Makana Eyre: Who Should Be Writing The History Of Hawaiʻi And Why Aren't They?

We need a new general history of Hawaiʻi that retells our history and bridges pioneering Hawaiian scholarship to a broad audience.

Editor’s note: Makana Eyre joins us as a regular columnist, writing from the perspective of someone who, like so many others, was born and raised in Hawaiʻi but left the islands for opportunities elsewhere. Still, Makana has retained a deep connection to his homeland and plans to bring readers a mix of history and culture along with stories about the diaspora and how Hawaiians on the mainland and abroad are faring.

Earlier this year, while on a call with a prominent journalist on the East Coast, I was surprised to learn that during a holiday to Oʻahu, he’d picked up a copy of James Michener’s “Hawaii” to get a sense of the place. Who still reads this novel,