U.S. Constitutional Law and Customary International Law for Territorial Annexation

Posted on April 26, 2015 by Hawaiian Kingdom

To develop an informed position on current issues in Hawaiʻi, such as the TMT (Thirty Meter Telescope) standoff on Mauna Kea, it is important to have an accurate understanding of the legal status of Hawaiʻi. jason-lisa

The purpose of this article is to address common misconceptions people have regarding territorial annexation as it relates to the Constitution of the United States and customary international law.

www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_transcript.html

In Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution, the enumerated powers of Congress are domestic. Specifically, there is no enumerated power for annexation of foreign territory.

US_Constitution

From Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution, regarding the President and Senate:

“He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur”

This power was used by the United States to enter 9 treaties of cession, annexing 56 out of 58 acquired territories, over a period of 168 years (1783-1951). This is the self-evident pattern of customary international law regarding territorial annexation, followed consistently by the United States throughout its history.

The Indian Appropriation Act of 1871 and the Island of Palmas arbitration in 1925 legally prevented this power from being used for annexation of American Sāmoa. There were two failed attempts, in 1893 and 1897, to use this power for annexation of Hawaiʻi, both of which were due to less than two thirds approval of the Senate.

The context of Article IV, Section 3, of the U.S. Constitution, is clearly domestic:

“New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or Parts of States, without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress.”

This power was used prematurely to admit Texas as a State in 1845 following two failed attempts, in 1837 and 1844, to pass a treaty of annexation for Texas in the U.S. Senate. The preliminary admission of Texas as a State in 1845 was followed by constitutional annexation of Texas as a Territory in 1848 through the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.

Therefore, since the Newlands Resolution claimed to annex Hawaiʻi as a Territory in 1898, and not admit it as a State, Texas is an invalid precedent. Furthermore, all 49 of the United States, including Texas, have a treaty of cession, while Hawaiʻi does not. This makes Hawaiʻi an unprecedented historical anomaly in violation of customary international law for territorial annexation, that in turn provides the evidence through which the U.S. constitution is interpreted.

88 out of 90 members of the U.S. Senate in 1898 opposed annexation of Hawaiʻi by joint resolution, because they held that it was unconstitutional in the context of customary international law, since Texas failed to provide a valid precedent. (youtu.be/yC4v0k0wd0Y)

The historical data for customary international law regarding territorial annexation, followed by the USA throughout its history, does not substantiate constitutional annexation of Hawaiʻi to the United States via joint resolution of U.S. Congress in 1898. This alleged annexation is an outlier in the data set—9 treaties annexing 56 territories in 168 years, plus the cession by American Sāmoa—that stands alone without precedent, both before and after the Newlands Resolution.

The provision in the U.S. Constitution for territorial annexation by a supermajority of the U.S. Senate is unequivocal when interpreted through this complete data set for customary international law. This is the appropriate context which must be included in any assessment of the claim of that Hawaiian sovereignty has been transferred to the United States.

Today, the typical American is oblivious to this complete data set regarding annexation of territory by the United States. However, this is not because access is restricted to these data, but due to generations of being indoctrinated by propaganda to the contrary. Therefore, instead of investigating the data, and interpeting it objectively, the typical American accepts the assumption that Hawaiʻi is the “50th State” as a foregone conclusion.

Hence, as will undoubtedly be demonstrated in comments on social media reacting to this article, Americans (and Americans-at-heart) will insist that Texas was annexed by joint resolution and not the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, since this underpins their belief that Hawaiʻi was annexed by joint resolution.

This unchallenged chain of assumptions, in turn, is a major factor underlying the belief that the TMT project has been legally approved for construction under American laws. However, by a score of 57 to 1, the data provided by customary international law fails to support the alternative hypothesis that the Hawaiian territory was annexed to the United States. In turn, these data invalidate the administration of U.S. laws in the Hawaiian territory.

Conversely, the data fails to reject the null hypothesis that the Hawaiian State has not been extinguished from its territory. Therefore, it cannot be concluded from customary international law that Hawaiʻi is part of the United States. Since occupation exists in the absence of annexation, and since both are mutually exclusive, the USA is in Hawaiʻi and not the other way around. In other words, Hawaiʻi is not part of the United States—nor has it ever been—without a treaty of cession.

Consequently, construction of the TMT would be classified as a war crime under international law through “extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly,” which is one of the grave breaches specified in the 1949 Geneva Conventions.

