Hawaiian sovereignty movement

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Native Hawaiians gather at ʻIolani Palace on August 12, 1998 to remember the centennial anniversary of the American annexation of Hawaiʻi. The royal guard raise Ka Hae Hawaiʻi, the flag of Hawaiʻi.
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Native Hawaiians gather at ʻIolani Palace on August 12, 1998 to remember the centennial anniversary of the American annexation of Hawaiʻi. The royal guard raise Ka Hae Hawaiʻi, the flag of Hawaiʻi.

The Hawaiian sovereignty movement is comprised of a loose coalition of groups that seek self-determination and self-governance for Native Hawaiians (or more broadly Hawaiian nationals regardless of ethnicity), and redress from the United States for its alleged role in the 1893 intervention and overthrow of Queen Lili'uokalani, and what is seen as a prolonged military occupation beginning in 1898. While these groups share this common concern, their views on how these ends should be achieved vary greatly.

The Hawaiian Sovereignty Movement largely overlaps with the Aloha ʻAina (literally: "love of the land") movement in Hawaiʻi, which advocates for demilitarization, ecological concerns, indigenous recognition, and cultural site protection, amongst other things.[citation needed] This recent activism was started during the "Hawaiian Rennaissance" of the 1970s after a long dormant period following the 1900 Organic Act and the transformation of the political organizations Aloha ʻAina and Hui Kalaiʻaina into the Home Rule Party. Modern day participants associated with the Aloha ʻAina movement generally advocate the anti-annexation sentiment held prior to 1900 by most native Hawaiian political organizations.

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[edit] What form of sovereignty?

Although there are many efforts ongoing to achieve some form of sovereignty, the process of defining and achieving it is difficult. Proposed solutions range from "nation-within-a-nation" (similar to the status of Native American tribes) to complete independence from the United States. Among those who advocate for complete independence, proposals range from a reinstatement of the multi-racial monarchy based on ancestral ties pre-1893 regardless of ethnicity, to constitutional democracies with tiered citizenship based on native ancestry, to governments exclusively controlled by those with some ancestry pre-1778. All major groups propose giving at least limited voting power to non-natives. The Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) already exists as a state-sponsored commission but is regarded as ineffective; one highly controversial "nation-within-a-nation" proposal has been repeatedly brought to the U.S. Senate (see Akaka Bill) by U.S. Senator Daniel Akaka.

It should be noted that most, but not all, formal sovereignty proposals focus on short-range, interim governmental structures, with the thought that long-term systems must be developed as economic and political reliance on the United States and U.N.-related intervention is gradually overcome. As most groups are focused on some kind of international legal solution, many (but not all) proposed structures are based on the kingdom that existed in 1893, the logical basis being that the undoing of the illegalities of the 1893 invasion might legally necessitate a return to the government that existed at that time. Many groups do include some long-range ideas in their proposals, but it can be said that the immediate focus of the sovereignty movement is generally upon the immediate problem of overcoming American occupation and/or colonization of the islands.

[edit] Groups and organizations

[edit] ALOHA

ALOHA or Aboriginal Lands of Hawaiian Ancestry may have been organized in 1969 or 1972. According to Rich Budnick's book Hawaii's Forgotten History, the group was established by Louisa Rice in 1969. Charlie Maxwell claims that it was first organized in the summer of 1972. [1]

On July 27, 1973, the then President of ALOHA, Charlie Maxwell, sought reparations from the U.S. government for the government and crown lands claimed by the Republic of Hawaii in 1894, transferred to the U.S. government in 1900, and then transferred back to the State of Hawaii in 1959. He specifically demanded the return of Kahoʻolawe, saying, "Our kupuna [elders] saw it first." He informed the Maui County Council in late 1973 that his organization's "primary objective [was] to seek land or money reparations from the United States Congress".

It is not clear if ALOHA is still active.

[edit] Office of Hawaiian Affairs

Of the groups in the current Hawaiian sovereignty movement, the best funded is the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA). OHA was created in 1978 by the State of Hawaii Constitutional Convention. OHA's stated purpose was to represent the interests of Native Hawaiians in the administration of the Hawaiian Homelands and the Ceded Lands — land formerly belonging to the Hawaiian government and crown that were ceded to the United States as public lands when the islands were annexed in 1898. When the Territory of Hawaii became a state in 1959, these lands were passed to the new state. The act transferring them ordered that they be administered for five public purposes:

  1. The support of public education
  2. The betterment of the conditions of native Hawaiians as defined in the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1920
  3. The development of farm and home ownership
  4. The making of public improvements
  5. The provision of lands for public use

It was felt that the second purpose had been largely ignored; OHA's mission was to correct this. Originally, OHA trustees were to be elected only by Native Hawaiians. However, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Rice v. Cayetano that this restriction was unconstitutionally race-based. As a result, OHA trustees are now elected by all registered voters in the state.

