues are long and complex. For those of you not from Hawaiʻi, I cannot emphasize enough how important being educated is. Educate yourself on everything and take the time to listen to tje moʻolelo (stories). They are far more honest than your American U.S. History text books.
then you know most dis kine huh... catch1 clue plz... try read... Princess/Queen Lydia Paki Liliuokalani was a pseudo Queen....... a puppet!... she cost us Hawaiians our Kingdom via stubborn greed just like her poser non Kamehameha blood electedKing brother did when he traded Pearl River/Harbour to the USA for free Sugar exports and to fill his pockes with loot, then he take bribes and sold-out the Kingdom again with the Opium Bribery Scandal (wiki 'Tong Kee' for info) facts is... most so calledHawaiians are posers who dont know their own history, they have been here on these special islands for only 1/60,000th the time this aina has existed, weve lost 1/3 of the endemic plants in only 250yrs and 1/3 are almost extinct now yet these pseudo kook cant name 6 of the endemic ones, they just know the non-native canoe plants from SE Asia. I can go on and on, but Im pau. aroha
I saw a video filmes in Hawaii featuring some designs from a local. I liked them, so I ordered a dress! This was several years ago. But it's a way those of us who can't afford to travel there can help
@@2011hwalker True. But also remember that the amount of produce that Hawaii can grow has been crippled drastically. While she should buy as much local produce as she can, those things might be even more expensive.
It's refreshing to hear mainstream mainland media add to the chorus of Native Hawaiian voices that have been trying to tell their stories for decades. This is a story all Americans should know and work to rectify
dont fall for the bs... catch1 clue plz... try read... Princess/Queen Lydia Paki Liliuokalani was a pseudo Queen....... a puppet!... she cost us Hawaiians our Kingdom via stubborn greed just like her poser non Kamehameha blood electedKing brother did when he traded Pearl River/Harbour to the USA for free Sugar exports and to fill his pockes with loot, then he take bribes and sold-out the Kingdom again with the Opium Bribery Scandal (wiki 'Tong Kee' for info) facts is... most so calledHawaiians are posers who dont know their own history, they have been here on these special islands for only 1/60,000th the time this aina has existed, weve lost 1/3 of the endemic plants in only 250yrs and 1/3 are almost extinct now yet these pseudo kook cant name 6 of the endemic ones, they just know the non-native canoe plants from SE Asia. I can go on and on, but Im pau. aroha
It seems like the issues that people in Hawaii face are much more stark example of what we all face, the 1% having too much power and influence , while the 99% not having enough say in our current lives and our future. The people of Hawaii deserve better, we all do. We must band together to make that happen.
Just stop; your peoples land wasn't taken from you. You don't walk around every day seeing people crap on your sacred land. This isn't just the rich; tons of retired people come here, buy a house, then rent the bedrooms for $1800 and refuse to let locals stay there. But how very typical of you to belittle it by implying “we all have problems.” This is not the USA it is occupied territory. Your issues on the mainland have nothing to do with the islands.
Thank you for spreading awareness of these things. It's so rare to see our local issues highlighted on such a large platform. The oppressed can't do it alone, please help Hawaiian people.
As a native Hawaiian, Thank you for covering this. These are reasons why I get mad when people tell those complaining about mainlanders moving in to “cry about it” cause it’s a state. By all means, come visit, but have respect and don’t be ignorant to the history and what natives living there have gone thru. Aloha
Not all mainland americians are so ignorant at least. I’ve avoided visiting because I don’t think it’s right your country was stolen. Well ok that and I doubt you want a white chick who prefers learning via asking experts with an interest in foreign cultures questioning you for their own curiosity. I strongly believe in sovereignty for all peoples, and if anything the native Hawaiians should be getting all of the tourism money for a start. The tide may yet turn again and perhaps freedom can still be obtained.
@@christinetran491 exactly. Sometimes I seen them say “you lost the war, face the consequences”. No, our queen chose not to fight and to have peace. Just do a 5 min Google search and these people might learn smt
@@keanuakina9014 It's so callous too. Imagine if Russia or North Korea took over a U.S. state and told the locals the same thing. "You lost the war, get over it. Your land rights mean nothing to us. We don't care if your homes have been passed down for generations, you still need permission from the Russian/North Korean government to live in them." Some people have no empathy.
I just started learning about it after the fires last year. You are not alone!! And yes, the history we were taught in school omitted a lot and put a colonialist spin on it. Hawaii would be a wonderful place if left to the Hawaiians. 😢
Wish I could afford HBO 😢😂😅 seriously just have antenna TV but get clips on phone 🤳📱 Love ❤️ 🤗😘❤️ XOXO you John Oliver!!! Praying 🙏 The 🍊 turkey 🦃 doesn't get to the white 🤍 house lordy lordy lordy dear sweet Lord 🙏 help 🆘 us ALL
"Take shorter showers! Dont pollute! Drive less to conserve gas! Protect nature!" -Businesses polluting water supplies with millions of barrels in spilt oil
Hawaii is one of the most beautiful places on Earth and that's because of the people. Hawaiians are truly what makes Hawaii so special. We need more coverage like this.
I agree. I was on Kaua'i for 12 days and I think I only saw one single native drive around in a ridiculously big truck blasting music that made me think "what an a-hole". The rest: super friendly, and very hard working without giving an attitude about it. How sad to hear their life is worse than what it deserves to be.
@@evanloney7097 I agree it was a privilege to vacation there. We used to pick up trash on the beach that others had left. Also the people watching together as the sun began the dance of colors across the sky, so beautiful . 💝 ❤️
Mahalo nui for bringing this to the mainstream. As a native Hawaiian/ Big Island resident, it hurts my soul to see so many local families forced to move to the mainland to survive. Hawaiians belong in Hawaii !!
Instead of renewing the leases of land from Hawai'i, the US Military should pay Hawai'i money - lots of money - to use their sites for EOD training and **clean up the mess they left.** (And YT needs to stop being so banhammery with comments) As the child of veterans, I am *ashamed* this is how our military treats our fellow citizens.
I'm not sure how you set up a range without closing it off due to uxos. Every state has them. It's disingenuous to claim they should be special in this regard. It's borderline disinformation with the lack of context.
Maybe... if they paid directly into a fund for housing prioritizing Hawaiians and then locals. The state has a crappy record for disseminating funds where they need to go. All of the entities John mentioned are special interests groups with their claws in our government. Some blame party affiliation, but it really wouldn't matter. Greed lives anywhere.
@@jedispartan Yeah I came in here to comment about how the military section of the story made it seem like Hawaii is the only place on earth that has a military impact area (or even the only place where the impact areas are located on land that is culturally sensitive), implies that it's shocking that the UXO in impact areas isn't regularly cleaned up, or that the solution to the problem is as simple as "just don't renew their lease."
This man is a National Treasure. I say this from the Big Island of Hawaii, where I have lived for the past 25 years. He is right about everything. Mahalo and Aloha. 🤙💚🤙
As a native hawaiian born and raised in Hawaiian Homestead lands, Im so happy you brought awareness to the criminally underdiscussed issues that defined my childhood and the life that Native Hawaiians have been living for generations
something more to read.... Princess/Queen Lydia Paki Liliuokalani was a pseudo Queen....... a puppet!... she cost us Hawaiians our Kingdom via stubborn greed just like her poser non Kamehameha blood electedKing brother did when he traded Pearl River/Harbour to the USA for free Sugar exports and to fill his pockes with loot, then he take bribes and sold-out the Kingdom again with the Opium Bribery Scandal (wiki 'Tong Kee' for info) facts is... most so calledHawaiians are posers who dont know their own history, they have been here on these special islands for only 1/60,000th the time this aina has existed, weve lost 1/3 of the endemic plants in only 250yrs and 1/3 are almost extinct now yet these pseudo kook cant name 6 of the endemic ones, they just know the non-native canoe plants from SE Asia. I can go on and on, but Im pau. aroha
@@marksummers5293no. Such a struggle to be born in an place where rich people are actively colonizing the land , and making it uninhabitable for the natives Or did you miss the bit about the vultures circling the ashes of people’s family homes, the billionaires literally purchasing entire islands, the rerouting of clean water sources for the locals, and the destruction of a self sustaining ecosystem to make room for sugar cane?
I've already watched the full episode earlier this week, but I'm still watching this clip so that the RUclips algorithm recommends this to others. This episode teaches me that it's important to know and respect the history of any place in this world. Hope that Hawai'i recovers.
Thank you Jon. I'm "just a white guy". But I married a Hawaiian who moved to California. We try to go visit her family members who still live there once a year. We donate to local charities. We got married there and I did everything in my power to inform my family what historical land they were on when they came to our wedding, including a welcome bag with a custom newspaper that was filled with historical places to visit, historical facts, and even a small sand sifter to just clean a little bit of the sand when they went to the beach. My wife and I have a 5-month-old son now with a middle name Kaikoa, meaning sea warrior. And even though he's only half Hawaiian, we plan to teach him the full extent of his family history.
@@bengeophoto being born in Hawaii doesn't make you Hawaiian in and of itself. It's about genetics. My own daughter, or the singer Jack Johnson or Barack Obama, were born in Hawaii. They are *not* Hawaiians, and would never ever ever claim they are. That would be extremely disrespectful.
I'm pretty sure they don't do that anywhere they've had firing ranges. Fort Ord in Monterey CA for example you still can't go into certain areas because of unexploded ordinance.
The way she set that up for him to step in it was some skillful journalism right there. Btw, the interviewer in that clip is award winning Palestinian-American journalist Dena Takruri who’s been doing important work on other justice and liberation causes as well.
I went to Hawai'i on my honeymoon 12 years ago. We visited the Queen's Palace in Oahu and every single room is full of notes saying things like, "This is where [ceremonial this or that] would be but it was auctioned off when white business owners took over the island in a coup." There are more artifacts listed in the auction book on display than there are in the actual palace itself. It's devastating to visit and extremely important if anyone visits the islands.
As a veteran who served alongside several native Hawaiians and listened to the stuff they told me: One of my fellow medics used to tell me about how the military bases in Hawaii are especially bad towards locals. Most of them are on, or near locations that the native folks have used for thousands of years to hunt/fish/whatever. My fellow medic used to tell me about how her and her friends would grab a beat up boat, wait until night, and then sneak into naval waters just to hunt shellfish in the same locations her ancestors have always used. This activity is SO important to her friends and family that they'd rather risk being thrown in a military jail than just go without the shellfish from that location, and of course the military does not gaf at ALL. Basically, imagine you have a pond on your land. You've always fished there, your dad's always fished there, your grandfather fished there, and more. Your family has taken care of the pond, and the land around it for countless generations. Y'all basically have a spiritual connection with that land. You never buy fish because you always use the fish you catch, and maybe you don't have the means to easily get to the store. You even preserve the fish you catch here so you and your family can enjoy them even after the fishing season is done. Then the military seizes your land, decides they need the pond as a water source, and cuts you off from all of it and even starts polluting the area. Basically, this but worse (cause they did this to EVERY native Hawaiian) is what the military does to the locals there.
