After exploring the significance of Identity Diversification, you might be curious about how to substantiate your ethnicity and heritage. This documentation can be pivotal in navigating the evolving socioeconomic landscape, potentially enhancing your chances of educational opportunities, job placements, and promotions.
Much like diversifying your investments to withstand economic fluctuations, diversifying your identity can help you adapt to societal changes. Moreover, it serves as a meaningful way to reconnect with and preserve your roots, which can easily fade over time.
In the coming 13 years, my children and I aim to deepen our understanding of Hawaiian language and culture. By 2029, we may even relocate to Honolulu for their middle and high school years.
Here’s a detailed account of how I documented my Hawaiian ethnicity and heritage, ensuring my children have proof as well. While the process wasn’t costly, it was surprisingly time-consuming and bureaucratic.
How To Prove Your Ethnicity: Hawaiian Edition
During my five weeks in Honolulu in the summer of 2025, I balanced various responsibilities: remodeling my parents’ in-law unit, revisiting old childhood memories, enrolling my children in summer school to learn Hawaiian culture, and proving my Hawaiian ancestry.
Here are the steps I followed:
1) Make An Appointment at the Department of Health
I began by attempting to book an appointment online with the Hawaii Department of Health. Unfortunately, the scheduling tool was malfunctioning, so I had to visit during their walk-in hours:
Oahu Location Details
- Days: Monday–Friday (excluding State holidays)
- Hours: 7:45 a.m.–2:30 p.m. (appointments required, walk-ins only as time permits)
- Address: 1250 Punchbowl Street, Room 103 (corner of Beretania and Punchbowl Streets)
- Parking: Metered, $2/hour, cash or credit accepted
- Marriage License Office: 8:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.
- Correction & Registration Office: 7:45 a.m.–2:30 p.m.
2) Order Vital Records Online
Next, I accessed the Vital Records portal to request the necessary certificates. You must specify your relationship to the individual whose record you’re requesting. Interestingly, there was no option for grandchild or great-grandchild, so I opted for nephew instead—a choice that led to complications later.
Each record (birth, death, or marriage) costs $12.50. It’s advisable to order at least two or three copies—one for school or job applications, one for personal records, and a backup. Only official certified copies are accepted.
To establish lineage, I needed my grandmother’s birth or death certificate (to show her race), my father’s birth certificate (to confirm the link), and my own birth certificate. This documentation would provide my children with a tangible connection to their heritage.
Upon arriving at the Department of Health, I discovered they had a tourist area where I could order the vital records while I waited.
3) Visit the Department of Health in Person
After a 45-minute wait and feeding the meter again ($4 + $4), I finally reached the counter, only to be informed that I couldn’t obtain my father’s and grandmother’s certificates because I couldn’t prove my relationship on the spot.
Oh no! I hadn’t anticipated that my driver’s license wouldn’t suffice. After 1.5 hours, I was not keen on going home, making another appointment, and bringing my dad back.
Fortunately, there was a workaround. The clerk suggested my 79-year-old dad could write a letter confirming our relationship, attach a copy of his ID, and email both to me and the clerk. The catch? I wasn’t sure if he was home or off to his 9:30 a.m. exercise class. He doesn’t carry the iPhone I gave him and rarely checks messages.
Luckily, he was still home, and my wife was there too. I called her to assist my dad in writing the letter, snapping a photo of his ID, and sending everything over. For good measure, I had my dad hold up the letter like a booking placard to prove authenticity.
After about 30 minutes of coordination, my wife came through. Two hours after arriving, I finally met all the clerk’s requests and could breathe again. I was finally going to get my grandmother’s and dad’s vital records. Hooray!
Another Curveball Thrown
After the clerk printed my dad’s birth certificate and stamped it, he noticed it only listed him as Chinese, despite my grandmother being listed as Chinese/Hawaiian. This meant his record required an official amendment. Nooooo!
Typically, this would take one to two weeks, but since I was flying back to San Francisco the following week, the clerk kindly agreed to expedite it once I provided my flight itinerary. So, I had to sit back down, retrieve my official itinerary, email it to the clerk, and wait for my turn again.
Nearly three hours later, I finally had the documents in hand.
Lesson: You’ll need proof of kinship (or have the person present) to obtain their vital records, all in the name of privacy protection.
While you can request to have the records mailed, given the hurdles I faced, I was skeptical they would ever arrive. By that point, I was ready to celebrate with some lychee and pirie mango from ABC Market in Chinatown, just a short drive away.
