Sydney Lehua Iaukea

Sydney Lehua Iaukea is the great-great-granddaughter of Curtis P. Iaukea, who was a very prominent figure in Hawaiian history (Iaukea 1). Her father was a professional wrestler who performed around the world for nearly 20 years starting in the 1960s. As Sydney Iaukea puts it, she grew up, “without monetary or familial support.” (Iaukea 8). She is also unable to benefit from her great-great-grandfather’s land grants, because either the others in her family keep the land and income a secret or because the land was sold off long ago (Iaukea 10). Despite her hardships, Sydney L. Iaukea was able to receive her Ph.D. in political science, focusing on Hawaiian politics. She also wrote a book titled Kekaa: The Making and Saving of North Beach

Land given to Curtis P. Iaukea was soon condemned and taken by the government for further development (Iaukea 118). The Queen’s own home was condemned and repurposed as an, “executive mansion” for governors to live in (Iaukea 118). The government did this, despite the Queen’s express wishes that her home be used to be a place where one could go and learn about Hawaiian language and music (Iaukea 121). Indeed, much land on all of the islands of Hawaii became condemned and taken by the government for redistribution and profit making (Iaukea

Big business was making more money than ever. However, like in Hawaii, those with colored skin were treated differently, and always for the worse (Oakes 608). During the 1890s, the United States was ready to expand in to the global market, and what better way than to set up colonies (Oakes 611). In order to protect such interests, the United States needed to expand its military and number of bases, which eventually led it into conflict with Spain (Oakes 613). However, after the war, the United States chose to oppose empires in favor of an ever expanding network of trade deals (Oakes 619). With these facts in mind, it’s obvious why such dealings happened in Hawaii, and why the natives were stripped of their lands: money. The book The Queen and I by Sydney L. Iaukea is a very well written and thought out book. I recommend this book to anyone who seeks greater understanding of Hawaiian politics, history, culture, and family dynamics. Sydney Iaukea weaves together personal, historical, cultural, and political narratives in an engaging way to help the reader understand the facts of what happened. What really makes this book shine are the journal entries and official correspondences of Curtis P. Iaukea and Queen Liliuokalani, they are an invaluable tool in understanding the events, and why they unfolded the way they