Polynesian pioneers: Twentieth-century religious racial formations and migration in Hawai'i

The connection between the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Hawai'i may seem entirely strange to those whose image of the Church is of a predominantly white religion that appears to be hostile towards people of color, homosexuals, alcohol, tobacco, and coffee. What many do not realize is that the roots of the Church in Hawai'i run deep and that missionary work in the islands dramatically transformed the racial boundaries of the Church. "Polynesian Pioneers: 20th Century Racial Formations and Migration in Hawai'i" examines the politics of Polynesian Mormon identity formations through the institutions of religion, tourism, and the process of migration. This dissertation explores the articulations of race in and through religious belief and religious institution. I focus on the role the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints plays in the migration of Polynesians from their island homes (such as Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga) to Hawai'i as well as the cultural preservation projects initiated by the Church in the form of the Polynesian Cultural Center, a tourist facility located on the Northeast shore of O'ahu, Hawai'i. I argue that the Church is both a colonial actor and preserver of Polynesian culture and while appearing benevolent, these cultural preservation projects must be understood in connection to a deeper history of United States imperialism as well as in the racial projects that exist within the doctrine of the Church and in American society more broadly. Attention to the intersection of religion and migration provides a vantage point from which to explore waves of Polynesian migration that precede the larger waves of migration characteristic of the post World War II era and the passing of the 1965 Immigration act that toppled racially exclusionary immigration laws in the United States. Drawing from oral history data, I am attentive to how a religiously grounded racial identity is made and remade through conversion, migration and settlement, and tourism while also paying attention to the ways in which Polynesian Latter-day Saints maneuver within Church owned institutions and towns.