Data Set & References: goo.gl/d6Ra2B

Author Bio

Keokani Marciel is a lifelong aloha ʻāina (Hawaiian patriot) and kanaka ʻōiwi (aboriginal Hawaiian) who holds a B.S. in Nutrition Science from the University of California at Davis, and an M.S. in Exercise Science from California University of Pennsylvania. In 2008, Keokani made a career change to mathematics education, and is now beginning an actuarial career. With his background, he brings a quantitative and scientific outlook to the discourse regarding the legal status of Hawaiʻi as an occupied nation-state.

Hawai‘i Law Professor Provides Clarity of Dispute on Mauna Kea to UH Board of Regents

Posted on April 24, 2015 by Hawaiian Kingdom

131

Testimony of Williamson B.C. Chang, Professor of Law, April 16, 2015 at a meeting of the University of Hawai‘i Board of Regents, University of Hawai‘i at Hilo.

Honorable Board of Regents:

I have had the honor and pleasure to serve as a Professor of Law at the University of Hawai’i for the last 39 years. I have served the University and the community well. I am also grateful for the opportunity to serve and work in the University.

Let me start by saying this: I know a place, I know a country where there would never be a question whether to build an eighteen-story thirty meter telescope on the summit of Mauna Kea. That country, that nation is “Hawai’i.”

Before 1893, it would have been unthinkable that the Government of the Kingdom of Hawai’i would ever conceive of such a plan. Yes, Kalakaua loved astronomy. All Hawaiians loved the stars. However, they loved Mauna Kea even more. Mauna Kea is “sacred” it is the Sky-Father it is the essence, the beginning of the creation chant of the Hawaiian people. All Hawaiians, all Islands, even Taro are descendants of Mauna Kea.

Mauna_Kea_Telescopes

When I say “Mauna Kea” is sacred, I do not mean to use “sacred” the way most people use that term. I mean “sacred” not in the same sense of worship. I use “sacred” in the sense of “precious” and “so important that nothing else counts”—I apply it to those things and people that we care so much about that we would do anything, even flout and break the law, to preserve their existence.

The child of a parent, especially a young child is “sacred” in this sense. So are parents to their children. So are grandparents. Even the family pet is “sacred.” If your house was burning down would you risk your life to go into the burning house to rescue your children, your mother, your grandparents, even your beloved dog or cat? Would you go even if forbidden by first responders, firemen or policemen? Yes, many of us would go without hesitation–without thinking of the consequences. Would you give a kidney to save or extend the life of your child, your brother, your uncle? Would you spend all of your money to save a loved one from cancer? from Lou Gehrig’s disease or from a life in prison without parole? Yes, we all would.

Moreover, we praise such emotions and desires of others who make such sacrifices every day. We understand the soldier who sacrifices himself by instinctively jumping on a grenade. We understand the parent or grandparent who gives all their money to see their child or grandchild through college.

Whether one worships Mauna Kea or not, whether one considers it “sacred” does not matter as much as understanding the instincts that drive those to defend and save Mauna Kea—much as one would understand the absolute love for a child, or a parent even if such acts break the law.

When we see the instinct of family, of brotherhood, of sisterhood of love for mankind in others we celebrate that—we gravitate to that. We love and defend Mauna Kea because it reminds us what makes us human. Sacred is not necessarily a place. It is a relationship, a deep visceral relationship: beyond reason, beyond law, beyond rationality.

The Mauna Kea movement is a movement that has grown because of young people. They live in new confusing world themselves—a world of cognitive dissonance. That is they live within an outright contraction—a Hawaii in decline where there is nothing they can do. They see their world being attacked and destroyed, its water taken, its plants doused with foreign chemicals, its agricultural lands disappear in the name of gentlemen farmers, its open lands used for artillery practice, and its shoreline becoming high-end condominiums that only rich foreigners can afford.

Mauna Kea Protectors 1

Moreover, to the young, Hawaii is unlivable, there is no viable future: There are no places to rent, no jobs that fit their training, no money for retirement and the endless, life-sapping traffic congestion. And now an eighteen story telescope on Mauna Kea!

TMT telescope

It would never be built on other sacred sites: not over the Western Wall, the Dome of the Rock, Angor Wat, Gettysburg, Arlington, or the Arizona Memorial? No one would think of putting a pair of glasses on the eyes of God. Why then, Mauna Kea? We, and our youth are inundated today with the attacks on the treasures of the earth and why?

So, what happened to this “nation” called Hawai‘i, where Mauna Kea was loved and adored? Hawai‘i was a nation, that by a series of events, starting with an overthrow in 1893 and ending with annexation in 1900, by which another nation, the United States, forcefully took the sovereignty of Hawai‘i.