Love this especially the ending of the importance of learning from kanaka (native hawaiians). Been living here a couple years and I remember asking a farmer who's kanaka about how tourism helps Hawaii. He asked if we could name any Hawaiian owned Hotels. It's awful how much tourism money here doesn't stay on the island, especially considering how so much land that was self sustaining has been converted to tourism. For anyone visiting I recommend looking for locally owned places to spend your money. Also! For anyone who says Hawaii voted to be a state, the vote happened during a time of decolonization and the expectation was the votes would be to be free, a territory or a state. The US ballot only had people vote on being a territory or state, and exponentially more Hawaiians signed a petition for independence.
As someone who grew up and worked as a freelance journalist in Hawaii, this Last Week Tonight segment actually is a pretty good compendium of some issues within the state and of the state's history. Good job.
I love that this video has been seen by over 2 million people in one day. You touched on so many painful topics for Hawaiians. These issues need to be known, so mahalo for that!
I spent 6 years on a military base in Hawaii as a kid as my Dad had 2 tours there. As kids/teens we don't realize this unfortunately. In 1973 or 74 there was a kid in our neighborhood who found a live shell that was left abandoned. He was one street over from me. He was carrying it on his bike and tossed it to the ground. It exploded and he was killed. He was 11 or 12 years old. You would have thought they would have learned something from that, but I guess not. It's really sad. I love the islands. I graduated from High School there and did my first year of college at UH. I wanted to move back as an adult but even with a good paying job, it was too expensive. It's sad that these billionaires are buying up so much land to only spend 1 week a year there, when the locals go without. My heart really hurts for the local population.
“Your vacation spot is someone else’s home,” spot on John Oliver. And kudos for accurate commentary on topics you covered. Would add that a friend qualified for Hawaiian Homelands program. Even selected his lot. Then he got job w decent income. He was excluded from the program for *making*too*much*money*
It's also true for many other destinations, from Venice to Waikiki to Phuket to Barcelona. There's a reason why there are mass demonstrations these days in Barcelona against tourists, the balance is just gone.
Those bombs left behind are a problem for several generations. Here in Belgium, there's an area that was heavily shelled and bombed in world war one, and in the over 100 years since, more than 500 explosions have caused people to die or get injured. Apart from that, our army's dedicated explosives cleanup branch still digs up about 200 metric tons of explosives every year. That land in Hawaii won't be safe to build on or to plow for agriculture for possibly centuries.
The Army could clean it up completely if they were given the mandate to. The question is whether they'll be given that mandate. And they absolutely should.
Oliver nails it. Hawaii was my late mother's favorite place on Earth, bringing me there twice in my youth, and that sentiment definitely rubbed off on me. I taught high school, and worked with supporting commercial fisheries in their efforts to conserve endangered species for twenty four years, working for the well being of the communities to the best of my ability. I lived there off and on since 2000, and I just moved away two years ago for the last time. I was just totally over the constant feeling that as an outsider, regardless of the work I was doing to be a positive contributor, I was negatively contributing to the most serious problems of the community I cared so much for, just by being there.
I haven't been but always wanted to go, my Dad was going to have his wedding there before covid hit. But more and more I feel like I shouldn't go, which also hurts because I just really love nature and have nothing but appreciation and respect for native Hawaiians and their culture. I wish there was a way to go and do more good than the inevitable harm of going and supporting the tourist industry would do.
@@nicolasnamedCome and spend part of your vacation working on local restoration, beach cleaning (lots of ocean plastic you can pick up on your own even). Our Humane Society lets visitors take dogs out for the day---so many things you can take part in. Then you'll have been an asset to the islands, not an invasive species. All good❣️
@@nicolasnamed Honestly, if you really love nature, Hawaii is one of the worst places in the world to go to. It's called the extinction capital of the world for a reason. Most of the species you see on a daily basis will be invasive. As an avid bird watcher, it's really depressing to live here. If you want to see tropical ecosystems, there are far better places to go to, like central america, southeast asia, etc.
Thank you for highlighting Hawaii...and the injustices done to the Hawaiian people. I lived on the Big Island for 3 years, 2013-2016. My neighbor was a native Japanese-Hawaiian lady in her 80's and she used to tell me stories of the island's history, culture, and struggles. I'd bring a bottle of wine and we'd sit in her yard among the chickens and talk for hours. It is one of my best memories of Hawaii. It was expensive, food and rent was high, so eventually I moved back to my native West Virginia, to my own family farm, but I'll carry those stories with me always.
I appreciate your efforts to use your platform to educate others. You have effectively shed light on the systemic issues affecting our beloved Hawai’i. Thank you for your courage in sharing these truths with the world.
I lived in Maui for 25 years. It broke my heart to see what the beautiful Islands and local people have gone through over the years. Thank you for this well-done overview.
Every vacation is to someone else's home and you don't understand the history of what you're walking into most of the time. That's solid advice for all tourism.
I'm actually very impressed by this piece from John Oliver. He acknowledged the importance of the tourism industry to the Hawaiian economy, and shifted the focus to systemic, mostly governmental issues, which is something I have seen almost nowhere else. I got a little nervous that this would just be another 'tourism is bad, you should stop doing it', but this was very informative and well written. Edit: Ok guys what the fuck. Like 40 replies and 900 likes in a couple of hours. This is like the second or third comment I've made on youtube. 1. Shout out to @lcg3092, my anti capitalist brother 2. Yes I agree with all of you and with John that Hawaii's economy needs serious change(that's what I meant by systemic, governmental issues), but as it stands right now, tourism is necessary 3. Yeah LWT is really incredible. I've watched John for a while, and they're consistently great about research and fact checking, I'm just cynical by nature.
I am not sure. As a rule tourism rarely benefits a region, it just often looks that way. Most money that people pay on a holiday ends up with big international companies. The flight, accommodation, food and drink, souvenirs etc.. etc.. All from companies with far away bank accounts that no local ever gets to touch. It is why so many cities in Europe and Asia are trying to get rid of most tourists. Locals have learned for all the noise and trash they get nothing back. I seriously doubt the waiters and maids in Hawaii get paid that well.....
As one of the thousands of native Hawaiians that left Maui and moved to the mainland. I miss my home everyday. I was born there, grew up there, and had to leave to make a living. Thank you John for highlighting what locals have been complaining about for years
Same, left Oahu in order to afford a home and make a living
Much love, so sorry to hear. My fam is from Lanai, I lived on Maui & Oahu many years ago and forever will support returning the land to the locals. We must force those billionaires out.
Native please guarantee your part Asian
I’m so sorry for what happened there. I’m a big island girl that lives in DC now. The homesickness is so real.
@CBPunisher1900 What? You dont believe in Hawaiians?¿¡ You bat poo crazy
Another note about Queen Liliuokalani: if you've ever heard the song "Aloha Oe," she wrote it. The song translates to "Farewell to Thee," and was Liliuokalani's was of saying goodbye to her kingdom after it was stolen. The song was played at her funeral, and has since come to represent loss for the native Hawaiian people. If you've ever seen Lilo and Stitch, there's a scene where Nani sings it to Lilo when she thinks Lilo is going to get taken from her and put into foster care. She's effectively saying goodbye to Lilo in the most Hawaiian way possible.
I cried the first time when Nani sang it to Lilo... I still get misty eyed
😢
I wasn’t aware of that. Thank you
While I enjoy this understanding, the Queen wrote this as love song for a romance that happened between her sister Likelike and one of the Boyds after returning from a day trip in Maunawili where the Boyd family is from. What it is interpreted as today is different.
Train to Busan spoilers ahead.
It’s also the song the daughter sings at the school talent show and then again while she and the pregnant woman, the sole survivors, are walking through the train tunnel. Despite being ordered to just shoot them, the soldiers could hear and understand her and that’s how they knew they weren’t zombies, thus ensuring they didn’t get shot.
As a service member I’d like to elaborate more on the water crisis on Oahu. it was a terrible thing directly due to the navy’s negligence an attempted cover up. hundreds of thousands of gallons of jet fuel were leaked into the drinking water supply and into 2 of the three major aquifers for drinking water. children on base had seized, while this event started and the commanding officer of Pearl Harbor said and I quote” the water is fine even my kids are drinking it” for 6 months we drank out of water bottles, could not cook, clean, do laundry, shower. many of us broke out into painful rashes. We were not allowed to break our leases and look for housing. the navy denied all responsibility and blamed the army even though the Hawaiian government found them at fault. They fired their safety inspectors when they found issues and would even rewrite regulations to stay “passing”
The 93,000 people John Oliver mentioned was most likely higher as our chain of command told us 160,000 people were affected during the crisis.
And NO ASSISTANCE was provided for civilians. was this affected as much as 60% of the islands water supply. Military base housing has multiple homes still failing to get the jet fuel out as recent as this year March 2024. The navy is petitioning to have regulations for the maximum allowances of jet fuel be raised so they may finally pass.
(Edited after my post from here)
Also, the report for jet fuel and diesel fuels in the supply were tested by an independent third party in California AND THE NAVY “LOST” they very first samples taken. but I have the report because I wanted for my VA claims, and it said both fuels were in the multiple hundreds of thousands of parts per billion 140,000 parts per billion and I wish I could’ve sent it to John Oliver’s team cause it’s heinous. This I like the third serious spill
(Third edit cause I have the memory of a goldfish)
In my base housing when they came to “flush” my whole system. The marine brought a 5-gallon bucket and filled it at the spout from our water heater. then dumped it in our yard and said we were good to go after the one five-gallon bucket and when we tossed out all the ice in the freezer plus two cycles. I asked him “doesn’t oil float?” Cause the spout he used was at the bottom of the water heater. His response was “dude I’m just doing what I’m told I’m not trained enough to know.” Which I get but was still frustration we didn’t have actual professionals. also, the exact spot of grass he poured the water on died and never came back.
Sorry for the problematic grammar my hands can have issues typing everyone I promise I’m not a semi literate toddler. My brain be having many wrinkles. ❤
I also didn't think this would get so many likes. thank you all.
it's wild how this isn't better known about. even over on Maui, people aren't really talking about it. it's disgraceful.
But but people in the military are all heroes… this doesn’t sound like something heroes would do. It sounds more like villainy
Blamed the Army ? The Army is in Schofield Barracks which is in Wahiawā, nowhere near Pearl Harbor. I was stationed there in the late 90’s, so I can’t understand how the Navy can blame the Army ?
