Hawaiʻi facts

  • Many believe that all people in Hawaiʻi are Hawaiian, but this is incorrect. Because Native Hawaiians are an ethnic group, it is not the same as calling someone a New Yorker. Identifying as Hawaiian is strictly reserved for people with Native Hawaiian blood or places/things that are part of Hawaiian culture. When referring to a non-Hawaiian person living in Hawaiʻi, the proper term is local, kamaʻaina, or resident.

    For example: I am a Filipino local who was raised in Hawaiʻi. I have no native blood. I live in an apartment in Hawaiʻi, not a Hawaiian apartment.

MARIE ERIEL HOBRO IS A DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHER AND FILMMAKER BASED IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. SHE WAS BORN AND RAISED IN MARYLAND UNTIL THE AGE OF 10 AND SPENT THE REST OF HER PRE-TEEN AND TEENAGE YEARS IN HAWAI'I. SHE IS CURRENTLY STUDYING VISUAL JOURNALISM AT BROOKS INSTITUTE IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AND WAS A STUDENT PARTICIPANT IN THE EDDIE ADAMS XXIX WORKSHOP. 

HOBRO ENJOYS WORKING ON STORIES THAT CELEBRATE AND EMBRACE INDIVIDUALITY, BREAK SOCIAL NORMS AND DEFY ODDS. SHE IS ALSO INTERESTED IN EXPLORING THE HEALING POWER OF HUMOR AND THE EFFECT THAT IT HAS ON MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL HEALTH. WITH HER CAMERA AS HER TOOL, SHE HOPES TO GIVE A VOICE TO THE UNIQUE AND UNNOTICED PEOPLE OF THIS WORLD-- EMPOWERING THEM AND GIVING THEM THE POSITIVE RECOGNITION THAT THEY DESERVE.

 

"JOURNALISM IS FOR THE PEOPLE.

IT IS COMMUNITY-CENTRIC YET GLOBAL IN PERSPECTIVE.

IT IS TO INFORM AND ENLIGHTEN; TO EXPAND THE DIALOGUE;

TO PROBE AND PROVOKE; TO STIMULATE AND ENGAGE;

TO SHOW THE WAY OR PRESENT ANOTHER WAY;

TO OPEN THE DOORS AND TO COVER WRONG;

TO GIVE THE VOICELESS A MEGAPHONE."

-BRENDA BUTLER