What do I mean by that?—to take one nation’s sovereignty? Sovereignty is the monopoly of a government on the legitimate use of violence.

By that I mean the State, the police and DLNR are the only ones today who can do so-called “legal” violence to Mauna Kea. Similarly, the police of Hawai‘i County and the officers DLNR are the only ones who can use the violence of arrest and jail or fine to force down the protectors of Mauna Kea. Protect the mountain and you go to jail. It is legal. It is called law. It is a power possessed only by the sovereign of a nation. There once was a time in Hawaii when that monopoly on the use of legal power protected not defiled Mauna Kea.

In 1893 and 1900 a new Nation took over in Hawai‘i—a new nation with new rules. These were new rules that had the power to interfere with our very human, emotions and instincts, instincts derived over time from our kupuna, our ancestors and the culture of this nation of Hawai‘i. Hawai‘i has changed.

Today, government has the legitimate power to do violence to families as well. Government agencies can take a child away from a parent. Government agencies can put a Hawaiian in prison for the smallest of offenses—denying him or her freedom and the chance to be with and raise their families. The world of Hawai‘i has been turned upside down.

The answer lies in power, that is law—the shift over their lives by which all is reversed.

In 1898 the United States, by Joint Resolution took the nation of Hawai‘i. I am a legal historian. In the appendix attached I show my work—that concludes definitively that the joint resolution had no such power. It was impotent, it was an act of Congress not a treaty. It could no more take Hawai‘i by a law then Hawai‘i by a law could take America.

It was a fraud—it created a disease that spread, a malaise we all suffer—called the myth of annexation. We all believe we are part of America, we all act as if that were true. We have been taught that way. We follow the lead of others who act that way.

The truth is that the joint resolution did not give to the United States the monopoly on the use of legitimate violence—a violence to build on Mauna Kea, the violence to arrest those who seek to stop that building. Most of all the University claims Mauna Kea by lease—a lease derived from the Joint Resolution.

It is said that the Joint Resolution gave Mauna Kea to the United States, which gave it to the State, which gave it to the University. As a matter of law that is false. It is a lie. The University has no power over Mauna Kea. It cannot build, it cannot give permits, it cannot arrest us.

The mass of young people are here today in protest because we live in a world of cognitive dissonance. They live in a world where they are learning, at the University about the truth of the Joint Resolution, which gives no power, no sovereignty to the state. Outside of their classes they see the State taking what they love—preventing them from running into the burning house to save their Mauna Kea, their father, their sky-father.

And this dissonance makes them ill. It makes our youth sick. It is a crisis that creates mental illness. In short, to build on Mauna Kea is to cast a sickness throughout these islands, a sickness and sadness, not only on Native Hawaiians but on all people who live here.

I have included an appendix, taken from my work, which speaks to the myth of annexation and demonstrates that the Joint Resolution had no capacity to take the Nation of Hawai‘i. I will place this testimony and my appendix on my “Scholar Space” at Hamilton Library, the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa, under my name. This is the link to that site.

Mahalo and Mahalo Ke Akua.
Williamson Chang
Professor of Law

View NOHO HEWA on Vimeo…the truth about Hawai‘i

Posted on April 16, 2015 by Hawaiian Kingdom

Vimeo final flyer

KHON 2 News – State of Hawai‘i to Receive Millions in Lease Rent of 30-Meter Telescope

Posted on April 14, 2015 by Hawaiian Kingdom

Hawai‘i Law Professor Says Justice Scalia Lacks Constitutional Knowledge

Posted on March 17, 2015 by Hawaiian Kingdom

A joint resolution of Congress doesn’t empower the United States to acquire another country. Only a treaty can do that.

Professor Williamson Chang of the University of Hawai’i Williams S. Richardson School of Law as a contributor previously published this article in Civil Beat. Professor Chang has allowed this piece to be posted on this blog. Williamson Chang is a professor of Law and member of the faculty senate at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa. Professor Chang has been teaching at the University of Hawai‘i School of Law for 37 years. He specializes in water rights, Native Hawaiian rights, the legal history of Hawai‘i and conflict of laws.

In Civil Beat recently, Justice Antonin Scalia, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, made two critical points on the annexation of Hawaii: First, he stated that a joint resolution of the United States could acquire the territory of Hawai‘i — a foreign, sovereign and independent nation state. Second, he stated that the Constitution permitted the use of a joint resolution instead of a treaty.

