Department of Data

Are Native Hawaiians finally getting ahead professionally?

This week, we ponder the professional benefits of leaving your island paradise for, say, Springdale, Ark.

10 min
Slow and steady wins the race: An endangered Hawaiian hawksbill sea turtle rests on the beach of Pohue Bay in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. (National Park Service via AP) (National Park Service/AP)
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The quiet rainforest village of Volcano, Hawaii, presumably takes its name from Mauna Loa, which looms over the once artsy Big Island enclave as if it were the largest active volcano on Earth. Perhaps because it is.

You might know Volcano because of its proximity to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, but to us, it will always be the home of Susan Lehua Fernandez, a DoD reader who sent in a long and lyrical question we’ll boil down to a single query.

“We (Native Hawaiians) continue to suffer from old stereotypes and assumptions, especially around being incapable, lazy, and suited for only particular kinds of work. But what does the data tell us? Have we made inroads into the professional ranks?”

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