Native Hawaiians (Hawaiian: "kānaka ʻōiwi", "kānaka maoli", and "Hawaiʻi maoli") are the indigenous Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands or their descendants. Native Hawaiians trace their ancestry back to the original Polynesian settlers of Hawaii. 

According to the U.S. Census Bureau report for 2000, there are 401,000 people who identified themselves as being "Native Hawaiian" alone or in combination with one or more other races or Pacific Islander groups. 141,000 people identified themselves as being "Native Hawaiian" alone. 

The majority of Native Hawaiians reside in the state of Hawaii (two-thirds), and the rest are scattered among other states, especially in the American Southwest, and with a high concentration in California. 

The history of Native Hawaiians, like the history of Hawaii, is commonly classified into four major periods: 

One hypothesis is that the first Polynesians arrived in Hawaii in the 4th century from the Marquesas, and were followed by Tahitians in AD 1300, who then conquered the original inhabitants. Another is that a single, extended period of settlement populated the islands. Evidence for a Tahitian conquest of the islands include the legends of Hawaiiloa and the navigator-priest Paao, who is said to have made a voyage between Hawaii and the island of "Kahiki" (Tahiti) and introduced many customs. Early historians, such as Fornander and Beckwith, subscribed to this Tahitian invasion theory, but later historians, such as Kirch, do not mention it. King Kalakaua claimed that Paao was from Samoa.
who were the first to arrive?
the first Polynesians arrived in Hawaii in the 4th century from the Marquesas, and were followed by Tahitians in AD 1300