Essay: “Wars of Memory at Pu‘uloa / Pearl Harbor”

in Radical History Review: Unpacking Tourism

Radical History Unpacking Tourism issue
Author
Vernadette Vicuña Gonzalez
Editors
Daniel Bender, Steven Fabian, Jason Ruiz, Daniel J. Walkowitz
Journal Issue
Volume 17, Number 3
Publisher
Duke University Press
October 2017
Pages
204
Subjects
History, Activism, Politics
Order from

This essay reflects on the work that Detours, a decolonial educational tours project, carries out in the militarized zone of Pu‘uloa / Pearl Harbor on the island of O‘ahu. The essay contrasts the itinerary and narratives that Detours offers with the experience that most tourists are invited to have at the USS Arizona Memorial / Pearl Harbor complex. Foregrounding instead Native Hawaiian history and claims to the space, the experience and purpose of Detours collides with the unabashed patriotism that structures the memorial’s investment in World War II commemoration.