Few Native Hawaiians now believe that OHA has represented them successfully. Many think that the OHA trustees have been too pliant, too willing to please the state government. Trustees have also been prone to factional strife. Disappointed, many Native Hawaiians have put their energies toward other organizations.[citation needed]

[edit] Ka Lahui

Ka Lahui Hawaiʻi was formed in 1987 as a grassroots initiative for Hawaiian sovereignty. The Trask sisters, attorney and U.N. Representative Mililani Trask and University of Hawaiʻi professor Haunani-Kay Trask, were prominent in the effort. Native Hawaiians, as well as non-Native Hawaiians, may sign up as citizens of Ka Lahui. One of the group's goals is to bargain with the United States government for recognition, land, and restitution, while lobbying at the United Nations for decolonization relief. Their model shares some similarity to certain Indian reservations of the U.S. continent, which have increasingly become self-governing. Many thousands of Native Hawaiians, along with many non-natives, have signed up as members. Ka Lahui has attracted many critics, particularly in the anti-Hawaiian sovereignty movement; many of these critics question the degree to which Ka Lahui citizens actually participated in the affairs of the group after signing their name.

Ka Lahui opposes the "Akaka Bill" proposed by Senator Daniel Akaka that recognizes Native Hawaiians as a first nation on par with Native Americans and Alaskan tribes, as the group (along with most other sovereignty organizations) sees it as a poor compromise, and believes that the ramifications in terms of international law outweigh the bill's benefits.

[edit] Nation of Hawai'i

The Nation of Hawaiʻi made the news in 1993 when its members occupied Kaupo Beach, near Makapuʻu, Oʻahu (they had occupied the area surrounding the Makapuʻu lighthouse in 1989). Dennis Pu‘uhonua "Bumpy" Kanahele was a primary leader of the occupation, as well as the leader of the group overall. A descendant of the Kamehamehas, Bumpy was given the title "Head of State" of the Nation of Hawaiʻi in order to gain international recognition for Hawaiian sovereignty. The group ceased their occupation in exchange for the return of ceded lands in the adjacent community of Waimānalo, where they established a village, cultural center, and puʻuhonua (place of refuge). The group nearly lost its land several times, due to anti-sovereignty sentiment and questions regarding rent and liability insurance, but as of 2006, it is still there, home to at least 40 people.

Kanahele made headlines again in 1995 when his group gave sanctuary to Nathan Brown, a Native Hawaiian activist who had refused to pay federal taxes in protest of the illegitimacy of the U.S. presence in Hawaiʻi. Kanahele was arrested, convicted, and sentenced to eight months in federal prison, along with a probation period in which he was barred from the puʻuhonua and from participation in his sovereignty efforts.

Following his release from prison, Kanahele became involved in more specific aspects of nationhood, such as the development of independent banking systems, and the cultivation of relationships with other nations. He holds the seat on the International Indian Treaty Council (IITC) formerly held by sovereignty pioneer Kawaipuna Prejean, and has worked closely with Hawaiʻi's current governor, Linda Lingle.

[edit] Ka Pakaukau: Kekuni Blaisdell

Dr. Richard Kekuni Akana Blaisdell is a medical doctor and professor of medicine who strongly advocates for the total independence for Hawaiʻi. The position of Dr. Blaisdell's group, Ka Pakaukau, is that Hawaiʻi does not need to secede from the U.S., for the U.S. has the moral obligation to "return what it has stolen" and to remove its "occupying forces" (i.e. the U.S. military) from Hawaiian lands. Blaisdell advocates putting continual non-violent pressure on the U.S. military to vacate Hawaiʻi. He also feels that the military has an unmet obligation to clean up the pollution it has left in areas such as Pearl Harbor and Kaho'olawe. Blaisdell has travelled numerous times to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland to advocate for international recognition of Hawaiʻi as a rightful independent nation under illegal colonial occupation, and to lobby for international assistance with the process of decolonization.