He was wrong on both points.

First, a joint resolution is merely a law, an act of Congress. It has no power to acquire the territory of a foreign, sovereign state. If such a thing were possible, Hawai‘i itself could have, by an act of its Legislature, acquired the United States. Second, the only mode by which the United States could acquire Hawai‘i, an independent and sovereign nation like the United States, would be by treaty.

Second, the acquisition of Hawai‘i by a joint resolution of Congress would undermine the Constitution. The use of a joint resolution in place of a treaty would be an “end run” around an enumerated power — the power over foreign affairs that is delegated solely to the president and the Senate. The House has no power as to foreign affairs and does not vote on or ratify treaties.

Moreover, the use of joint resolution to accomplish a treaty with a foreign sovereign undermines the super-majority required of the Senate as to the ratification of treaties. The Senate must ratify such measures by a two-thirds majority of those Senators present.

This is made clear in the U.S. Constitution, Article II, Clause 2: “[The President] shall have the Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur …”

The inability of President William McKinley to garner the necessary two-thirds vote in the Senate to ratify the Treaty of Annexation of 1897 led the administration to seek annexation by a mere act of Congress — a joint resolution. The administration could pass a joint resolution but not a treaty. This is precisely why McKinley attempted to annex by joint resolution.

Many are ignorant of or deceived about the joint resolution and the acquisition of Hawai‘i. Many do not know the specifics of the U.S. Constitution or the history of Hawai‘i. Yet, we expect more from Justice Scalia, for he has great power over the future of Native Hawaiians. His exchange with Jacob Bryan Aki, as published in Civil Beat, showed a surprising lack of constitutional knowledge. Aki, a Hawaiian student at George Washington University, asked Justice Scalia the following question during a class visit to the Supreme Court on Feb. 11:

“Does the Constitution provide Congress the power to annex a foreign nation through a joint resolution rather than a treaty?”

Scalia answered by first turning the question back at Aki. “Why would a treaty be needed,” he asked. “There is nothing in the Constitution that prohibits Congress from annexing a foreign state through the means of a joint resolution. If the joint resolution is passed through both the U.S. House and Senate, then signed by the president, it went through a ‘process.’ ”

Let us pretend that Scalia was on the floor of the U.S. Senate in the summer of 1898. Sen. William V. Allen of Nebraska and others would have reminded him that a joint resolution is only an act of Congress. It has no power to reach out and acquire foreign territory or a foreign country.

“A joint resolution if passed becomes a statute law. It has no other or greater force. It is the same as if it were entitled ‘an act.’ That is its legal classification,” said Allen. “It is therefore impossible for the government of the United States to reach across its boundaries into the dominion of another government and annex that government or the persons or property therein.

“But the United States may do so under the treaty making power, which I shall hereafter consider.”

In addition, Allen said, “Mr. President, how can a joint resolution such as this be operative? What is the legislative jurisdiction of Congress? Does it extend over Hawai‘i? May we in this anticipatory manner reach out beyond the sea and assert our authority under a resolution of Congress within the confines of that independent nation? Where is our right, our grant of power, to do this? Where do we find it?

“The joint resolution itself, it is admitted, amounts to nothing so far as carrying any effective force is concerned. It does not bring that country within our boundaries. It does not consummate itself.”

Moreover, Sen. Thomas Turley of Tennessee stated:

“It is admitted that if the Joint Resolution is adopted, the Republic of Hawai‘i can determine whether or not it will accept the provisions contained in the joint resolution. In other words, the adoption of the resolution does not consummate the transaction.

“The Republic of Hawai‘i does not become a part or the territory of the United States by the adoption of the joint resolution …”

Sen. John Coit Spooner of Wisconsin added his view: “Of course, our power would not be extraterritorial.”

Sen. A.O. Bacon of Georgia made the same point: “Under the law of the equal sovereignty of states, one independent and sovereign nation such as the United States cannot take another nation, such as Hawai‘i, by means or its own legislative act.”

Bacon noted that if the United States could take Hawai‘i by joint resolution, it could so take Jamaica. If that were true, any nation could acquire any other. Hawai‘i could annex the United States. “If the President of the United States can do it in the case of Hawai‘i, he can with equal propriety and legality do it in the case of Jamaica …”

Sen. Stephen White of California noted annexation by joint resolution was unprecedented: in American history: “… there is no instance where by a joint resolution it has been attempted not only to annex a foreign land far remote from our shores, but also to annihilate a nation, to withdraw it from the sovereign societies of the world as a government.”

