Archives of Dissent: First Friday the Unauthorized News and the Legacy of Haunani-Kay Trask

by Keith Miyake

Associate Professor Kēhaulani Vaughn recently published an article, “Archives of Dissent: First Friday the Unauthorized News and the Legacy of Haunani-Kay Trask” in a special issue of American Quarterly. In the article Vaughn traces Trask’s discussions regarding Hawaiian sovereignty and the archive of refusal of Americanness that Trask presented via public access television.

Here is the article abstract:

On March 11, 2022, ‘Ōlelo TV aired its last episode of First Friday: The Unauthorized News, which honored the life and accomplishments of Dr. Haunani-Kay Trask. Running intermittently for over thirty-five years, First Friday covered news and perspectives not discussed by local and mainstream media sources in Hawai’i. The show was initially formed in equal collaboration between John Witeck, Jo Scheder, Haunani-Kay Trask, and David Stannard and cohosted by Stannard, Trask, and later her sister Mililani Trask. First Friday included discussions of Hawaiian sovereignty that unapologetically centered Hawaiian viewpoints. The show aimed to educate and empower its viewers to get involved in local, state, and international politics, and was a significant example of independent news media. Although First Friday covered a range of topics both local and global, this essay begins to trace the legacy of Haunani-Kay Trask through her conversations on sovereignty on First Friday and her refusal of Americanness.

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