That is sickening.
For an institution that's given more money than the GDPs of 119 out of 177 countries in the world, you'd think they have some decency to take some pennies in their pocket to fix their mistake instead of trying to shrug off people having to drink their jet fuel.
I'd propose zero jet fuel in anyone's water. If you really like it, move to Texas, though. Fossil fuels contaminate a lot of water & land. You can drive for a hundred miles in any direction from Midland-Odessa (heart of the Permian Basin) and see thousands of derelict wells. Most uncapped. 😢
This should be sent to the airlines and become required viewing for everyone visiting Hawaii.
All airlines do show instructional videos
That's a great idea
Hey Leftists & Communists in America: If YOU feel so badly about "stolen land" that YOU ALSO LIVE ON......then by all means, give everything you own, where your live, all that you do.....to the natives......just give your land back to whomever you think your great-great-great white grandfather stole it from-----do it & STFU!-----step up or STFU!
And they make you fill out a form before landing as well. At least Airlines from America anyway.
Native Hawaiian here. Mahalo for using your platform to talk about this.
Tyler Oliveira literally just did a video on this, seems like somebody copied an independent channel's homework 🧐👎
@@evolution_ethos them mahalo to Tyler as well.
@@evolution_ethos I mean, it's a completely different video. Multiple people can and should talk about the same issues. There are hundreds of videos talking about this, and for good reason.
@@evolution_ethos You can't be serious lmao (to be clear I'm saying your comment is stupid, not agreeing that John Oliver and his research team "copied" some random youtube channel)
@@evolution_ethosit’s an entirely different video. Is there only allowed to be one video on the exploitation of Hawaii? Tf are you even talking about? Are you okay?
If you *do* vacation in Hawaii, go out of your way to find open air markets and buy products from the locals. Don't eat at or buy from any chains you recognize from home. Spend as much money as you can in normal businesses and bodegas. Go to the artist commune or buy stuff from street vendors. And get their business cards and pay for shipping when you get home and want more.
My dad works on the big island sometimes, and it matters when you go out of your way to make sure natives are going to get to keep the money. It's the one thing average people can do right now to improve the situation.
I love when people say 'buy local'. Where do you think the locals shop? I always go to safeway or target lol. Nah but I get fruits from cutting trees for free.
@@slymongoose420 there are swap meets where locals sells their hand-crafted goods. If I remember correctly they used to meet every Saturday.
@HeadlampStoplight this is exactly that I'm talking about. Don't shop where locals shop, BUY FROM locals. Find crafts people and buy shit if you're a tourist.
Don’t vacation in Hawai’i! The native Hawaiians (the only people whose opinions that matter in this situation) have said a million times to go somewhere else.
We visited Oahu last year…this is exactly what we did. We were not price gouged and the quality of the food and products we purchased were out of this world!! I agree with everything you said. The swap meet at the stadium is a great place to buy from locals
As a puertorican, it’s interesting to see the parallels with Hawaii, such as the military tests that compare to the use of Vieques as a testing ground, and billionaires buying up land, much like billionaires flooding into Puerto Rico for tax breaks. I hope things get better for both island groups.
Lwt made a Puerto Rico episode as well in case you missed it! I found it very enlightening as well
Do you want to be a state or completely independent or like the same as now?
Those billionaires buy land and major assets in smaller countries and put those countries into endless debt to use the things they bought up. And then they demand tax breaks and all sorts of incentives "to create jobs" which further puts the countries into endless debt. And when those countries try to take back their assets for the people, it's called socialism, communism.
Can't make this stuff up.
I came to the comments to see if anyone commented exactly this, didn't take long to find
@matthinds8177 depends on the Puerto Rican you ask. It's not that simple
As a Native Hawaiian, the amount of research you and your team did is amazing and thank you for pronouncing our Queens name correctly 👌I will never leave Hawai’i. I live in a one bedroom apartment with my wife and three kids. Im currently writing this laying on the ground in the living room because thats where I sleep lol. Were thinking about moving to Big Island and living in a volcano zone just to live in a house. I’d rather risk losing everything to a lava flow than move to the mainland.
Writing from my own one bedroom in Pahoa on the Big I.. living in the lava zone ain't all that bad honestly... I had to abandon my cabin in the last flow but that shit moves pretty slow for the most part so... worth it lol
Stfu haole. Just cuz u lived in Hawaii don't make you kanaka 🤦🏾♂️
😭💔
The fact that you are required to be at peace with your living situations in Hawai'i makes me uneasy about my comparatively luxurious life in New York. How does one help you from 5 time zones away? Can tourists opt to only get service from local businesses? Trying to be less helpless here.
John Oliver shedding light on Hawaii's struggles is a reminder that paradise isn't always what it seems. Thank you for amplifying the voices that have been ignored for too long
🍉
as with most things these days, paradise is exclusively for those who have more money than a lifetime could spend.
😢
"Fruit puberty". I'm guessing that's the first time that phrase was uttered. Dope smoking makes you think like that. And Fnck that Zuckerberg kid!
I think this is like his second or third episode on Hawaii.
I appreciate how real the indigenous Hawaiians are with the press, and don't sugar coat the crap they have had to endure.
Hawaiians are always the realist of the real. It's why Max Holloway is my favorite fighter
What else are they supposed to do? If you don't talk about the things going wrong, how do you think anything will change?
@@larsg.2492 most Americans are scared of change and prefer the status quo because they fear any change will result in a diminishment of their lifestyle
"Sugar" coat. Good one! 😂 ....
People are powerful together, but we have to act and speak together. Alone, the systems around us can take absolutely everything if they so choose, with very little recourse until years later, if then. We must do better standing together when it counts. They are.
That reporter on 10:45 deserves more credits. The way she phrased that question was brilliant.
you can see the gears turning in his head in real time as he realizes he can't just say they leave unexploded ordnance lying around
9:53 Exactly, she phrased it like it was completely out of the question that it would not get cleaned up
Dena Takuri
AJ+
She's done some great investigative journalism in palestine too, and around the ME
I'm a student at University of Hawai'i in the agricultural department - thank you for bringing up this important topic.
One thing I wanted to mention for the audience is that the plantation industry destroyed a lot of the soil they used - it's stripped of nutrients, full of lingering pesticides (that had already been banned on the mainland but the pineapple industry got special permission to keep using), and even heavy metals like arsenic and lead. It is essentially dead, in a way that takes generations to heal.
On top of that, even though the Big Five plantation companies have shut down most of their farms, they still own a lot of that agricultural land, so even though people WANT to take on the task of trying to farm here and repair the soil, WE CAN'T. The companies just... have the land and they're sitting on it. No one gets to touch it (unless a billionaire feels like building a new mcmansion, then they get the go ahead usually)
Its time for using eminent domain to help the people.
Someone took Deenik’s class!!
I had gone to Lanai for a ecology club 2018 trip and we found they were struggling with this too. There was left over deteriorating sheets of black plastic left over from foreign plantation owners that was used as a cheaper way to help retain water for the crops and its mixed with the soil, really hard to remove. And there also invasive introduced deer there too they been trying to control.
@@robguerin5946 Why would the federal or state governments help commoners? Peasants have no money, and exploiting the land is as profitable, as exploiting the people is.
Fun fact: Disney's _Lilo & Stitch_ has a deleted scene where Lilo goes to the beach and tricks all of the tourists into thinking that a huge tsunami is coming. As the tourists all flee in panic, Mr. Bubbles is seen standing at the beach's entrance, glaring daggers at Lilo.
There is a long pause, and then Lilo says, "If you lived here, you'd understand."
I just watched it. Man, that hits different after watching this.
Goddamn. One more reason to love the team that worked on Lilo and Stitch, even if that ended up being a deleted scene.
Ironically, no one who worked on that movie was a Native Hawaiian. It was just two white guys working from a bunch of watercolor paintings. They simply went to Hawaii, talked to the people, learned everything they could, and wrote based on what they observed.
@@jasminelav.332so sad
@@jasminelav.332sort of what happened with "Coco" and it's a wonderful movie everyone likes here in Mexico. Sometimes it takes a team of creative and curious outsiders to create something beautiful inspired in your culture.
Native Hawaiian here, so very impressed at this. You truly did your research and have my ultimate respect.
Research is the strong suit of this show. His reports can be trusted.
I like seeing your thoughts. It makes me feel better about what I'm watching. And I hope you folks have been able to heal since last year's horrors, despite the damned developers and tourists doing their best to pretend they're doing you a favor.
How about a real visitor guide: If you wish to visit our islands: plan on spending X$/day locally in these ways (no destination hotel, no airBNB, no cruise ship tour package, shop in local stores - if it's a chain, it's not local. ) lists of locally owned and operated places to stay, guides, tours... How to have an ALL Hawaiian visit. Then of course the usual stuff, don't take rocks, plants.... A video like this one lays out the problem, but what are some ways to mitigate the situation? As a destination and brand Hawai'i crushes Disneyland and Las Vegas.
I visited Hawai'i 20 years ago on a cruise ship. The commercials are 80% great stuff on shore, the reality is 8 hours max on shore, so you book the overpriced tour on the ship and only spend 6 hours (45 minutes queuing for the van and an hour buffer at the end so you don't miss the ship leaving.) And that time is tightly controlled. (I wanted a notebook, in two weeks there was no possible way to buy one. That's not traveling somewhere, that's being in an offshore corporate bubble - and my mother in law.) Use the internet to crack that cruise ship isolation wall. Word of mouth. Better tours booked with locals.
I've been many places always trying to figure out how I can spend money locally. Usually it's either the same made in Asia crap, there's zero organization, everyone is copying everyone else. (Nha Trang, Vietnam is 200 coffee shops.) Then the wall of brochures in every hotel that say, Don't even bother - it would take you a week to find anything interesting in this printed noise.
Hope Town, Abaco, Bahamas did this well. Local basket weaver, local co op making amazing bags from old sails, a foundation supporting rebuilding from the hurricane, t-shirts, etc.. usual stuff, but better quality. Mahalo
@@ammaleslie509not on every subject. On many they omit a lot of information that doesn’t support their conclusions. And they present things in a way that makes them appear far more simple than what they are.
he didn't, his writers did.
Billionaires owning private, closed off roads and buying up entire islands for no other apparent reason than to be secluded from the community sounds like something that should be illegal.
The buy the land because it makes money
Yeah, why should they be able to hog an island in Hawaii when there's a vacant island in Micronesia called Enewetok?
A just society doesn’t have billionaires, period. Plutocracy is named after the Roman death god for a reason
To someone from scandinavia it's absolutely insanity..
I could walk into any private own forest or beach (as long as it's not recidence properties)and the owner can do nothing to stop or prevent me, as long as I don't do any harm to the woods..
