Please correct me if I'm completely erroneous in my assumption, and forgive any biases I may incorrectly be following.

It seems to me that various American Indian cultures were very stunted by the events of the past- including, of course, systematic attack with the purpose of stamping them out. (while some culturally important customs, languages, religions, etc have survived and are kept alive by existing tribes, this seems to be a struggle to maintain going forward, and these tribes seem to fear for the future of their cultural traditions)

In contrast, it seems (to me, an outsider) that Hawaiian culture has had the chance to grow and evolve naturally over time while still maintaining a strong connection to the past. There seems much less... interference? And Hawaiian culture has achieved a kind of modern/historical balance.

My specific questions (assuming that I'm not totally wrong about this whole thing) :

• What, historically, made the difference in the maintenance of culture for the Hawaiian people?

• Does the physical aspects of an island come into play (isolation, removal from expectations of mainland?), or is it mostly political in nature?

• Is what I think of as "Hawaiian culture" actually not at all historically connected, and rather a outward appearance of tradition? (I am, of course, aware that a lot of things are just for tourists- but I'm meaning more as a whole)