In the current edition of JSAH is an article on the recent SAH Roundtable, “Asian American and Pacific Islander Architectural Histories: Mapping the Field and Its Futures,” (article by the same name). It is striking to me that the abstract concerns the aftermath of the Lahaina fires and the precariousness of Kanaka Maoli architecture and place-keeping practices in light of the fires and climate change.[1] Yet, within the roundtable of architectural historians and experts, where is the voice of Kanaka Maoli? Where is the presence of the Kanaka Maoli architectural historians, architects and practitioners?

It baffles me that in 2024, we are still asking these questions. The motto of the ‘Idle No More’ movement, “Nothing about us without us,” seems to have dissipated into the abyss left by the covid-19 pandemic. Yet, at this point in time there are more Kanaka Maoli scholars than before. It is disconcerting that we must still as, why were we not invited and recognized in this space. 

Furthermore, the collapsing of the Pacific Islanders into the Asian Pacific Islander (API) nomenclature continues to perpetuate the problem of recognition. As Candace Fujikane argues in Asian Settler Colonialism, the issue of conflating PI with A, truly perpetuates structures of colonialism.[2] In Hawaii, Asians, in particular Japanese, have dominated the power-dynamics of settler-colonialism, placing Kanaka Maoli and other Pacific Islanders on the margins. 

Respect, Reciprocity, Responsibility, and Relations, these terms reflect values at the core of Indigenous communities. It is the responsibility of these editors and non-indigenous scholars to uplift the voices of Pacific Islander scholars and focus on the resurgence of our peoples not the hyperbole of the academic. You are not an ally if you are not doing the work. 

[1] “Asian American and Pacific Islander Architectural Histories: Mapping the Field and Its Futures.” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 83, no. 1 (March 1, 2024): 6–28. https://doi.org/10.1525/jsah.2024.83.1.6.

[2] Fujikane, Candace, and Jonathan Y. Okamura. Asian Settler Colonialism: From Local Governance to the Habits of Everyday Life in Hawai?I. University of Hawaii Press, 2008.