It' called allemansrätten.
It gives me the right to go into any forest to pick berries, mushrooms or to hike. As long as I don't do any environmental harm
@@AL-lh2htyour point?
I am born and raised native Hawaiian from Maui. Let me tell you it’s somewhat refreshing seeing this video being so informational and available to others that are not from Hawaii. It’s sad to see how the island has changed so much since I was a kid because of tourist not being educated on the islands. All we ask for is respect of the land, the people, and the animals. Mahalo.
i'm from long island new york, also an island, many miles of wide sand beaches, but lacking the natural beauty of hawaii, i have always dreamed of going to hawaii, but definitely not into the mainstream touristy stuff, not that i can afford it. it's also expensive where i live, but we're connected to mainland by many bridges and tunnels, effectively making this not an island anymore. if i went to hawaii, i would probably love to camp, and as an environmentalist, would definitely always have respect for the land, and of course the people. in fact, i wouldn't really consider it a trip to hawaii if i didn't have some genuine connections with some hawaiians, and hear their perspectives about things, or just chill and make a friend maybe.
aloha
As someone who’s lived on the islands - this feeling has been there since before the fires. And on every island. The locals have not been respected and treated well. It’s disgusting.
I'm in Texas and I've met so many Hawaiians who say they were forced to leave bc they can't afford a life there 😢 they all say they've been priced out of paradise
@@msKita43they are priced out from their home..
Cry some more to Native Americans. You think your treatment is unique?
That must be why the locals are so crabby.
@@milede Well, yes, but saying boo hoo, cope with it, isn't very nice or productive, now, is it?
Mallorca, Barcelona, and Venice are already protesting. Hawaii should join their protests.
I too have been on a waitlist for almost 20 years. Going to be 70 in a couple years, and I think of my daughters everyday and worry for them. Thank you John Oliver for truth in comedic journalism! 🌺 Aloha from Hawai’i. ( Hilo to be exact)
I'm so sorry ❤ This may be a dumb question, but is the waitlist for just individuals or are your daughters on the list with you. Just wondering how the waitlist works. Does that make sense?
Hi. I live on Maui, forty years, with one branch of my family tree here since 1912. What I don’t understand is the Homelands, at least the one in Keoka, are two acre lots on a rocky hillside. Supposed to be so people can farm. There is no one subsistence farming. Why not carve that land into 6,000 sq ft lots, put in the infrastructure and provide or guarantee the loans for building? Offer modular home construction. The waitlist would be down to an actual waitlist, as 14 people get served for every 2 acres, instead of just one. The current system has been given little thought to its application in the real world.
@@stacyharvey1383
We can put beneficiaries on our application, but they have to pass a blood quantum just like we do. And considering the US has flooded our islands with foreigners (which includes Americans) and we are a minority in our own islands, most people end up not having enough Hawaiian blood because of interbreeding with the majority of the population that isn’t Hawaiians.
Also to note: we do NOT own the land we are “awarded”, the US keeps title to the land, they just give us the “privilege” to rent our own lands from them for cheap.
In socialist GDR you had to wait 18 years for a car.
In capitalist America you have to wait 20 years to get your native land back.
@@johannageisel5390 what is the point you're making?
I lived for 35 years on Oahu. In the early 80’s life was pretty easy there. In the 90’s my rent doubled but my pay remained the same. By the 2000’s rent doubled again and everything was way more expensive and yes, my pay remained the same. Now I live in Washington and there are very many people from Hawaii here. I work with four guys from Oahu who all left for the same reason. Hawaii has become unaffordable for the locals who have been there forever. Most of us who left Hawaii, left our hearts and souls there. For some of us, we won’t even go back for a visit. It’s just too sad what has happened there.
Mahalo for covering this story. 🤙🏼
I UNDERSTAND I live in Va. Lived in Norfolk in a little community right on the bay to the outside citizens they considered it crime ridden and lower class to the locals it was blue collar riviera. Then yuppies came no longer can afford it had to move
OMG, your comment just makes me so sad. I'm speechless.
I lived there in 1980’s and housing prices and rents was very expensive, because the businessmen from Japan were buying up houses and land.
@@lpncal It's happening in towns all over the country.
@@TheConboy22$18 grapes? I think not
As a Kānaka Maoli / Native Hawaiian blessed to be still living in Hawai’i , thank you for making people aware of what’s going on here. It’s hard here, groceries are super expensive , houses are $1,000,000 for a 2 bedroom , people keep moving here and moving here and making it harder for a native to become a home owner. My grandpa died waiting for his Hawaiian home lot offer, my mom’s still on the waiting list…but isn’t it silly that a Hawaiian should wait to have a tiny piece of their own land?!.
It's happening everywhere. Younger generations can't even afford to buy a house, or even think about it. They can't afford to have children. I squeak by paycheck to paycheck and I just turned 56. Luckily I bought a small house in the middle of nowhere 17 years ago.
absolutely an injustice. meanwhile, here on my tiny island of long island new york, it's the same, no fucking way i can afford a home here, yep all are pretty much 1million plus. not that i even have enough for a 100k home 😞
I call BS. You can buy land in Hawaii for 10k an acre. You can buy land and build a house there with a basic job. I know Ive done it. You just want to live in a specific place, thats why you are struggling. Stop asking for handouts and get to work. Learn to grow food like I do, to save money.
Additional notes regarding Hawaiian Homelands:
* You have to be atleast 50% Hawaiian to apply. With many paper trails being lost during the overthrow, this is hard to prove for many.
* You arent "given" the land. You lease the land from the government for $1 a year for 99 years.
* Because the land is leased, almost no financial institution exists to grant you a mortgage. With almost all of the building materials having to be shipped to the islands, the cost of buulding a house is astronomical. Even if you do make it through the wait-list, its unlikely that most in Hawaii will be able to afford to build there.
My step grandfather was finally given his plot before he died- on the side of the volcano, in the zone where it's considered stupid to build anything at all. It's so infuriating
yet the chinese monster houses SOMEHOW manage to get built. the corruption in local government is mind boggling
Why couldn’t genetic testing be used as a gold standard for this?
@@r8chlletters For that there has to be an intent which capitalists won't allow.
Admixture testing (which purports to tell you what your ethnicity is) is the least scientifically valid sort of genetic testing there is. I guess if enough autosomal tests were done (the kind that tells you who else you’re related to) then you could establish that more than 50% of your relatives are ethnically Hawaiian, but that’s not quite the same. So maybe it could help, but it wouldn’t be definitive
This genuinely hurts my heart. My grandmother is native Hawaiian and I have so much family still there today, including cousins who lost everything in the Lahaina fire. I appreciate you all at Last Week who put this story together.
much love to your family
Hope there okay I have 2 distant cousins from Hawaii one from Maui and the other from Kaneohe
If your grandmother is Native Hawaiian (i.e. Hawaiian aborigine), you are too.
@@lazerentertainment1416 corporations nearby diverted water from the town, emergency response was incredibly slow. Stealing water and bottling it to sell. Drying out land makes it better to build on driving up cost. The people who can afford that land further the deforestation and desertification of our ecosystem.
Our Emergency manager was at a conference on a different island enjoying themselves at a hotel and convention center. When alerted about the incident, he did nothing until it was far too late.
@@elkende likely Intentional. They make it unlivable and they move in nicely. It is called ethnic cleansing of one form
As a lifelong hawaii resident and native Hawaiian i think John did a great job at highlighting the trouble that we as locals have dealt with. Also kudos on the good job of pronouncing Hawaiian names and words.
I'm living in the area across from Laughlin NV we have the same situation except no fire
You weren't complaining over the decades of millions of tourist dollars flowing in then were you?
Yes, he did a great job with pronunciation of Hawaiian and had the good sense not to try “Kaho’olawe.” 😆🌺
Mahalo John for putting the light on these little known - outside of our community - issues.
@@clydebear6914 Literally had to partake in capitalism because yanks made it impossible for them to continue to live as they already were before colonialism? You are intellectually gimped bro.
@@clydebear6914 i mean would they rather have millions of dollars flowing into the pockets of already ultrawealthy landlords or have the right to their ancestral land, a town that isn't drier than the sahara, affordable groceries, and affordable housing? i mean... yeah i think any hawaiian has been complaining about tourists
A local, born and raised in Hawai`i. How this clip can be 100% on point, and yet humorous is beyond me. Mahalo Brah!
As a Native Hawaiian, thank you. It’s exhausting to try to deal with the generational trauma while being required to provide education. Thank you.
As a child in the ‘60’s, I was stationed at Hickam with my Air Force family, and I’ve always been fascinated with the culture there. I’ve been very fortunate to have several coworkers, and my best friends wife, who are Kānaka Maoli, so I’ve been able to learn, and understand, their side of the story. NĀNĀ I KE KUMU..
Well, is there any independence movement for Hawaii to become a country?
@@Jose-sy1je One movement that's very close is a group named Kau Inoa
@@elizabethchase6528 🙄 🥱
@@elizabethchase6528 🙄😒
Fun fact: the day the abdication document was signed, Queen Lilikoiaulani said it was “a day that will live in infamy” - some 40 years before Roosevelt said the same thing about Pearl Harbor.
I don't think that's fun at all
I was a part of a construction product for 1 hotel hanalei. Looking them up turns out they charge up to $14k per night. The way the wealthy have monetized the island is beyond crazy to me.
Thank Oprah and Zuckerberg, et al.
whats crazy about it? you charge what the market will bear. seems like its priced just right.
@@DellikkilleD Priced by others, after the theft had occurred, is more like it
@@DellikkilleD ik all about economic efficiency you don't have to explain that. What's crazy is the entire exploitative nature of tourism in Hawaii. At $14,000 per night they've priced out everybody who lives there from enjoying their own state. It's an inequality issue. Setting aside supply and demand or EE or any other economic argument, it's simply fd up to charge that much. Plus it'd be one thing if one hotel did it but all of them charge hundreds or thousands per night making the state the playground of the top 10% of society - an entire state. Need I say more?
@@PointlessIFR so, its priced appropriately based on the competing businesses. You are making the argument for, rather then against. They can 'enjoy' their own state, they just cant afford to stay in a hotel. Who vacations in their own state anyway?
I'm still here in Hawaii ever since the day I was brought into this world, 44 years ago. The struggle is real, but I'll never leave Hawaii. She is the breath that gives life and I will be here till my bones return to these lands. This is where we belong! To all of my Ohana that was forced to move, come home. This is where your piko is and your tie to your aumakua! We await your return❤
Come back and vote for a better, native party
One thing I do appreciate is the fact that you not only show us the problem but you also discuss what the solution would be... this is often never presented
Am I the only one really tripped out at this episode when the new JoJo part 9 plot is about a magic lava rock in Hawaii that attracts wealth to it hahaha super weird, Araki must have heard about this
Just funny to interview a bunch of howlies about Hawaii or makes me think of south Park and the people there for a few months acting like natives. But yeah..I'm reminded of New Orleans, gentrifying the place after a disaster with BS like golf courses in mockery
would have liked to hear both sides of these issues.