In 1993, Blaisdell convened Ka Hoʻokolokolonui Kanaka Maoli, the "People's International Tribunal", which brought indigenous leaders from around the world to Hawaiʻi to put the U.S. Government on trial for the theft of Hawaiʻi's sovereignty, and other related violations of international law. The tribunal found the U.S. guilty, and published its findings in a lengthy document filed with the U.N. Committees on Human Rights and Indigenous Affairs.

[edit] Poka Laenui (Hayden Burgess)

Hayden Burgess now goes by the Hawaiian name Poka Laenui and heads the Institute for the Advancement of Hawaiian Affairs. A lawyer, Laenui argues that because the "U.S. armed invasion and overthrow" [2] of the Hawaiian monarchy was illegal, the current government of the state is illegal, and that residents owe it no fealty or taxes. He advocates a process of decolonization, resulting in a totally independent government that would include all non-Hawaiians living in Hawaiʻi. He uses other island nations who are achieving decolonization throughout the Pacific as his primary model.

Laenui has regularly analyzed Hawaiʻi's historical, political, and economic situation on his talk shows, which air on radio and on community-access cable channel ʻŌlelo TV.

[edit] Hawaiian Kingdom: David Keanu Sai

Another leader who seeks to expose what is seen as the prolonged occupation of Hawaii by the United States is David Keanu Sai. Trained as a U.S. military officer, Sai uses the title of Chairman of the Acting Council of Regency of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Sai has done extensive historical research, especially on the treaties between Hawaiʻi and other nations, and military occupation and the laws of war. Sai is currently a doctoral candidate in political science at the University of Hawaiʻi, where he founded the Hawaiian Society of Law and Politics, which publishes the Hawaiian Journal of Law and Politics.

Sai co-founded a Hawaiian title company, Perfect Title, which stated that all land transactions since the overthrow of the monarchy were invalid if superseded by legitimate pre-existing claims; some clients refused to make mortgage payments and lost their property. In 1997, the offices of Perfect Title were raided, and the company was barred from filing any documents with the state Bureau of Conveyances for 5 years, effectively shutting the company down. A jury on December 1, 1999 unanimously found Mr. Sai guilty of attempted theft of title to a house (value approximately $300,000) for his role as an accessory to a man and woman who used his Perfect Title services to attempt to invalidate a foreclosure on their house. For his felony conviction, David Keanu Sai was sentenced to 5 years probation and a $200 fine on March 7, 2000. His appeal was denied by the Hawaii Supreme Court on July 20, 2004.

Sai claimed to represent the Hawaiian Kingdom in a case brought before the World Court's Permanent Court of Arbitration at the Hague, in the Netherlands (Larsen v. Hawaiian Kingdom;  Honolulu Weekly item) in December of 2000. Although the arbitration was agreed to by Lance Paul Larsen and David Keanu Sai, with Larsen suing Sai for not protecting his rights as a Hawaiian Kingdom subject, his actual goal was to have U.S. rule in Hawaii declared in breach of mutual treaty obligations and international law. The arbiters of the case affirmed that there was no dispute they could decide upon, because the United States was not a party to the arbitration. As stated in the award from the arbitration panel, in the absence of the United States of America, the Tribunal can neither decide that Hawaii is not part of the USA, nor proceed on the assumption that it is not. To take either course would be to disregard a principle which goes to heart of the arbitral function in international law..

[edit] Responses to the sovereignty movement

[edit] Apologies

Due to efforts by the various Hawaiian sovereignty movements and other Native-Hawaiian activist groups, the United States government and the state government of Hawaii have issued official apologies in recent years.

Some with a different perspective of the historical record (see "Opposition" below) sharply disagree with these apologies, questioning the accuracy and validity of the case made for them.

The U.S. government apologizes:

President Bill Clinton signed United States Public Law 103-150, apologizing on behalf of the American people for its role in the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy.
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President Bill Clinton signed United States Public Law 103-150, apologizing on behalf of the American people for its role in the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy.
  • On November 15, 1993 President of the United States Bill Clinton signed an Apology Resolution, admitting that the U.S. was at fault in supplying military assistance to the "conspirators" who overthrew the government of Queen Liliʻuokalani.

