Noenoe K. Silva (born October 19, 1954) is a Hawaiian author and scholar. A professor of political science at the

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa The University of Hawaii at Mānoa is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Hawaiʻi system and houses the main offic ...

, her work has appeared in ''

Biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or curri ...

'', ''

American Studies American studies or American civilization is an interdisciplinarity, interdisciplinary field of scholarship that examines American literature, History of the United States, history, Society of the United States, society, and Culture of the Unit ...

'', and ''

The Contemporary Pacific ''The Contemporary Pacific: A Journal of Island Affairs'' is an academic journal covering a wide range of disciplines with the aim of providing comprehensive coverage of contemporary developments in the entire Pacific Islands region, including Mel ...

''.

Life

Silva was born on Oʻahu and is of Kanaka Maoli descent. She returned to Hawaii in 1985 after growing up in California. In 1991, she earned a bachelor's in Hawaiian language. In 1993, she completed a Master's degree in

Library and Information Studies A library is a collection of books, and possibly other materials and media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or digital (soft copies) materials, and may be a p ...

, and in 1999 earned a PhD in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

Work

While still a doctoral candidate, Silva was instrumental in rediscovering the

Kūʻē Petitions The ' (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: "opposition") Petitions of 1897 were a protest against the Hawaii#annexation, annexation of Hawaii by the United States. Also referred to as the "monster petition". It was organized by Hui Aloha ʻĀina. History ...

, which had been presented to the United States government in 1897 in an attempt to halt American

annexation Annexation, in international law, is the forcible acquisition and assertion of legal title over one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. In current international law, it is generally held t ...

of Hawaii. The petitions formed part of the basis for her book ''Aloha Betrayed: Native Hawaiian Resistance to American Colonialism'', an examination of

Hawaiian language Hawaiian (', ) is a critically endangered Polynesian language of the Austronesian language family, originating in and native to the Hawaiian Islands. It is the native language of the Hawaiian people. Hawaiian, along with English, is an offi ...

accounts of the

overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom The Hawaiian Kingdom was overthrown in a ''coup d'état'' against Queen Liliʻuokalani that took place on January 17, 1893, on the island of Oahu. The coup was led by the Committee of Safety, composed of seven foreign residents (five Americ ...

. In 2006, Silva received a Katrin H. Lamon Fellowship from the

School for Advanced Research The School for Advanced Research (SAR), until 2007 known as the School of American Research and founded in 1907 as the School for American Archaeology (SAA), is an advanced research center located in Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States. Since 1 ...

to continue her research along similar lines through building a database of Hawaiian authors. Silva also contributed to ''A Dictionary of the Hawaiian Language'', an updated reprint of the first Hawaiian-English dictionary prepared by

Lorrin Andrews Lorrin Andrews (April 29, 1795 – September 29, 1868) was an early American missionary to Hawaii and a judge. He opened the first post-secondary school for Hawaiians called Lahainaluna Seminary, prepared a Hawaiian dictionary and several works ...

in 1865, which was published by Island Heritage in 2003.

Awards

''Aloha Betrayed'' received the Kenneth W. Baldridge Prize from

Brigham Young University–Hawaii Brigham Young University–Hawaii (BYU–Hawaii) is a private college in Laie, Hawaii, United States. It is owned and operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). BYU–Hawaii was founded in 1955 and it became a sate ...

Bibliography

*''The 1897 Petitions Protesting Annexation'' (1998) (as editor) *''Aloha Betrayed: Native Hawaiian Resistance to American Colonialism'' (2004) *''The Power of the Steel-Tipped Pen: Reconstructing Native Hawaiian Intellectual History'' (2017)

References

External links