On the issue of the constitutionality of the use of a joint resolution, Bacon made it clear: Hawai‘i could only be acquired by a Treaty. “If Hawai‘i is to be annexed, it ought certainly to be annexed by a constitutional method; and if by a constitutional method, it cannot be annexed, no Senator ought to desire its annexation.”

Finally, Bacon — one of the most senior members of the Senate — predicted that the annexation of Hawai‘i by joint resolution would do great damage to the Constitution and the Union.

“If we pass the joint resolution, we enter upon a revolution which shall convert this country from a peaceful country into a warlike country. If we pass the resolution, we transform this country from one engaged in its own concerns into one which shall immediately proceed to intermeddle with the concerns of all the world.

“If we pass the joint resolution, we inaugurate a revolution which shall convert this country from one designed for the advancement and the prosperity and the happiness of our citizens into one which shall seek its gratification in dominion and domination and foreign acquisition.”

Native Hawaiians have forgotten that many Americans stood with them in 1898. After all, the Treaty of 1897, the only legal means for taking Hawai‘i, failed not because the Senate of the Republic of Hawai‘i failed to ratify the Treaty. It was the United States Senate that did not ratify the Treaty.

In conclusion, the joint resolution could not acquire Hawai‘i. Moreover, it was unconstitutional. Justice Scalia’s comments are evidence of the pervasive and widespread falsehoods as to annexation that have spread to the highest political and judicial offices in the United States. The myth of annexation is a deliberate deception that has oppressed the people of Hawai‘i for 122 years.

Historic quotes above are from Volume 31 of the Congressional Record pages 6142 to 6712, the verbatim record of the Senate debate in 1898.

Hawaiian Language Competition and Concert

Posted on March 12, 2015 by Hawaiian Kingdom

Keauhou, Kona Kai ʻŌpua, Hawaiʻi
For Immediate Release
March 11, 2014

PŪNANA LEO O KONA HOSTS ITʻS SECOND ANNUAL HAWAIIAN LANGUAGE COMPETITION AND CONCERT

Free Event celebrates and honors Hawaiian language and Queen Liliʻuokalani

Pūnana Leo o Kona, a Hawaiian Medium Education preschool and Keauhou Shopping Center present the Second Annual ʻAha Aloha ʻŌlelo, a free family event on Saturday March 14, 2014 from 9:00am to 4:00pm at the Keauhou Shopping Center (center courtyard area). This yearʻs free event offers a Hawaiian language competition among Hawaii Island residents and schools as well as a lineup of great Hawaiian music featuring Jon and Jamaica Osorio, Kalani Peʻa, Bulla Kaʻiliwai and Hāwane Rios. There will be food booths, a Keiki Land that includes bouncers, slides, a petting zoo, games and much more as well as an awesome lineup of vendors, including Wahine Toa and Living Hula.

The Hawaiian Language Competition, themed “Ma Hope Mākou o Liliʻulani”, will feature students and residents of Hawaiʻi Island giving speeches in Hawaiian language based in the time of Queen Liliʻuokalani. Students will be “tasked” with taking the 38,000 signatures gathered in 1897 by Hawaiian patriots, such as James Kaulia, David Kalauokalani, Abigail Campbell and Emma Nāwahī, and deliver them to the United States Government and present their own testimony as to why Queen Liliʻuokalani should be restored to the throne. Students will also present memorized speeches of Kamehameha as well as the aforementioned Kaulia and Queen Liliʻuokalani. The competition will also feature a singing portion where students will sing songs either composed by or for Queen Liliʻuokalani or a song that honors her, as well as a chant and dance portion where they will present an oli and hula of their land.

Prior to 1822, Hawaiian language was only an oral language, having no form or system of writing and reading. Traditions and information was stored in memory and passed down from generation to generation, through stories, songs and chants. In 1822, however, a system of writing for Hawaiian language was created and by 1840, Hawaiʻi was nearly universally literate, with a literacy rate of 97%, making Hawaiʻi the most literate country in the world when it was recognized as a sovereign and independent country by France and Great Britain through the signing of the Anglo-Franco Proclamation on November 28, 1843 at the Court of London. Hawaiʻi had maintained this amazing and incredible literacy rate until not too long after the illegal overthrow of Queen Liliʻuokalani in 1893. After the illegal and provisional government took over, they began to institute many forms of denationalization and Americanization of Hawaiians. One of the many settings that this took place in was the educational system. In 1896, the provisional government banned the use of Hawaiian language in all public schools and many, many students were punished, physically, for speaking Hawaiian in schools. This began the decline in literacy among Hawaiians as well as caused the Hawaiian language to nearly go extinct.

