Local Story [Hardcover]

The Massie-Kahahawai case of 1931-1932 shook the Territory of Hawai'i to its very core. Mishandling of evidence and contradictory testimony led to a mistrial, but before a second trial could be convened, one of the accused, Horace Ida, was kidnapped and beaten by a group of Navy men and a second, Joseph Kahahawai, lay dead from a gunshot wound. Local Story is a close examination of how Native Hawaiians, Asian immigrants, and others responded to challenges posed by the military and federal government during the case's investigation and aftermath. In addition to providing a concise account of events as they unfolded, the book shows how this historical narrative affirms a local identity among descendants of working-class Native Hawaiians, Asians, and others-in fact, this understanding of the term local in the islands dates from the Massie-Kahahawai case.