Hawaiian governors apologize:

  • "The recovery of Hawaiian self-determination is not only an issue for Hawaiʻi, but for America. Let all of us, Hawaiian and non-Hawaiian, work toward a common goal. Let us resolve to advance a plan for Hawaiian sovereignty." —Governor Benjamin J. Cayetano, 1998
  • "This is a historical issue, based on a relationship between an independent government and the United States of America, and what has happened since and the steps that we need to take to make things right." —Governor Linda Lingle, 2003

[edit] Backlash

There has also been something of a backlash against the concept of ancestry-based sovereignty, which critics maintain is tantamount to racial exclusion. In 1996, in Rice v. Cayetano, one Big Island rancher sued to win the right to vote in OHA elections, asserting that any Hawaiian citizen should be able to vote for a state office, and that limiting the vote to Native Hawaiians was racism. In 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in his favor and OHA elections are now open to all registered voters. Many Native Hawaiian groups now fear that other preferences based on Native Hawaiian ancestry may be in danger.

Although the Apology Resolution passed 65–34 in the U.S. Senate and by a two-thirds voice vote in the House, and without much public fanfare outside Hawaii, the Akaka Bill has generated a higher profile for the issues involved. An increasingly organized opposition now challenges the accuracy of historical claims and constitutionality of legislation they view as racially exclusive.

[edit] History of resistance to U.S. rule

The current Hawaiian sovereignty movement is not the first upwelling of Hawaiian resistance to U.S. rule or American domination. See also Wilcox rebellions and Home Rule Party of Hawaii.

Liliʻuokalani's own response to her overthrow changed over the years. Although at first she worked to effect a counter-revolution, eventually she reconciled herself to the course Hawaii had taken. Opponents of the Hawaiian sovereignty movements see this as ex post facto justification for the overthrow, whereas sovereignty advocates dismiss this as a purely personal position taken by the ex-Queen that does not bear on their legal assertions.

The best thing for [Native Hawaiians] that could have happened was to belong to the United States. - written in the 1903 autobiography of Senator George Hoar (R. Mass.), attributed to Liliʻuokalani.
Tho' for a moment it cost me a pang of pain for my people it was only momentary, for the present has a hope for the future of my people. - former Queen Liliʻuokalani in her diary, Sunday, September 2, 1900; from a photostatic copy in the Hawaii State Archives (See DeSoto Brown's article in the Honolulu Weekly, June 4-10, 2003, Page 4)

Although there was some controversy as to the accuracy of the second quote, research done by DeSoto Brown of the Bishop Museum, who was originally doubtful, was able to prove its authenticity. A further discussion of the two articles written by DeSoto Brown have been discussed on the Honolulu Advertiser discussion boards.

[edit] Hawaiian sovereignty activists and advocates

[edit] Opponents of Hawaiian sovereignty

[edit] See also

[edit] Further reading

  • Andrade Jr., Ernest (1996). Unconquerable Rebel: Robert W. Wilcox and Hawaiian Politics, 1880-1903. University Press of Colorado. ISBN 0-87081-417-6
  • Budnick, Rich (1992). Stolen Kingdom: An American Conspiracy. Honolulu: Aloha Press. ISBN 0-944081-02-9
  • Churchill, Ward. Venne, Sharon H. (2004). Islands in Captivity: The International Tribunal on the Rights of Indigenous Hawaiians. Hawaiian language editor Lilikala Kame‘eleihiwa. Boston: South End Press. ISBN 0-89608-738-7
  • Coffman, Tom (2003). Nation Within: The Story of America's Annexation of the Nation of Hawaii. Epicenter. ISBN 1-892122-00-6
  • Coffman, Tom (2003). The Island Edge of America: A Political History of Hawai‘i. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0-8248-2625-6 / ISBN 0-8248-2662-0
  • Dudley, Michael K., and Agard, Keoni Kealoha (1993 reprint). A Call for Hawaiian Sovereignty. Nā Kāne O Ka Malo Press. ISBN 1-878751-09-3
  • Kame‘eleihiwa, Lilikala (1992). Native Land and Foreign Desires. Bishop Museum Press. ISBN 0-930897-59-5
  • Osorio, Jonathan Kay Kamakawiwo‘ole (2002). Dismembering Lahui: A History of the Hawaiian Nation to 1887. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0-8248-2549-7
  • Silva, Noenoe K. (2004). Aloha Betrayed: Native Hawaiian Resistance to American Colonialism. Duke University Press. ISBN 0-8223-3349-X

[edit] External links

[edit] Politics

[edit] Media

[edit] Opposition

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