In 1897, the provisional government attempted, again, to annex the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi to America, but President McKinley was unable to garner enough votes from the Senate to pass a Treaty of Annexation. This was in large part due to the 38,000 signatures gathered by the Hawaiian patriots listed above. It is important to note, too, though, that Queen Liliʻuokalani wrote her own letter of protest to President McKinley in 1897 that has come to be termed the “Red Ribbon Letter”. Due to their inability to get enough votes for a treaty, in 1898 Congress passed a Joint Resolution, claiming to annex Hawaiʻi to America. A Joint Resolution, though, is merely a domestic law that holds no authority outside the boundaries of its governing territory and therefore has no ability to annex an independent and foreign country, meaning that to this day, Hawaiʻi remains an independent country under a prolonged and illegal military occupation by the United States of America. This yearʻs ʻAha Aloha ʻŌlelo aims to bring awareness to this point in Hawaiian history and its ramifications that continue to be felt today.

Pūnana Leo o Kona is the only Hawaiian Medium Education pre-school in Kona, Hawaiʻi. Established in 1994, Pūnana Leo o Kona just celebrated itʻs 20^th anniversary last year. Pūnana Leo o Kona is one of 11 preschools operated throughout five islands by ʻAha Pūnana Leo, a non-profit 501©3 organization founded in 1982 to revitalize what was then a dying and nearly extinct language. In 1982, it was estimated that less than 50 people under the age of 18 were able to fluently speak Hawaiian. Today, the Hawaiian language continues to grow and expand as ʻAPL has graduated 4,255 families since 1984 including 237 in Kona since 1994. Today there is an estimated 8,000 fluent Hawaiian language speakers.

E OLA KA ʻŌLELO HAWAIʻI!

###

For more information, contact:
Pūnana Leo o Kona
tel:1-808-936-4249
mailto:kahookahi@ahapunanaleo.org
Facebook: ʻAha Aloha ʻŌlelo
Twitter: @alohaolelo

Canadian Television Series Native Planet – Hawai‘i

Posted on February 22, 2015 by Hawaiian Kingdom

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bb56Gjc2p5Y

Host Simon Baker of Canada’s television series Native Planet travels to Hawai‘i and uncovers the legal history of Hawai‘i as an independent and sovereign State under an illegal and prolonged occupation and the impact on Hawai‘i’s people. This is a reposting of the video that was posted on this blog in October 2014 due to requests to repost. If you are having trouble viewing this video you can view the video on Youtube by clicking here.

Origin of the Hawaiian Kingdom Flag

Posted on December 13, 2014 by Hawaiian Kingdom

During the reign of Kamehameha I in the eighteenth century, there were three separate kingdoms—the island Kingdom of Hawai‘i; the island Kingdom of Maui under Kahekili together with the islands of Kaho‘olawe, Lana‘i, Molokai and O‘ahu; and the island of Kaua‘i under Ka‘eo together with the island of Ni‘ihau. Kamehameha governed the island Kingdom of Hawai‘i according to ancient tradition and strict religious protocol.

In 1794, after voluntarily ceding the island Kingdom of Hawai‘i to Great Britain and joining the British Empire, Kamehameha and his chiefs considered themselves British subjects and recognized King George III as emperor. The cession to Great Britain did not radically change traditional governance, but principles of English governance and titles were instituted such as Prime Minister and Governors. The British colors was given to Kamehameha by Vancouver and flown over the island Kingdom of Hawai‘i.

In 1816, Kamehameha adopted a national flag design very similar to the British East India Company with the Union Jack in the canton.

The Hawaiian flag replaced the thirteen red and white stripes which appeared to vary between seven and nine alternating colored stripes of white, blue and red. Historical records give conflicting number of stripes.

The Hawaiian flag was not flown over the island Kingdom of Kaua‘i because it was a vassal kingdom under Kamehameha through voluntary cession by its King Kaumuali‘i in 1810. Kaumuali‘i was the son of Ka‘eo and succeeded his father after he died in a great battle against the Kingdom of Maui on the plains of Honolulu on the island of O‘ahu in December 1794. This vassalage came to an end on August 8, 1824, after the Kaua‘i chiefs unsuccessfully rebelled under Humehume, son of Kaumuali‘i, King of Kaua‘i. Humehume was removed to O‘ahu under the watch of Kalanimoku, and all of the Kaua‘i chiefs were dispersed throughout the other islands and their lands replaced with Hawai‘i island chiefs.

