This is the third part of This is Our Hawaiʻi, a new podcast from Hawaiʻi Public Radio.
Conversations about Lānaʻi have largely revolved around the island's owner. Last week, HPR examined the way Lānaʻi first came under the private ownership of one man.
Since its initial conveyance in the early 20th century, a handful of people have called Lanaʻi their own, including “Pineapple King” James Dole and billionaire businessman David Murdock.
The current owner of the island is Larry Ellison, the billionaire who co-founded the software giant Oracle Corp.
But this narrative of Lānaʻi isn't from the owners' perspectives. It's instead about the people who actually live there. What does daily life on the island look like? And how do you find belonging in a place where the fourth richest man in the world owns the roof over your head?
To find out more, HPR ferried over to Lānaʻi. The dynamics between landlords and tenants can make some people hesitant to share their experience, but a few were open to talking: Robin Kaye, who has lived on the island since the 1970s; ʻĀnela Evans, a Native Hawaiian cultural practitioner raised on Lānaʻi; and Gabe Johnson, the Maui County councilmember who represents Lānaʻi.
Read what they had to say as they each offered a unique perspective of life on the island.
What is the relationship between residents and Lānaʻi landowners, past and present?
GJ: When Ellison bought it [the island], the first thing he did was renovate the movie theater and open up the pool again. And that brought a lot of social capital. They started calling him Uncle Larry. … Like anybody, he could do more. I mean, I could do more. We all could do more, right? When you're the fifth richest man in the world, I would hope that you would do more for the community.
AE: This idea of a savior complex still lingers on from the time of Western contact. I definitely could see it in Mr. Murdock, and I see it in some ways in Mr. Ellison as well.
How is the communication between residents and Ellison?
RK: I know some people who are really upset, despite all the goodness that Ellison has done and for this community. He's never spoken to the community, never had a public meeting or a forum where people could talk story with him. It's just not his style, I suppose.
GJ: On this island, it's very hard to feel like your voice is being heard. And that doesn't mean it's an Ellison thing. It's just the way [of] the system. The systemic problem that we have of just having this under one purchasable island.
In what ways have Lānaʻi's demographics changed?
AE: The majority of the population when I was growing up was primarily Filipino because there were families of workers who came to Lānaʻi during the plantation era. When I went home in 2015, I started to see an influx of Caucasians and affluent residents who moved to Lānaʻi from the continental United States.
RK: We have seen too many examples of luxury homeowners and wealthy people come in here who like the place, but either they want to change it to what they think it should be, even though they came here because they liked the way it was, or [they] are so dumb about cultural connections that they just don't get it. And if your skin is brown, you exist in a different role to them, and that can be a challenge.
What are the challenges of building a future on Lānaʻi?
AE: There's not a lot of opportunity on Lānaʻi for growth and for making a path for yourself. [Young people's] perception of success is moving away from Lānaʻi and building a career path elsewhere. Not a lot of my classmates that I went to elementary and middle school are still on the island.
GJ: The number one group of people that are housing insecure is our kupuna. They make the least amount of money and they don't work for the company to qualify for company housing.
What does it take to call Lānaʻi home?
GJ: I've always felt like people on Lanaʻi, just like any other community, want to have a say. They just want to have a say. I want to have a say on how my community's grown. Right? I want to have a say on an intersection, or a road, or infrastructure, or the hotel, or jobs. We're a town that believes that we should get a piece of the pie too. You know? And I want people to understand that the system is what it is, but we definitely will fight for our rights too.
RK: In my opinion, to live in a place like this, you need to become what makes it special, not have it changed to your way. … You belong to that place and you care for it.
Note: For this story, HPR reached out to Pūlama Lānaʻi, Ellison’s company that operates and manages the island. They declined to comment.
Robin Kaye is a former HPR Community Advisory Board member.
This Is Our Hawaiʻi is produced by Hawaiʻi Public Radio, a member of the NPR Podcast Network, with support from PRX and is made possible in part by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
This podcast is hosted by Russell Subiono and produced by Savannah Harriman-Pote, with assistance from HPR staff: Ananddev Banerjee, Taylor Nāhulukeaokalani Cozloff, Bill Dorman, Sylvia Flores, Casey Harlow, Sophia McCullough, Liberty Peralta, Krista Rados, Emily Tom and Jason Ubay.
Mahalo to PRX's Mike Russo for his continued support. Logo design by Kristin Lipman.
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