@@marksummers5293 Both sides? You mean you'd like to hear from the billionaires?
@@gailjay5133 that's exactly what I thought when I read his comment
I've lived here my entire life (67 years) and now it looks like I'll have to move to the mainland to survive. Last year, my SS payment went up $50. My rent went up $100. Thank you for this video. It's nice to know that someone noticed.
Look in EAH…HUD low income Kapuna Housing!
I’m 71 and have lived on Oahu since 1970,
LuckyLiveHawaii 🤙🏽
its everywhere not just the islands.
Not trying to be mean, but if you are 67 and still renting instead of owning, you are screwed almost everywhere in the US.
Housing costs have significantly outpaced inflation over the last several decades. There seems to be no sign of this changing.
something more to read... Princess/Queen Lydia Paki Liliuokalani was a pseudo Queen....... a puppet!... she cost us Hawaiians our Kingdom via stubborn greed just like her poser non Kamehameha blood electedKing brother did when he traded Pearl River/Harbour to the USA for free Sugar exports and to fill his pockes with loot, then he take bribes and sold-out the Kingdom again with the Opium Bribery Scandal (wiki 'Tong Kee' for info) facts is... most so calledHawaiians are posers who dont know their own history, they have been here on these special islands for only 1/60,000th the time this aina has existed, weve lost 1/3 of the endemic plants in only 250yrs and 1/3 are almost extinct now yet these pseudo kook cant name 6 of the endemic ones, they just know the non-native canoe plants from SE Asia. I can go on and on, but Im pau. aroha
I’m sorry you’re being forced out.
It blows my mind that it’s even legal for people to do what they have been doing
that reporter who just casually tricked the military guy into telling about how bad it is was great
The AJ+/Al Jazeera series on Hawai'i is effin brilliant. The whole thing's on their YT channel.
I wonder if that was trickery or just ingenuous curiosity...
@@ecosta Oh she knew what she was doing
@@ecosta it's the same reporter that you can later see speaking to Natives, so it's definitely trickery
It was a dumb question more than anything, obviously no one is cleaning up an active weapons range.
I saw this come up on my feed and was alarmed at first since we usually get ignored. 😅 But I’m really impressed, John and his team really did their homework. As a local, who was born and raised here, all I ask is that as visitors you come here and be respectful, and leave any entitled notions at home. Be polite, we are not here to honor your every whim. Be nice to people who work in hospitality, they put up with a lot of nonsense on a daily basis. Tip them. Thanks John for bringing this to the world’s attention.
As a native Hawaiian, I am very grateful that you brought attention to these problems and made the rest of the globe aware of what we're up against. The US is in Hawaii, not Hawaii in the US.
I realise I probably will sound weird asking, but it doesn't feel entirely right not to. Can any of us who aren't Native, say who have come here to live, help?
I'm so very sorry.
Just more 'I'm a victim' mentality. I grew up in a very tourist-y place as well and it gets really old hearing all of the locals complain about tourism ruining their town, then heading off to work taking money from tourists. Classic 'I want to have my cake and eat it too' syndrome. If all tourism left Hawa'ii, that place would be in serious trouble. I grew up around constantly complaining locals who own nothing but just happened to be born in the local hospital and had to listen to them whine and whine and whine about the tourists ruining 'their' place. I often would ask 'which part of this place is yours?' 'Uh.....I rent over there'. I dont vacation in 'your' place, the last place I want to spend my money is a place filled with entitled nobody's with their middle finger up on one hand and the other hand held out for money.
@@Heathcoatman pretty sad that these so called native Hawaiians are cursing the military, if it wasnt for the military and millions of young americans who sacrificed their lives protecting these islands these entitled so called native people would be in japanese concentrarion camps would be speaking japanese and bow to the emperor twice a day....
@@Heathcoatmando us all a favor and delete ur account
I teach anthropology at a small university where over thirty percent of our students come from Hawai'i. The issues brought up here are ones I've been hearing for the last fifteen years. I'll be showing this in my Anthropology of Tourism section. Well done.
Anthropology of Tourism? Do you have any webinars or recorded lectures available for that topic? I'd love to learn more!
Showing John Oliver as a way to teach could be the reason people say college is a scam now. Do better
@@scaryfascinating-- The videos on your own channel are nowhere near as well-presented or well-researched as this one, so you very literally cannot "do better."
@@scaryfascinating yes, people do say college is a scam. They're also the same people saying it shouldn't be free and loans shouldn't be forgiven. It must be exhausting being that contradictory all the time.
From one Aaron to another, shout out to Professor Greer, one of the best anthropology professors out there, and to everyone in his class watching this!
props to this man for practicing this read enough times to get the pronunciations pretty good. it's hard for people not raised her to get it perfect, but he did it so well i didn't even need to look at the map to see what he meant.
and also thank you for teaching your viewers things that we learned in school when we were little. it's a messed up story.
Notable exception is his completely passing on pronouncing Kaho'olawe, which stood out heavily to me.
@@onorebakasama ee's fakn bri'ish, mite
Respect to John! This was absolutely needed! I haven't vacationed in Hawaii for 20 years! It's awful what's happening to the natives. Just heartbreaking!
As someone who was born and raised on Oahu, i had to leave my home for the Mainland in 2013 after trying to start college but having to work 2 full time jobs to pay rent that i split with my brother. It was $1300 a month for a 400 sq ft 1 bd apartment. We still had to get Food Stamps to eat and only got it because i was a collge student. Ty John Oliver and writers for telling OUR story.
So sorry you were displaced...in Portland, OR studios are going for about that these days it's so out of control all over the world
What I cannot wrap my head around is how these large hotels that charge these astronomical amounts to stay at their hotel can get away with paying such low wages. From what I have seen the local Hawaiian government will bend over backwards for these giant resorts but they should be forced to pay higher wages. Wages in Hawaii don't equate to the cost of living and that is the real problem. Only 2 percent of the population can afford to comfortably live there
Try growing up in NYC, just as expensive so boo-hoo you cant have it all in paradise just because your born there.
@@marksummers5293 Calm down
Princess/Queen Lydia Paki Liliuokalani was a pseudo Queen....... a puppet!... she cost us Hawaiians our Kingdom via stubborn greed just like her poser non Kamehameha blood electedKing brother did when he traded Pearl River/Harbour to the USA for free Sugar exports and to fill his pockes with loot, then he take bribes and sold-out the Kingdom again with the Opium Bribery Scandal (wiki 'Tong Kee' for info) facts is... most so calledHawaiians are posers who dont know their own history, they have been here on these special islands for only 1/60,000th the time this aina has existed, weve lost 1/3 of the endemic plants in only 250yrs and 1/3 are almost extinct now yet these pseudo kook cant name 6 of the endemic ones, they just know the non-native canoe plants from SE Asia. I can go on and on, but Im pau. aroha
Thank you for taking the time to highlight the injustices done to the Hawaiians from James Cook onwards. I am part Hawaiian, born and raised in Hilo on the Big Island. I live on the mainland now. Family ask me, "when you coming home?" I can't afford it. And when I do go home to visit, my heart breaks to see the homeless, the drug abuse, etc.
I find it mind boggling ANYONE would need drugs in paradise. Maybe some Pakalolo. Maybe.
Hilo High grad here. Haole, but I miss home. It is sad to see the changes.
@@user-pe8hg7nb8m The problem is if you are a local struggling to pay your rent and buy food, it isn't such a "paradise". Add in working multiple jobs you need energy. Ice is a big problem in Hawai'i because it gives you energy and makes you feel invincible...then the next thing you know you are addicted and homeless. I used to hate working in Hilo at Basically Books on a Sunday when the cruise ship would come through. Hilo was old style Hawai'i where the town would be busy and active Monday-Saturday, but on Sunday pretty much everything was closed. These tourists would come into the shop badmouthing the town I love calling it "boring". These 🤡 think Hawai'i is Disneyland 😂
Native peoples on their own land... homeless... is the most sad mindfuckery that should never be a thing.
I'm sorry, friend. 💔
@@Jerepasaurus Yeah, its not just Hawaiians. Philippines, Samoa, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Native Americans, Africans dragged here in chains... all people that's not white basically...
9:56 I actually work as an environmental scientist in Hawaii, and our company literally has an entire branch dedicated to removing non-exploded ordinances. Basically everything we do is cleaning up the military's various and never-ending messes in one way or another.
Sounds like that should come out of military budget to me. There's parts of the military that just burn money (figuratively) to maintain budget allocation
@@luci0818 We are contracted by the military to clean up their messes. If you're suggesting that they handle it in-house, then I'd ask you if we just watched the same video.
Hello my daughter grew up in Hawaii she is getting her degree in Environmental Science her shortly is there any career opportunities in this industry you could direct her towards.
@@wesharrington5937 the biggest company that does environmental work here is AECOM (they're a nationwide company with a large presence in Hawaii), and if she still has time left in her education, I'd recommend trying an internship or research project, as those are usually a great way to meet people with connections in the industry and basically show off your skillset without having to formally apply for an interview. What specific stuff is she interested in, if you know?
I’m native and live on west side Oahu. This report is spot on, mahalo🌺John for this. More time should have been spent on how illegal annexation was as congress at the time violated their own constitution to annex Hawaii. Motive: the American Government badly wanted Pu’uloa or Pearl Harbor and so they annexed Hawaii by Joint Resolution which is not the process of annexation, the legal way is by treaty. No treaty no annexation, Hawaiian believe that the Hawaiian Kingdom still exists and is being occupied by the US. We hope that this hewa (sin) will be corrected and redressed.
As a current resident with a very long family history in Hawaii, this makes me very happy. You tackled this quite well and pointed out many issues and how complex it all can be in your short time. Kudos to you!
Yes he did a great job reporting so much in so little time.
All true.
I live on Oahu.
Credit to him for learning/knowing how to pronounce the Hawaiian monarchy names.
Is there any way to force some changes through using the state government?
@@aggy5372 it would defn help to elect politicians who sole purpose isn’t just to maintain the status quo. Yes there needs to be more candidates, but ppl also need to vote. Voter turnout was 30%, if just 60% voted, change could happen.
As a native Hawaiian, I can't thank you enough for shining light on these issues and showing the rest of the world what we're dealing with. Hawaii isn't in the US, the US is in Hawaii...
What’s in your channel description, and it says your channel was made 14 hours ago?💀
287 likes to a bot commment 😂😂😂
@@SushiXVII Just a bot. Report the profile and maybe (unlikely) RUclips will delete it.