Below is a drawing from the Alexander Adams collection at the Hawai‘i Archives of the ship named the Ka‘ahumanu (circa. 1817) that Captain Adams commanded for King Kamehameha I. The ship flies both the National flag and the Royal flag, which would indicate that King Kamehameha was on board.

On November 28, 1843, the Hawaiian Kingdom was formally separated from the British Empire when Great Britain recognized Hawaiian Independence, and two years later on May 25, 1845 a revised national flag was unfurled at the opening of the Hawaiian legislature. The Hawaiian flag previous to 1845 differed only in the amount of stripes and also the arranging of the colors. The person accredited with the designing of the new flag was Captain Hunt of H.B.M.S. Baselisk. It has since remained unchanged to date. In the Polynesian Newspaper of May 31, 1845, was the following article:

“At the opening of the Legislative Council, May 25, 1845, the new national banner was unfurled, differing little however from the former. It is octo. (eight) parted per fess (horizontal band), first, fourth and seventh, argent (silver represented by the color white): second, fifth and eighth, gules (the color red): third and sixth, azure (light purplish blue), for the eight islands under one sovereign, indicated by crosses saltire, of St. Andrew and St. Patrick quarterly, per saltire counter changed, argent (white) and gules (red).”

Below is a photo of the Hawaiian Kingdom flag being lowered from ‘Iolani Palace on August 12, 1898 when the prolonged occupation of the Hawaiian Kingdom began during the Spanish-American War. It has since been flown below the American flag throughout the Hawaiian Islands in violation of the sovereignty of the Hawaiian Kingdom.

Students Meet with UH Hilo Vice-Chancellor Regarding Hawaiian Kingdom Flag

Posted on December 12, 2014 by Hawaiian Kingdom

La‘akea Caravalho and other students from the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo met with the University’s Interim Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Gail Makuakane-Lundin regarding their request that the Hawaiian Kingdom flag fly will no longer be flown below the American flag as it has since the occupation began on August 12, 1898, but will be flown on a separate flagpole of equal height to the American flag. Additionally, the Hawaiian Kingdom flag will be the first to be raised and the last to be lowered each day.

In the meeting, Vice-Chancellor Makuakane-Lundin told the students that the administration for the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo took their request very seriously, and after they met to discuss the matter the administration decided that the students’ request would be honored.

Big Island News Video reported:

The reasoning behind the action is evident in a letter written by students of the University of Hawai‘i to faculty and administrators, which began by saying the students have found the university has committed war crimes under the illegal occupation, specifically “pillaging” and “Americanization.” The letter relies on evidence presented in the recent “Memorandum for Ka Pouhana, CEO of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs regarding Hawai‘i as an independent State and the Impact it has on the Office of Hawaiian Affairs” by Dr. Keanu Sai.

After detailing the background of the war crime accusations, students wrote:

“In closing if you are able to refute the evidence in the Memo then assuredly the felonies—war crimes—have not been committed. But if you are not able to refute the evidence, then beginning on November 28, 2014, Hawaiian Independence Day, La Ku‘oko‘a, which has been celebrated since 1843, the United States Flag will no longer be raised over the Hawaiian flag from that day forth. We demand that the Hawaiian flag shall be raised first and be last taken down each day. The occupying United States flag shall be on a separate flag pole of exact same height with the flag flown as well at the same height. If no flag pole is provided for the U.S. flag it shall not be raised until one is provided by the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo and Hawai‘i Community College at no cost to the students. The none refute of evidence means that all State of Hawai‘i officials and employees, as well as We/Students are compelled to comply with Hawaii Kingdom Law and the law of occupation.”

ABC Radio Australia: Stars and stripes replaced with Hawaiian flag in university protest

Posted on December 11, 2014 by Hawaiian Kingdom

To hear the ABC news radio coverage click here.

OHA Ka Wai Ola – Civic clubs gather for convention

Posted on December 4, 2014 by Hawaiian Kingdom

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs’ Ka Wai Ola newspaper had the following article in its Kēkēmapa (December) 2014 edition.

The continuity of the Hawaiian Kingdom as an independent and sovereign state became the official position of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs during its 55th annual convention on Moku o Keawe (Hawai‘i Island) Oct. 26-Nov. 2.

Adopted on a vote of 126-92, Resolution 14-28 was one of nearly 50 resolutions adopted by the grassroots organization, whose foundation was laid in 1918 by Prince Jonah Kuhiō Kalaniana‘ole.

