Racist Slurs Against Hawaiians: Still Accepted, Still Ignored

Words That Hurt

For generations, Native Hawaiians have been targeted with racial slurs — terms like “Kanaky,” “Pineapple,” and “Coconut” dismissing Kanaka as humans.

• These are not innocent nicknames. They reduce Hawaiians to stereotypes, erase identity, and diminish dignity.

• Yet within the U.S. military and even civilian life in Hawaiʻi, such slurs are often brushed aside as “just jokes” or “overreacting.”

A Double Standard

• In the military, some slurs are formally banned for example, the “N” word is recognized as unacceptable and carries disciplinary consequences.

• But slurs directed at Hawaiians are not treated the same way.

• A service member can be punished for using certain words, but can call a Hawaiian “pineapple” or “coconut” without consequence.

Fact: Military Equal Opportunity (MEO) policies claim “zero tolerance” for harassment or discrimination but the lived reality for Hawaiians shows otherwise. Enforcement is selective.

Everyday Normalization

• In Hilo, a restaurant openly operates under the name “Pineapples.”

• To outsiders, it may sound harmless. To Hawaiians, it’s another reminder that our culture and people are still reduced to fruit labels.

• When we speak out, we’re told we’re “overreacting.”

This normalization is what makes the harm so insidious it’s not even seen as racism by those who use the words.

Why It Matters

• Language shapes belonging. If slurs against one group are banned but slurs against Hawaiians are ignored, it sends a message: Hawaiians don’t count.

• It continues the legacy of demeaning caricatures and propaganda used during the overthrow of the Kingdom, when newspapers painted Hawaiians as “heathens” and “unfit to govern.”

• It damages morale for Hawaiian service members who dedicate their lives to the country, yet are belittled by their own peers and leaders.

Why KS Matters

• Princess Pauahi understood that Native Hawaiians needed protection, empowerment, and education to survive in a society stacked against them.

• Kamehameha Schools uplifts Hawaiian identity and self-worth giving young Hawaiians the tools to recognize discrimination, call it out, and fight back with dignity.

• Until slurs against Hawaiians are treated with the same seriousness as slurs against others, Why KS Matters is clear: we need our own institutions to restore what systemic racism refuses to correct.

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✅ This page shows:

• The specific words and why they’re harmful.

• The double standard (slurs banned vs. slurs allowed).

• Real-world examples (military, restaurant in Hilo).

• A tie back to KS’s mission as a remedy.