Before you thank this English man, remember his people were the first 'white ' people to your islands and remember what happened to Captain Cook.
@@L.Ron.Hoyabembe nah its a waste of time, youtube is just corporate bs
I'm a native Hawaiian and I'm really thrilled by this. You have my utmost respect because you actually completed your homework.
Completed homework would have been discussing both sides of the issues.
@@marksummers5293boooo 👎👎
catch1 clue plz... try read... Princess/Queen Lydia Paki Liliuokalani was a pseudo Queen....... a puppet!... she cost us Hawaiians our Kingdom via stubborn greed just like her poser non Kamehameha blood electedKing brother did when he traded Pearl River/Harbour to the USA for free Sugar exports and to fill his pockes with loot, then he take bribes and sold-out the Kingdom again with the Opium Bribery Scandal (wiki 'Tong Kee' for info) facts is... most so calledHawaiians are posers who dont know their own history, they have been here on these special islands for only 1/60,000th the time this aina has existed, weve lost 1/3 of the endemic plants in only 250yrs and 1/3 are almost extinct now yet these pseudo kook cant name 6 of the endemic ones, they just know the non-native canoe plants from SE Asia. I can go on and on, but Im pau. aroha
@@marksummers5293 whats the other side to bombing the islands and grabbing their land?
@@marksummers5293the other side: "I really really wanted that land."
Native Hawaiian wahine here from Kalihi, O'ahu. I am 68 years old and have watched Hawai'i go from a fun, beautiful, safe place where a child could walk to the corner store without fear - to something unrecognizable. As a child, we - as a Native Hawaiian family - always struggled to make ends meet. Food prices were always high, and so was rent. When I was in elementary school, we were scolded if we spoke Hawai'ian (o'lelo Hawai'i) or if we spoke pidgin English. We were taught that "people" would think of us as "stupid Hawai'ians" so we better learn to speak "proper English." I lost count of how many times my knuckles were hit with a ruler because I was caught during lunch or recess speaking my native language.
When I grew up, getting a job was seemingly impossible since, unless you could speak Japanese (at the time), you couldn't work in the tourist industry. Working anywhere else was difficult as well. I know what it's like to go to an interview only to be told you don't qualify - even though you know you do. The look on their faces told you all you needed to know.
After meeting my husband (a Manoa boy) and getting married, we rented a little two-bedroom house for $500 a month in Aiea, which was in 1979. By 1985, the rent was $2,500 a month. That was when we sold everything we owned and left our beloved Hawai'i for the mainland, where we have lived ever since. We have never gone back home.
The struggles for Native Hawai'ians are real; they always have been, so mahalo for making this video for us. ❤
~ Me Kealoha Pumehana ~
We have felt very lucky to be able to spend vacation time I'm Maui. We love and respect the people, the islands and the history. We try to learn more each time we are able to go. We always shop local. Our planned and paid for vacation (3 miles from Lahaina) made me feel that I should write our host to ask if we should come and what we could do to be as "good guests" as we possibly could.
Basically, if we could stay out of the reconstruction area including the roads around Lahaina being used for repair, clean up, etc, we were welcome since tourist dollars were very important right away. We cooperated with all these requests and were thrilled to be there when many of the local eateries reopened! Such joy to see the rebirth!
The best experience I had was at the local Walgreen's. 4 years ago my mother's home burned in Paradise California. Ours survived. The staff at Lahaina Walgreens wanted to know how the rebuilding was coming. We talked for hours about the great progress I could see in Lahaina, the changes we had to make in Paradise, Ca, and my sincere hope that the history of old Lahaina would be respected and become the center of the rebirth in the area.
We were blessed to share donations, purchase locally and tip as generously as possible. We love and respect your beautiful islands.
Blessings and love to the people and the land and sea. Mahalo from California ❤
Thank you for speaking about Hawai’i and the kanaka maoli. Their rights are indigenous rights and then getting their land back makes more steps towards land back for all of us indigenous peoples. Thank you from a Wampanoag person
Oh to be in a culture where possession is respected without lawyers and deeds
yeah, land back would be quite something, all over the place... whether between this river and that sea or on the back of the turtle, so many lands should be taken care of by the people who belong, rather than being "owned" and abused in any way imaginable. settler colonialism will come to an end and kinship Eairth will recover its wholeness🙏
@@danarzechula3769 I think possession is where we went wrong.. we should respect the land and our fellow human being's dignity and leave it at that. Possessing something that has been existing for longer than we can imagine and will continue to exist long after we're gone is the epitome of hubris and all that is wrong with our capitalist society.
As a native person, i can see what their future holds if something isn't done. I want them to succeed to give hope to all our ppl.
@@danarzechula3769 I want to be in a culture where possession is not even a concept. Marxism will save the world.
I am born and raised on Oahu. I am a descendent of King Kamehameha and carry that with pride.
The majority of those who come to visit do not comprehend malama the aina or to be pono.
Our people have been abused and taken advantage of while being forced to smile while we clean up the garbage you leave EVERYWHERE.
Some say Hawaiians are aggressive to haoles… we are. Of course we like SCRAP, we’ve been fighting against those who ILLEGALLY OCCUPY our lands and exploit the beauty of our islands and our spirit of Aloha.
This brought me to tears and it’s safe to say that John Oliver has just earned a lot of respect from local people. He did us justice and I appreciate his sincerity.
I say this with no malice or anger… But, with such anger and resentment flowing from the locals, it is safe to say that I am scratching Hawaii off of my bucket list. Your anger and resentment are justifiable, and out of respect for your healing and your homeland, I will not step foot on your shores as a tourist. May peace, healing, light, serenity And justice go with you wherever you go. 💜 🌊
You sold an island to a billionaire, Legally in 2012 for $300 million. You want aina and pono, yet use racist term like haole. Keep up your good scrap tho!
"your land"? Who gave it to you?
Hawai'i has been exploited.... and turned into a fucking oligarch's playground.
Fuck's sake you guys were invaded and a puppet government put in place when the monarchy wanted to try imposing SOME limits on the exploitation even though it was an already lopsided everything degrating natives.
I want to visit, but that is both because a friend of mine was born there (Navy Kid ) and iti s deeply facinating from not just a pure geologic standpoint, but the ecosystem and... .honestly? I kinda want ot see what the biking is like.
I hate how things are. It is not my home, but someone does not have to live at a place to lament what's happened to it.
@@cryaboutitwhydontya 'Legally' Right. Sure thing. I'm going to debate the legality of papers signed under duress. The signers were just hoping to get something out of it for themselves when the inevetable happened.
"Remember that your vacation spot is someone else's home" is just good advice in general.
Thank you!
I was born and raised in Hawaii and worked as a professional advocate on many of the issues brought up. I've felt like I and my fellow advocates are constantly screaming into the void trying to get anyone to notice or care about what we actually deal with on the daily. Hawaii is often forgotten about, so it's nice to see some attention finally.
Ruin me with truth, Birdman
That’s hurtful. Clearly he doesn’t deserve that after losing his job at the muppet show
Dont take EVERY thing he says at face value, understand that after all he is a performer for a show that has an agenda, my dude suports gay right and islam at the same time like wtf😂😂
Also he keep saying white ppl in these episodes not british or nationalists, it is just a dog whitsle for anti-white racists
Like every race in history conqured, some was more successful cuz they were not primtive lol
This feels like something youd say during a strange bdsm taping of the show😂
@@TFoxVA So anytime horses or Adam Driver get mentioned?
Truth softened with laughter. Not so soft as to overtake the important information but still.
I served in the US Navy and was angrily asked how I could live with myself by a local. At the time I had zero idea of what he was talking about. Now I am more educated and this video has educated me even more. Who knows what I will learn tomorrow.
I say let’s get more education on the past to get notice. Not just in Hawaii but everywhere. And from every country. We can’t continue to be justifiably angry and leave it at that. Give people a choice. Make them fully aware of what they are doing. Some won’t care but some will deeply care and those people will spread that knowledge.
Hawaiian here living in Hawaii my whole life. Thank you for making such a succinct yet detailed summary of many if the issues plaguing Hawaii, both past ans present. Also "the beautiful white people of Pearl Harbor" was such a cleverly put line 😂
Native Hawaiian and lucky enough to be raised in Hawaiʻi. Mahalo nui for shining the light on these issues. Hawaiʻi’s issues are long and complex. For those of you not from Hawaiʻi, I cannot emphasize enough how important being educated is. Educate yourself on everything and take the time to listen to tje moʻolelo (stories). They are far more honest than your American U.S. History text books.
then you know most dis kine huh... catch1 clue plz... try read... Princess/Queen Lydia Paki Liliuokalani was a pseudo Queen....... a puppet!... she cost us Hawaiians our Kingdom via stubborn greed just like her poser non Kamehameha blood electedKing brother did when he traded Pearl River/Harbour to the USA for free Sugar exports and to fill his pockes with loot, then he take bribes and sold-out the Kingdom again with the Opium Bribery Scandal (wiki 'Tong Kee' for info) facts is... most so calledHawaiians are posers who dont know their own history, they have been here on these special islands for only 1/60,000th the time this aina has existed, weve lost 1/3 of the endemic plants in only 250yrs and 1/3 are almost extinct now yet these pseudo kook cant name 6 of the endemic ones, they just know the non-native canoe plants from SE Asia. I can go on and on, but Im pau. aroha
I can't answer you without getting auto deleted. America gave the Hawaiian natives the same treatment the mainland natives got from America.
John Oliver should be a recognized national hero for his work like this- bravo to him! I had No Idea- and I’m appalled
just buy local when you come here. small step to have a big impact
buy kanaka. not just "local".
@@catboyjohn true. i was thinking local produce but yeah buy hawaiian
Absolutely...the woman complaining about clearly imported fruit was lame.
I saw a video filmes in Hawaii featuring some designs from a local. I liked them, so I ordered a dress! This was several years ago. But it's a way those of us who can't afford to travel there can help
@@2011hwalker True. But also remember that the amount of produce that Hawaii can grow has been crippled drastically. While she should buy as much local produce as she can, those things might be even more expensive.
It's refreshing to hear mainstream mainland media add to the chorus of Native Hawaiian voices that have been trying to tell their stories for decades. This is a story all Americans should know and work to rectify
Can you imagine how Fox News would lose their shit if we gave Hawaii back to the Hawaiians... and had to revise our flag down to 49 stars? 😆
You could always keep it 50 stars by making Puerto Rico a state and then see republicans freak out about a Spanish speaking state
Or we could make Puerto Rico and Washington DC into states and add 1
@@TabbyeLynneI see this as a win-win
@@TabbyeLynnePuerto Rico doesn’t want to be a state though.
