Jace Kaholokula Saplan
University of Miami

Title:
Decolonizing LGBT: Indigenous Music Education And Hawaiʻi’s Māhū Community

Abstract:
While the recognition and advocacy of queer rights have created outlets of social change for many privileged white bodies, there remains a silenced populous of Native Hawaiian individuals who identify within the muted constructs of Indigenous sexuality. To identify as māhū is more than the western understanding as a micro-facet of the LGBT movement. This identity encapsulates cultural expectations and traditions that are tied to the preservation and propagation of traditional Hawaiian music. Through the lens of Native Hawaiian cultural practitioners, the māhū identity lies at the intersection of sexuality and cultural responsibility. As a response to this silence, many māhū are beginning to overcome oppressive colonialistic and heteronormative ideals through Indigenous music education, as it provides a safe space to celebrate the Indigenous identity and the sexualities that live within it. Through a case study of three Native Hawaiian identifying educational institutions in Hawaiʻi and a collection in-depth interviews with māhū youth, this paper will examine the need for the advocacy of the māhū identity, and the implementation of Indigenous music within the LGBT-inclusive classroom.