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

University of Hawaii at Manoa A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

, 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 the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...

'', ''

American Studies American studies or American civilization is an interdisciplinary field of scholarship that examines American literature, history, society, and culture. It traditionally incorporates literary criticism, historiography and critical theory. Sch ...

'', 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 Library and information science(s) or studies (LIS) is an interdisciplinary field of study that deals generally with organization, access, collection, and protection/regulation of information, whether in physical (e.g. art, legal proceedings, et ...

, 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, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

Work

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

Kūʻē Petitions The ' ( Hawaiian: "opposition") Petitions of 1897 were a protest against the annexation of Hawaii by the United States. Also referred to as the "monster petition". It was organized by Hui Aloha ʻĀina. History The majority of the population of t ...

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

annexation Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...

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 Polynesian language of the Austronesian language family that takes its name from Hawaii, the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. Hawaiian, along with English, is an official language o ...

accounts of the

overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom The overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom was a ''coup d'état'' against Queen Liliʻuokalani, which took place on January 17, 1893, on the island of Oahu and led by the Committee of Safety, composed of seven foreign residents and six non-aborig ...

. 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, USA. Since 1967, the sc ...

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 judge. He opened the first post-secondary school for Hawaiians called Lahainaluna Seminary, prepared a Hawaiian dictionary and several works o ...

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 university in Laie, Hawaii. It is owned and operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). BYU-Hawaii was founded in 1955, and became a satellite campus of ...

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