they say, i say paper - Kyra Cassisi Professor Walker...

Kyra Cassisi
Professor Walker
English 110
25 October 2016
Historians Vs. Natives
There are always three sides to every story: their side, your side, and the truth. In
Hawaiian nationalist, Haunani-Kay Trask’s case, the story she deals with is the controversy
between how historians describe the history of Hawaii, and how it actually was. The problem
with most historians is that they do not do the necessary research, like learning the language of
the people, finding the meaning behind the songs, or even just simply speaking to the people of
the land and the stories they have to tell. Failing to do this too does not allow the historians to
fully and accurately capture everything about a culture. Their research then becomes biased,
and however they see things then becomes the truth. The natives of Hawaii suffer from these
faults especially, because their story is being retold by someone who had not lived through it.
Because historians have failed to indulge themselves fully in the Hawaiian culture by learning
the language and realizing the importance of song, there are two versions of Hawaii’s story that
are told: the historian’s version, and the native’s version.
It has become common today and in the past to dismiss songs and oral tradition of a
culture as valid historical evidence. Hawaiians especially have fallen victim to historian’s faults in
this sense. Haunani-Kay Trask describes the issues she has experienced with the stories
historians make out to be the truth of her native country in her story, “From a Native Daughter.”
She makes it a point to recognize that historians have failed to learn the language of the people,
and take into consideration the meaning behind their songs. She questions how they could have

Kyra Cassisi
Professor Walker
English 110
25 October 2016