“These sort of acknowledgments, I think, really are good,” said Soulee Stroud, the association’s outgoing pelekikena (president), in a post convention interview.

The idea that the Hawaiian Kingdom continues to exist has been gaining followers throughout the Hawaiian community as modern scholarship and education shed more light on the illegal overthrow, so-called “annexation” of Hawai‘i via joint resolution of Congress, and a statehood ballot that, according to modern scholars of international law, failed to conform to the letter of international law.

Support for the resolution was immediately buoyed by a letter of congratulations from the Royal Order of Kamehameha I, for “taking the courageous step to publicly announce its position that the Kingdom of Hawai‘i continues to exist,” a position the Royal Order of Kamehameha I proclaimed in 1995.

The AHCC, an officially nonpartisan organization known historically for conservative leanings, has seen a shift in recent years with the adoption of a number of progressive resolutions, including a resolution supporting marriage equality in 2013.

Among the resolutions passed at this year’s convention, held at the Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort & Spa, were:

14-18 – Strongly supporting the establishment of statewide, regulated medical marijuana dispensaries

14-19 – Strongly urging the state to fully implement and fund the Justice Reinvestment Initiative before planning for prison expansion

14-35 – Urging all Hawaiian civic club members, OHA and the larger Hawai‘i community “to honor and respect the strong political stance of our kupuna who signed their names” on the petition opposing annexation of Hawai‘i to the U.S. in 1897.

Among the most debated resolutions adopted was 14-34, urging creation of a task force, including civic club members, to be appointed by the governor and Legislature, to study the relocation of the Spirit of Lili‘uokalani statue of Queen Lili‘uokalani, from its location between ‘Iolani Palace and the state Capitol.

The idea of moving the statue – interchanging its location with the Eternal Flame memorial on Beretania Street, was debated at the state Legislature in February as Senate Bill 2505 as part of a plan to turn the walkway behind the Capitol into Memorial Mall. The bill also called for a working group to create a monument to former Hawaiian rulers to be placed with the statue. The majority of written testimony, including that of the AHCC, was strongly opposed and the bill was deferred. A companion House Bill did not advance.

New officers

In their biennial election of officers, delegates chose first vice president Annelle Amaral as their pelekikena.

Amaral, of the Waikīkī Hawaiian Civic Club, was elected by majority vote in a three-person race with Leimomi Khan, president of Kalihi- Pālama HCC and a past president of the AHCC, and Skippy Ioane, president of Hui Pū Laka HCC.

“Braddah Skippy” Ioane, whose nomination, like Khan’s, was made on the convention floor, energized the delegation with a populist speech calling for change delivered in pidgin.

“I tell you guys straight up. Us as a people, we no more respect,” said Ioane. “We gotta adjust da vehicle, because da Model T … cannot compete on da freeway. You know what I mean? You going get ticketed for impeding progress.”

Hailama Farden, of Kuini Pi‘olani HCC, was elected first vice president; Daniel Naho‘opi‘i, of Maunalua Hawaiian Civic Club, and president of AHCC’s O‘ahu Council, was elected second vice president; and Paul Richards, Hawaiian Civic Club of Waimānalo, was elected treasurer.

Meanwhile, the late H.K. Bruss Keppeler, a longtime member and past AHCC president, slack key master Rev. Dennis Kamakahi and master Hawaiian feather work artist Aunty Paulette Kahalepuna were among those lovingly remembered during a tearful Hali‘a Aloha ceremony as ‘ohana and fellow club members brought offerings of oli and lei that were draped upon an ‘ōhi‘a lehua tree.

Activities during the week included trips to sacred sites, like Mauna Kea, the piko of the firstborn island of Wäkea and Papa according to Hawaiian cosmology, and Ahu a ‘Umi Heiau, the shrine of the island’s 16th-century ruler ‘Umi a Liloa.

Stroud, whose membership spans more than two decades, says he’ll remain involved in the AHCC as immediate past president and anticipates being involved in the nation-building process, possibly as a delegate to a Hawaiian convention in 2015.

A longtime supporter of the civic clubs, OHA was a sponsor of AHCC’s 55th annual convention. In the days leading up to the November general election, the convention also served as the site of a debate of OHA trustee candidates. Hosted by AHCC in partnership with OHA, the debate was streamed live on oha.org.

Mary Alice Ka‘iulani Milham is a freelance kanaka writer. A former newspaper reporter and columnist from California’s Central Coast, she lives in Mākaha, O‘ahu.