HONOLULU — In a case that has captivated Hawaii, two Native Hawaiian men are set to be sentenced Thursday for the federal hate crime of beating a white man who tried to move into their remote, traditional fishing village. The case highlights the struggles between Native Hawaiians who are adamant about not having their culture erased and people who move to Hawaii without knowing or considering its history and racial dynamics.
The attack happened in 2014 when Christopher Kunzelman and his wife purchased a dilapidated, oceanfront home in Kahakuloa, a small village off a narrow road of hairpin turns and sweeping ocean views at the end of a valley on Maui. Kunzelman and his wife intended to fix up the house and live there, but tensions quickly arose between the white couple and the Native Hawaiian villagers. Kaulana Alo-Kaonohi and Levi Aki Jr. were convicted in November of punching, kicking and using a shovel to beat Kunzelman, causing him to suffer a concussion, two broken ribs, and head trauma.
The unique case brings to light the Hawaiian word “haole,” which has become part of Hawaii Pidgin, the creole language of the islands, to describe behavior or attitudes not in sync with local culture. “Acting haole” is a derogatory term used to describe outsiders or people who act with entitlement. In the video of the attack recorded by cameras on Kunzelman’s vehicle, Aki is heard saying, “You’s a haole, eh.”
Tiare Lawrence, a Native Hawaiian community advocate on Maui, said she doesn’t condone the attack but is deeply familiar with the tensions that permeate the case. “The threat of outsiders coming in … brings a lot of sadness for Hawaiians who are trying so hard to hold on to what little piece of paradise we have left,” she said.
Attorneys for Aki and Alo-Kaonohi say it wasn’t Kunzelman’s race that provoked them, but his entitled and disrespectful attitude. Kunzelman was starting to fix up the house when the attack happened, but the defense attorneys said the tipping point came when Kunzelman cut locks to village gates.
For the federal hate crime, prosecutors are asking for a sentence of about nine years for Alo-Kaonohi and six-and-a-half years for Aki. The Kunzelmans still own the Kahakuloa home but split their time between Arizona and Puerto Rico.
The case demonstrates the nuanced and complicated relationship between race and culture in Hawaii and how important it is to understand and respect the history and dynamics of the islands. As Bruce Turnbull, a white, retired teacher who has lived peacefully in the village for 50 years, puts it: “It’s a good thing to live by the people around you and not tell them to live by you and your values.”