4) Contact the Department of State for My Birth Certificate
Back home, I felt accomplished in helping my father secure proof of his Chinese/Hawaiian heritage. Ironically, at 79, he didn’t seem to care. He’s lived a full life, and his ethnicity doesn’t impact him now.
However, my journey wasn’t over. Since I was born in Manila, I also needed to request my Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA) from the U.S. Department of State to show my dad’s name on my birth record. Whether I need an amendment depends on what the official copy states. The hospital record my parents kept only listed my race as “Yellow,” a fascinating glimpse into the past.
Once I secure my CRBA, my children will have documented proof—tracing from my grandmother to my father to me—that confirms their Hawaiian lineage.
Total Cost And Time To Prove Our Hawaiian Ancestry
In total, I will have spent about $150 and five hours proving our Hawaiian heritage, and I’m still not entirely finished.
Given the effort required to gather all this documentation, it’s understandable why many people simply claim a certain ethnicity without proof. Interestingly, it seems to have worked for numerous individuals, including Senator Elizabeth Warren.
Feeling Like You Belong Is Great
Obtaining official documentation that proves my Hawaiian heritage instills a profound sense of pride. It reinforces my feeling of belonging—especially when returning to Hawaii, which can sometimes be unwelcoming to outsiders. You should see some of the prickly comments from Hawaii residents regarding my potential return.
Understanding your ancestry affirms your right to be there, even if some may treat you as an outsider after years away. Even non-Native Hawaiians might react negatively if you plan to relocate.
In my case, I don’t feel out of place when I return. My grandparents were born in Hawaii, my grandmother was half Native Hawaiian, our family has owned property on Oahu, and I’ve been visiting regularly for the past 48 years.
I understand why some locals may resent outsiders returning, as newcomers can drive up housing costs, compete for limited school spots, and contribute to heavy traffic.
If we move back in 2029, my goal is to minimize our impact by living in my parents’ house or their in-law unit and driving my dad’s 28-year-old beater. That’s how we lived during our last stay, although I might consider a newer car for safety reasons by then.
Financial Benefit Of Being Hawaiian
The primary financial advantage of being Hawaiian for my family is my children’s eligibility to apply to Kamehameha Schools in Hawaii. These schools offer excellent facilities and significantly lower tuition—$8,000/year compared to $32,000 for similar independent schools on Oahu. In San Francisco, comparable schools cost between $45,000 and $65,000/year.
Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop established the endowment for Kamehameha Schools in her will, signed on October 31, 1883. The endowment, which included vast landholdings in Hawaii, was intended for the education of Native Hawaiian children after her death in 1884. The schools officially opened in 1887, and the endowment continues to fund them today, now valued at over $15 billion.
If both my children gain admission, we could potentially save over $600,000 in independent school tuition until they graduate. However, only about 8% of applicants are accepted. I also feel conflicted about applying, as Kamehameha Schools serve many students from less affluent backgrounds. Taking away spots for my kids feels unfair, especially since we are donors at a more expensive school.
Being Hawaiian And Getting Into College
It’s unclear if being Native Hawaiian positively impacts college admissions, as applicants are often grouped as “Asian Pacific Islander.” However, Hawaiian culture is distinct from Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Taiwanese cultures, so there may be some advantage for diversity purposes.
Two of my relatives applied as Native Hawaiians and attended Princeton and Brown, so it certainly doesn’t hurt.
Who knows when the next big DEI push will return. As any savvy investor knows, diversification is crucial. If you’re fortunate enough to have a multi-ethnic background, embracing every aspect of it is wise as you prepare for an uncertain future.
Excited To Return To Hawaii
Our current plan is to return to Honolulu by 2029, when my son will enter 7th grade and my daughter will enter 4th grade—two key entry points for the school we hope they will attend. The biggest uncertainty is whether they will both gain admission.
To enhance their chances, I plan to send them to summer school every year before applying, demonstrating our commitment to the school. In the meantime, we aim to immerse ourselves in Hawaiian language and culture during our summer and winter visits.
Readers, have you ever been asked to prove your ethnicity? What was your experience like—expensive, time-consuming, frustrating? Where should the line be drawn? Should there be a minimum threshold before someone can claim an ethnicity? Or does the old “one-drop rule” still apply, where even the slightest connection counts?
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The Cost To Prove Your Ethnicity And Heritage: Hawaiian Edition is a Financial Samurai original post. All rights reserved.
