Place Matters: Exploring Native Hawaiian Youths' Cultural Selves, Pride, and Generativity

Native Hawaiian youth in schools frequently navigate assimilationist educational agendas, which inevitably influences their perceptions of self and expressions of mental health. Using an ecological theoretical framework emphasizing contextually based selves, we conducted in-depth interviews with 12 Native Hawaiian high school students about how they navigate experiences with racism and stereotypes, across the school, home, and cultural contexts. Five themes emerged from our grounded theory analysis: (a) cultural pride, (b) positive and negative stereotypes, (c) experiences with racism, (d) self, connection, and land, and (e) cultural generativity. We discuss how the role of 'aina or land in understanding cultural expressions of self, pride, and the importance of generativity among Native Hawaiian youth. Implications for psychological theory, research, and practice for this group are also addressed. Public Significance Statement The study highlights the role of place in understanding Native Hawaiian students' contextual identities and experiences with racism and stereotypes in and out of school. In addition, our findings underscore the critical roles of cultural pride and cultural generativity in participants' sense of self as part of a larger collective.