Conference

Are You a REAL Native?

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Abstract

The Iowa State University campus is 4,000 miles from the sands of Hawaii and seems an almost unlikely destination for relocation. When joining their Indigenous cousins of the American continent, students from the Hawaiian Islands find themselves in an environment very foreign from their own. Among these differences are misunderstandings by classmates and colleagues. Students are often questioned about technology, language, and culture and find themselves in surroundings where their everyday practices break the norms of the Midwestern lifestyle. Iowa State students from the Hawaiian Islands will clarify misunderstandings, and focus especially on the current state of the political relationship between America and this unrecognized Indigenous American population.