@@rogerthat7593 Depends on who/when you ask.
Seeing this made me cry. Thank you for lifting the voices of my people, Mr. Oliver.
dont fall for the bs...
catch1 clue plz... try read... Princess/Queen Lydia Paki Liliuokalani was a pseudo Queen....... a puppet!... she cost us Hawaiians our Kingdom via stubborn greed just like her poser non Kamehameha blood electedKing brother did when he traded Pearl River/Harbour to the USA for free Sugar exports and to fill his pockes with loot, then he take bribes and sold-out the Kingdom again with the Opium Bribery Scandal (wiki 'Tong Kee' for info) facts is... most so calledHawaiians are posers who dont know their own history, they have been here on these special islands for only 1/60,000th the time this aina has existed, weve lost 1/3 of the endemic plants in only 250yrs and 1/3 are almost extinct now yet these pseudo kook cant name 6 of the endemic ones, they just know the non-native canoe plants from SE Asia. I can go on and on, but Im pau. aroha
I agree my friend.
It seems like the issues that people in Hawaii face are much more stark example of what we all face, the 1% having too much power and influence , while the 99% not having enough say in our current lives and our future.
The people of Hawaii deserve better, we all do. We must band together to make that happen.
yeah, there are few places where class separation and the divide between the haves and the have-nots is as obvious as it is here.
Solidarity Forever!
Just stop; your peoples land wasn't taken from you. You don't walk around every day seeing people crap on your sacred land. This isn't just the rich; tons of retired people come here, buy a house, then rent the bedrooms for $1800 and refuse to let locals stay there. But how very typical of you to belittle it by implying “we all have problems.” This is not the USA it is occupied territory. Your issues on the mainland have nothing to do with the islands.
Capitalist Island survival
@@TireSlayer55You a correct. To a lesser extent, my home of New Orleans. All in the name of greed.
Thank you for spreading awareness of these things. It's so rare to see our local issues highlighted on such a large platform. The oppressed can't do it alone, please help Hawaiian people.
" I ka 'ōlelo ke ola, i ka 'ōlelo ka make. "
Thank you for talking about this, and bringing it more to the mainstream.
Ka nui te mihi nō Aotearoa e hoa
@@walterzamalis4846 'A'ole, mahalo nui loa, hoa aloha. Nui ke aloha mai Hawai'i!
As a native Hawaiian, Thank you for covering this. These are reasons why I get mad when people tell those complaining about mainlanders moving in to “cry about it” cause it’s a state. By all means, come visit, but have respect and don’t be ignorant to the history and what natives living there have gone thru. Aloha
Not all mainland americians are so ignorant at least. I’ve avoided visiting because I don’t think it’s right your country was stolen. Well ok that and I doubt you want a white chick who prefers learning via asking experts with an interest in foreign cultures questioning you for their own curiosity. I strongly believe in sovereignty for all peoples, and if anything the native Hawaiians should be getting all of the tourism money for a start. The tide may yet turn again and perhaps freedom can still be obtained.
Got stationed here last year and it's definitely not like how they make it look on TV! It's sad how Hawaii has been screwed all because of money.
State comment gets me...yeah its apart of the US at gunpoint if u think about it
@@christinetran491 exactly. Sometimes I seen them say “you lost the war, face the consequences”. No, our queen chose not to fight and to have peace. Just do a 5 min Google search and these people might learn smt
@@keanuakina9014 It's so callous too. Imagine if Russia or North Korea took over a U.S. state and told the locals the same thing. "You lost the war, get over it. Your land rights mean nothing to us. We don't care if your homes have been passed down for generations, you still need permission from the Russian/North Korean government to live in them."
Some people have no empathy.
This was a real historical blind spot for me, I truly had no idea… Thank you Oliver and team for this one
I just started learning about it after the fires last year. You are not alone!! And yes, the history we were taught in school omitted a lot and put a colonialist spin on it.
Hawaii would be a wonderful place if left to the Hawaiians. 😢
The Maui fires really helped to expose a lot of the BS local Hawaiians were being subject to over the last decade
look up the truth hawaii isn't a state
I had zero clue. How awful.
@@La_Ru-yg8es seriously… such cool culture and background… I wanna visit some day, but after watching this, I’m not sure I should…lol
"Who can say if [x]? Apparently not me, legally," has to be one of my favorite running gags
Not only is John Oliver brillant, amusing thought provoking, etc., this is also one of the few channels without commercials. Thank you, HBO.
Wish I could afford HBO 😢😂😅 seriously just have antenna TV but get clips on phone 🤳📱 Love ❤️ 🤗😘❤️ XOXO you John Oliver!!! Praying 🙏 The 🍊 turkey 🦃 doesn't get to the white 🤍 house lordy lordy lordy dear sweet Lord 🙏 help 🆘 us ALL
I love how everywhere you go rich people are the first to talk about how we need to conserve, as they consume everything.
Conservation for ye but not for me.
They want you to conserve so they have more to exploit
"Take shorter showers! Dont pollute! Drive less to conserve gas! Protect nature!" -Businesses polluting water supplies with millions of barrels in spilt oil
Perfectly said!! priced out of paradise 25 years now..miss Maui every day 🏝🌊
Hawaii is one of the most beautiful places on Earth and that's because of the people. Hawaiians are truly what makes Hawaii so special. We need more coverage like this.
And if no more Hawaiians in the Islands..no more Hawaii😢
I agree. I was on Kaua'i for 12 days and I think I only saw one single native drive around in a ridiculously big truck blasting music that made me think "what an a-hole". The rest: super friendly, and very hard working without giving an attitude about it. How sad to hear their life is worse than what it deserves to be.
@@evanloney7097 I agree it was a privilege to vacation there. We used to pick up trash on the beach that others had left. Also the people watching together as the sun began the dance of colors across the sky, so beautiful . 💝 ❤️
@@JustLetTerenceExplainItyou just dissed every local boy 😂 every guy needs sounds if u from here
Mahalo nui for bringing this to the mainstream. As a native Hawaiian/ Big Island resident, it hurts my soul to see so many local families forced to move to the mainland to survive. Hawaiians belong in Hawaii !!
Instead of renewing the leases of land from Hawai'i, the US Military should pay Hawai'i money - lots of money - to use their sites for EOD training and **clean up the mess they left.** (And YT needs to stop being so banhammery with comments)
As the child of veterans, I am *ashamed* this is how our military treats our fellow citizens.
I'm not sure how you set up a range without closing it off due to uxos. Every state has them. It's disingenuous to claim they should be special in this regard. It's borderline disinformation with the lack of context.
As a child of veteran I’ve expected worse from them
Well, with one of the recent Supreme Court rulings, the air force is trying not to for some of their messes.
Maybe... if they paid directly into a fund for housing prioritizing Hawaiians and then locals. The state has a crappy record for disseminating funds where they need to go. All of the entities John mentioned are special interests groups with their claws in our government. Some blame party affiliation, but it really wouldn't matter. Greed lives anywhere.
@@jedispartan Yeah I came in here to comment about how the military section of the story made it seem like Hawaii is the only place on earth that has a military impact area (or even the only place where the impact areas are located on land that is culturally sensitive), implies that it's shocking that the UXO in impact areas isn't regularly cleaned up, or that the solution to the problem is as simple as "just don't renew their lease."
This man is a National Treasure. I say this from the Big Island of Hawaii, where I have lived for the past 25 years. He is right about everything. Mahalo and Aloha. 🤙💚🤙
John Oliver is a national treasure 👍🍀 I am sure the native Hawaiians will appreciate you bringing attention to this. ANOTHER GREAT SHOW👍🍀
💯
"Nuns don't work on Sunday" this phrase, its absolute cinema
As a native hawaiian born and raised in Hawaiian Homestead lands, Im so happy you brought awareness to the criminally underdiscussed issues that defined my childhood and the life that Native Hawaiians have been living for generations
such a struggle being born in paradise....give me a break.
Paradise if you can afford $8 gallon of milk@@marksummers5293
something more to read.... Princess/Queen Lydia Paki Liliuokalani was a pseudo Queen....... a puppet!... she cost us Hawaiians our Kingdom via stubborn greed just like her poser non Kamehameha blood electedKing brother did when he traded Pearl River/Harbour to the USA for free Sugar exports and to fill his pockes with loot, then he take bribes and sold-out the Kingdom again with the Opium Bribery Scandal (wiki 'Tong Kee' for info) facts is... most so calledHawaiians are posers who dont know their own history, they have been here on these special islands for only 1/60,000th the time this aina has existed, weve lost 1/3 of the endemic plants in only 250yrs and 1/3 are almost extinct now yet these pseudo kook cant name 6 of the endemic ones, they just know the non-native canoe plants from SE Asia. I can go on and on, but Im pau. aroha
@@marksummers5293no. Such a struggle to be born in an place where rich people are actively colonizing the land , and making it uninhabitable for the natives
Or did you miss the bit about the vultures circling the ashes of people’s family homes, the billionaires literally purchasing entire islands, the rerouting of clean water sources for the locals, and the destruction of a self sustaining ecosystem to make room for sugar cane?
@@marksummers5293 Did you watch the episode?
I've already watched the full episode earlier this week, but I'm still watching this clip so that the RUclips algorithm recommends this to others. This episode teaches me that it's important to know and respect the history of any place in this world. Hope that Hawai'i recovers.
Awwwwwwwww let’s all hope real hard and it will recover!!! Awwww you learned something yay!!!! Let’s all hope!!!
You're doing the Lords work. Blessed are those who help drive the algorithm - and the cheese makers.
Op didn’t already know to respect places they were visiting until a video told them to 😢
It cannot start to recover until the harm stops!
@@cruisepaige We should give Britain back to the Homo heidelbergensis peoples. They were there first, stop the harm!
As a native Hawaiian, thank you for this! Mahalo nui loa.
Can we acknowledge that Al Jazeera English is a damned fine news outlet? Thank you, John Oliver for sharing this!
Thank you Jon. I'm "just a white guy". But I married a Hawaiian who moved to California. We try to go visit her family members who still live there once a year. We donate to local charities. We got married there and I did everything in my power to inform my family what historical land they were on when they came to our wedding, including a welcome bag with a custom newspaper that was filled with historical places to visit, historical facts, and even a small sand sifter to just clean a little bit of the sand when they went to the beach. My wife and I have a 5-month-old son now with a middle name Kaikoa, meaning sea warrior. And even though he's only half Hawaiian, we plan to teach him the full extent of his family history.
Awesome! ✌️🖖🏻
If he was born on Hawaii he is Hawaiian and deserves to know what that means
This is beautiful.
