This tenth day of Filipino American History Month brings a new and often uncelebrated part of Filipino American history—Sakadas. Sakadas are Filipino recruits to Hawaii.
Besides the many “moral” reasons that the United States of America (USA) wanted to have the Philippines as its colony, there were also economic reasons.
Around 1900, The Hawaiian Sugar Planters Association (HSPA) needed people for manual labor. They turned to the Philippines, where there was a large rural population. They recruited from two regions, the Visayas and Ilocos, looking for “unskilled laborers” to do ten hours of manual work a day on the plantation. In December of 1906, fifteen Filipino men arrived in Honolulu, Hawaii on the Doric. Eleven of them were single and four were married, all leaving behind their wives. The oldest was 56, and the youngest was 14. Five belonged to one family, headed by their father, Simplicio Gironella, and his four sons. The “First Fifteen” were sent to the Big Island of Hawaii, to Olaa Plantation, south of Hilo, and were assigned to live in the Japanese camp.
A total of 126,147 Filipinos came to Hawaii through the HSPA during four time periods between 1906 to 1946. The first period, 1906 to 1919, a total of 29,800 arrived, including 3,056 women and 2,338 children. From 1920 to 1929, the second wave of arrivals brought in 73,996, with 5,286 women and 3,091 children among them. The next groups came in 1930 to 1934, bringing in 14,760 – 610 women and 662 children. Finally, the last wave came after World War II in 1946, which drew in 7,361 Filipinos – 6,000 of which were men. The 1946 Sakadas amounted to the last major recruitment to Hawaii. These were more educated Filipinos and professionals, who brought their wives and children., mostly Ilocanos and Visayans-all indentured to a three-year contract. Within a span of 37 years, these Sakadas are known to have planted the “roots” of the Filipino experience in Hawaii.,
Sakadas were the first among Filipinos, outside of the Philippines, to experience economic oppression, superimposed poverty, overt racial bigotry, labor exploitation, social rejection, educational neglect, political disenfranchisement, societal denials, civil wrongs, and empty promises. Although they came as American nationals, they did not have full rights like American citizens.
In Hawaii, the first-generation Filipino men, women, and children were treated as the lowliest of the unskilled labor. Some Sakadas were beaten with sticks by “lunas,” or plantation work supervisors for not responding to their satisfaction. They were stereotyped as being oversexed, hot-blooded, and quick tempered. HSPA policies also discouraged bringing the wives and children of the men because they believed families on plantation wages would be costly. Moreover, higher education was not encouraged for plantation children.
Sakadas lived a life of segregation at work and on the plantations. They got the lowest jobs, and were held down as unskilled laborers for most of their lives in Hawaii. Maintaining a normal life was difficult with their wives and children back in the Philippines. Their main goal was to work hard, save money, and return home quickly to their families. The uneven men to women ratio created many social problems, including wife stealing and fighting over women. Gambling was also an issue with Filipinos, as they had hopes to “win big.”
Despite the hardships of the Sakadas, a tight community was formed among these Filipinos. Recreation such as music and basketball served as an outlet and bonding experience. Today, the Filipino American population is significant in number and many prominent individuals are of Filipino descent. It cannot be denied that Sakadas have contributed greatly to the Hawaiian economy and the unique history of life in Hawaii.
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