@@bengeophoto being born in Hawaii doesn't make you Hawaiian in and of itself. It's about genetics. My own daughter, or the singer Jack Johnson or Barack Obama, were born in Hawaii. They are *not* Hawaiians, and would never ever ever claim they are. That would be extremely disrespectful.
@@bjorntv6951 show us on the doll where someone hurt you.
"It must be a big task to clean those unexploded ordinance up."
"Yeah...we don't do that."
Black Panther: "We don't do that here" meme
I'm pretty sure they don't do that anywhere they've had firing ranges. Fort Ord in Monterey CA for example you still can't go into certain areas because of unexploded ordinance.
The way she set that up for him to step in it was some skillful journalism right there. Btw, the interviewer in that clip is award winning Palestinian-American journalist Dena Takruri who’s been doing important work on other justice and liberation causes as well.
Why would they? Was a dumb question
@@CPAJayhawk Why would they clean it up? Simple. So someone doesn't get blown up by unexploded ordinance somewhere down the line.
I went to Hawai'i on my honeymoon 12 years ago. We visited the Queen's Palace in Oahu and every single room is full of notes saying things like, "This is where [ceremonial this or that] would be but it was auctioned off when white business owners took over the island in a coup." There are more artifacts listed in the auction book on display than there are in the actual palace itself. It's devastating to visit and extremely important if anyone visits the islands.
As a veteran who served alongside several native Hawaiians and listened to the stuff they told me:
One of my fellow medics used to tell me about how the military bases in Hawaii are especially bad towards locals. Most of them are on, or near locations that the native folks have used for thousands of years to hunt/fish/whatever. My fellow medic used to tell me about how her and her friends would grab a beat up boat, wait until night, and then sneak into naval waters just to hunt shellfish in the same locations her ancestors have always used. This activity is SO important to her friends and family that they'd rather risk being thrown in a military jail than just go without the shellfish from that location, and of course the military does not gaf at ALL.
Basically, imagine you have a pond on your land. You've always fished there, your dad's always fished there, your grandfather fished there, and more. Your family has taken care of the pond, and the land around it for countless generations. Y'all basically have a spiritual connection with that land. You never buy fish because you always use the fish you catch, and maybe you don't have the means to easily get to the store. You even preserve the fish you catch here so you and your family can enjoy them even after the fishing season is done. Then the military seizes your land, decides they need the pond as a water source, and cuts you off from all of it and even starts polluting the area. Basically, this but worse (cause they did this to EVERY native Hawaiian) is what the military does to the locals there.
Love this especially the ending of the importance of learning from kanaka (native hawaiians). Been living here a couple years and I remember asking a farmer who's kanaka about how tourism helps Hawaii. He asked if we could name any Hawaiian owned Hotels. It's awful how much tourism money here doesn't stay on the island, especially considering how so much land that was self sustaining has been converted to tourism. For anyone visiting I recommend looking for locally owned places to spend your money.
Also! For anyone who says Hawaii voted to be a state, the vote happened during a time of decolonization and the expectation was the votes would be to be free, a territory or a state. The US ballot only had people vote on being a territory or state, and exponentially more Hawaiians signed a petition for independence.
As someone who grew up and worked as a freelance journalist in Hawaii, this Last Week Tonight segment actually is a pretty good compendium of some issues within the state and of the state's history.
Good job.
I now get the cut out scene from Lilo and Stitch where Lilo shouts: "Tourists prepare to die!"
Mahalo John Oliver for educating everyone about the challenges we face from our past, present, and uncertain future of Hawaii’s kanaka. ❤
Never expected to see Hawaii as the topic of Last Week Tonight but glad that more light has been shown on some of the problems here 👏🏼
I love that this video has been seen by over 2 million people in one day. You touched on so many painful topics for Hawaiians. These issues need to be known, so mahalo for that!
I'm sorry, but this man with his heavy accent is pronouncing the Hawaiian words perfectly! 👌 Yaaaassss, I'm here for it 😅
As a Hawaiian born and raised in Hawaii I gotta say well said John Oliver. Well said. 🤙
I spent 6 years on a military base in Hawaii as a kid as my Dad had 2 tours there. As kids/teens we don't realize this unfortunately. In 1973 or 74 there was a kid in our neighborhood who found a live shell that was left abandoned. He was one street over from me. He was carrying it on his bike and tossed it to the ground. It exploded and he was killed. He was 11 or 12 years old. You would have thought they would have learned something from that, but I guess not. It's really sad. I love the islands. I graduated from High School there and did my first year of college at UH. I wanted to move back as an adult but even with a good paying job, it was too expensive. It's sad that these billionaires are buying up so much land to only spend 1 week a year there, when the locals go without. My heart really hurts for the local population.
When I first read your comment I thought you meant he found a seashell, and he threw it on the ground and it "exploded" into many pieces 😂
@@tekbarrierthe original poster’s comment was so sad, but your comment and the visual you put in my head cracked me up. ‘Live shell” lol
Military LEARN SOMETHING 😂😂😂 yeah right
I’m from Maui and have never heard this story before. Is there any news articles from back then talking about it? RIP your childhood friend.
As a Kanaka Maoli, mahalo nui for this segment, for amplifying our story. You, Mr. Oliver, live with Aloha
“Your vacation spot is someone else’s home,” spot on John Oliver. And kudos for accurate commentary on topics you covered.
Would add that a friend qualified for Hawaiian Homelands program. Even selected his lot. Then he got job w decent income. He was excluded from the program for *making*too*much*money*
It's also true for many other destinations, from Venice to Waikiki to Phuket to Barcelona. There's a reason why there are mass demonstrations these days in Barcelona against tourists, the balance is just gone.
21:59 there is a way to stop this: pass a law that only full time residents can purchase land in Hawaii.
Those bombs left behind are a problem for several generations. Here in Belgium, there's an area that was heavily shelled and bombed in world war one, and in the over 100 years since, more than 500 explosions have caused people to die or get injured. Apart from that, our army's dedicated explosives cleanup branch still digs up about 200 metric tons of explosives every year. That land in Hawaii won't be safe to build on or to plow for agriculture for possibly centuries.
The Army could clean it up completely if they were given the mandate to. The question is whether they'll be given that mandate. And they absolutely should.
😢
@@TheGreatAtarioObama gave the mandate, however even recently the Air Force has told the epa in Arizona “make me”
@@natehunter2961 Given the POTUS is commander in chief, does that not constitute insubordination?
@@TheGreatAtario oh you sweet naive fools
Oliver nails it. Hawaii was my late mother's favorite place on Earth, bringing me there twice in my youth, and that sentiment definitely rubbed off on me. I taught high school, and worked with supporting commercial fisheries in their efforts to conserve endangered species for twenty four years, working for the well being of the communities to the best of my ability. I lived there off and on since 2000, and I just moved away two years ago for the last time. I was just totally over the constant feeling that as an outsider, regardless of the work I was doing to be a positive contributor, I was negatively contributing to the most serious problems of the community I cared so much for, just by being there.
I haven't been but always wanted to go, my Dad was going to have his wedding there before covid hit. But more and more I feel like I shouldn't go, which also hurts because I just really love nature and have nothing but appreciation and respect for native Hawaiians and their culture. I wish there was a way to go and do more good than the inevitable harm of going and supporting the tourist industry would do.
@@nicolasnamedCome and spend part of your vacation working on local restoration, beach cleaning (lots of ocean plastic you can pick up on your own even). Our Humane Society lets visitors take dogs out for the day---so many things you can take part in. Then you'll have been an asset to the islands, not an invasive species. All good❣️
@@nicolasnamed Honestly, if you really love nature, Hawaii is one of the worst places in the world to go to. It's called the extinction capital of the world for a reason. Most of the species you see on a daily basis will be invasive. As an avid bird watcher, it's really depressing to live here. If you want to see tropical ecosystems, there are far better places to go to, like central america, southeast asia, etc.
Thank you for highlighting Hawaii...and the injustices done to the Hawaiian people. I lived on the Big Island for 3 years, 2013-2016. My neighbor was a native Japanese-Hawaiian lady in her 80's and she used to tell me stories of the island's history, culture, and struggles. I'd bring a bottle of wine and we'd sit in her yard among the chickens and talk for hours. It is one of my best memories of Hawaii. It was expensive, food and rent was high, so eventually I moved back to my native West Virginia, to my own family farm, but I'll carry those stories with me always.
I appreciate your efforts to use your platform to educate others. You have effectively shed light on the systemic issues affecting our beloved Hawai’i. Thank you for your courage in sharing these truths with the world.
Shout out to my American history teacher mrs Hurn who actually taught us this
I lived in Maui for 25 years. It broke my heart to see what the beautiful Islands and local people have gone through over the years. Thank you for this well-done overview.
Every vacation is to someone else's home and you don't understand the history of what you're walking into most of the time. That's solid advice for all tourism.
This will never change because of two things-the U.S. Government and obscenely rich people.
You can just say "obscenely rich people". There's very little difference.
The billionaires will give Hawaii back when it starts to actually go underwater
I doubt of they would give it back even then
… and be compensated 100s of billions of dollars for their troubles!
Except for Mark Zuckerberg, he will sit down is his bunker watching everybody else perish.
They will sell it back... no way that they give anything away for free
@they will disappear if it costs them moneybaalzeebub4230
I'm actually very impressed by this piece from John Oliver. He acknowledged the importance of the tourism industry to the Hawaiian economy, and shifted the focus to systemic, mostly governmental issues, which is something I have seen almost nowhere else. I got a little nervous that this would just be another 'tourism is bad, you should stop doing it', but this was very informative and well written.
Edit: Ok guys what the fuck. Like 40 replies and 900 likes in a couple of hours. This is like the second or third comment I've made on youtube.
1. Shout out to @lcg3092, my anti capitalist brother
2. Yes I agree with all of you and with John that Hawaii's economy needs serious change(that's what I meant by systemic, governmental issues), but as it stands right now, tourism is necessary
3. Yeah LWT is really incredible. I've watched John for a while, and they're consistently great about research and fact checking, I'm just cynical by nature.
World wide "tourism is bad" is an understatement. Probably shouldn't be a main industry anywhere but the rest of the issues seem a bit bigger.
Important to the rich white Hawaiians
I am not sure. As a rule tourism rarely benefits a region, it just often looks that way. Most money that people pay on a holiday ends up with big international companies. The flight, accommodation, food and drink, souvenirs etc.. etc.. All from companies with far away bank accounts that no local ever gets to touch.
It is why so many cities in Europe and Asia are trying to get rid of most tourists. Locals have learned for all the noise and trash they get nothing back. I seriously doubt the waiters and maids in Hawaii get paid that well.....
I'm actually not impressed with the thing he does every week.
last week tonight really does a good journalistic job in every piece..
Extremely well researched, fact checked & often really nuanced..