The Hawaiian Sovereignty Movement: Operating on a False Premise

Lawrence FuchsThe Hawaiian sovereignty movement appears to have grown out of a social movement in the islands in the mid-20th century. According to one scholar, Professor Lawrence Fuchs’ Hawai‘i Pono: A Social History (1961), p. 68, “the essential purpose of the haole [foreigner] elite for four decades after annexation was to control Hawai‘i; the major aim for the lesser haoles was to promote and maintain their privileged position…Most Hawaiians were motivated by a dominant and inclusive purpose—to recapture the past.”

Native Hawaiians were experiencing a sense of revival of Hawaiian culture, language, arts and music—euphoria of native Hawaiian pride. Momi Kamahele in her article, Ilio‘ulaokalani: Defending Native Hawaiian Culture, Amerasia Journal (2000), p. 40, states that “the ancient form of hula experienced a strong revival as the Native national dance for our own cultural purposes and enjoyment rather than as a service commodity for the tourist industry.” The sovereignty movement also resulted in the revitalization of John Dominis Holt“the Hawaiian language through immersion education.” John Dominis Holt, author of the 1964 book On Being Hawaiian (1995), p. 7, is credited for igniting the resurgence of native Hawaiian consciousness.

“I am a part-Hawaiian who has for years felt troubled concern over the loss of Hawaiianness or ethnic consciousness among people like ourselves. So much that came down to us was garbled or deliberately distorted. It was difficult to separate truth from untruth; to clarify even such simple matters for many among us as the maiden name of a Hawaiian grandmother, let alone know anything at all of the Hawaiian past.”

Tom CoffmanTom Coffman, Nation Within (1999), p. xii, explained that when he “arrived in Hawai‘i in 1965, the effective definition of history had been reduced to a few years. December 7, 1941, was practically the beginning of time, and anything that might have happened before that was prehistory.” Coffman admits that when he wrote his first book in 1970 he used Statehood in 1959 as an important benchmark in Hawaiian history. The first sentence in chapter one of this book reads, the “year 1970 was only the eleventh year of statehood, so that as a state Hawai‘i was still young, still enthralled by the right to self-government, still feeling out its role as America’s newest state.” He recollected in a another book, Catch a Wave: A Case Study of Hawai‘i’s New Politics (1973), p. 1:

“Many years passed before I realized that for Native Hawaiians to survive as a people, they needed a definition of time that spanned something more than eleven years. The demand for a changed understanding of time was always implicit in what became known as the Hawaiian movement or the Hawaiian Renaissance because Hawaiians so systematically turned to the past whenever the subject of Hawaiian life was glimpsed.”

The native Hawaiian community had been the subject of extreme prejudice and political exclusion since the United States imposed its authority in the Hawaiian Islands in 1898, and the history books that followed routinely portrayed the native Hawaiian as passive and inept. Holt explained, p. 7, that after the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom the self respect of native Hawaiians had been “undermined by carping criticism of ‘Hawaiian beliefs’ and stereotypes concerning our being lazy, laughing, lovable children who needed to be looked after by more ‘realistic’ adult-oriented caretakers came to be the new accepted view of Hawaiians.” This stereotyping became institutionalized, and is evidenced in the writings by Professor Gavan Daws, an American historian, who wrote in 1974, Shoal of Time, p. 291:

Gavan DawsThe Hawaiians had lost much of their reason for living long ago, when the kapus were abolished; since then a good many of them had lost their lives through disease; the survivors lost their land; they lost their leaders, because many of the chiefs withdrew from politics in favor of nostalgic self-indulgence; and now at last they lost their independence. Their resistance to all this was feeble. It was almost as if they believed what the white man said about them, that they had only half learned the lessons of civilization.

Noenoe SilvaAlthough the Hawaiian Renaissance movement originally had no clear political objectives, it did foster a genuine sense of inquiry and thirst for an alternative Hawaiian history that was otherwise absent in contemporary history books. Professor Noenoe Silva’s Aloha Betrayed: Native Hawaiian Resistance to American Colonization (2004), p. 3, a political scientist, states, “When the stories can be validated, as happens when scholars read the literature in Hawaiian and make the findings available to the community, people begin to recover from the wounds caused by that disjuncture in their consciousness.”

As a result, Native Hawaiians began to draw meaning and political activism from a history that appeared to parallel other native peoples of the world who had been colonized, but the interpretive context of Hawaiian history was, at the time, primarily James Anayahistorical and not legal. State sovereignty and international laws were perceived not as a benefit for native peoples, but were seen as tools of the colonizer. According to Professor James Anaya’s Indigenous Peoples in International Law (2000), p. 22, who specializes in the rights of indigenous peoples, “international law was thus able to govern the patterns of colonization and ultimately to legitimate the colonial order.”

Following the course Congress set in the 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, under which “the United States returned 40 million acres of land to the Alaskan natives and paid $1 billion cash for land titles they did not return,” it became common practice for Native Hawaiians to associate themselves with the plight of Native Americans and other ethnic minorities throughout the world who had been colonized and dominated by Europe or the United States.

Linda Tuhiwai SmithThe Hawaiian Renaissance gradually branched out to include a political wing often referred to as the “sovereignty movement,” which evolved into political resistance against U.S. sovereignty. As native Hawaiians began to organize, their political movement “paralleled the activism surrounding the civil rights movement, women’s liberation, student uprisings and the anti-Vietnam War movement,” explained Professor Linda Tuhiwai Smith, Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples (1999), p. 113.

In 1972, an organization called A.L.O.H.A. (Aboriginal Lands of Hawaiian Ancestry) was founded to seek reparations from the United States for its involvement in the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom government in 1893. Frustrated with inaction by the United States it joined another group called Hui Ala Loa (Long Road Organization) and formed Protect Kaho’olawe ‘Ohana (P.K.O.) in 1975. P.K.O. was organized to stop the U.S. Navy from utilizing the island of Kaho’olawe, off the southern coast of Maui, as a target range by openly occupying the island in defiance of the U.S. military. The U.S. Navy had been using the entire island as a target range for naval gunfire since World War II, and as a result of P.K.O.’s activism, the Navy terminated its use of the island in 1994. Another organization called ‘Ohana O Hawai‘i (Family of Hawai‘i), formed in 1974, even went to the extreme measure of proclaiming a declaration of war against the United States of America.

The political movements also served as the impetus for native Hawaiians to participate in the State of Hawai‘i’s Constitutional Convention in 1978, which resulted in the creation of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (O.H.A.). O.H.A. recognizes two definitions of aboriginal Hawaiian: the term “native Hawaiian” with a lower case “n,” and “Native Hawaiian” with an upper case “N,” both of which were established by the U.S. Congress. The former is defined by the 1921 Hawaiian Homestead Commission Act as “any descendant of not less than one-half part of the blood of the races inhabiting the Hawaiian Islands previous to 1778,” while the latter is defined by the 1993 Apology Resolution as “any individual who is a descendent of the aboriginal people who, prior to 1778, occupied and exercised sovereignty in the area that now constitutes the State of Hawai‘i.” The intent of the Apology resolution was to offer an apology to all Native Hawaiians, without regard to blood quantum, while the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act’s definition was intended to limit those receiving homestead lots to be “not less than one-half” of native Hawaiian descent by blood. O.H.A. states that it serves both definitions of Hawaiian. As a governmental agency, O.H.A.’s mission is to:

“…malama (protect) Hawai‘i’s people and environmental resources and OHA’s assets, toward ensuring the perpetuation of the culture, the enhancement of lifestyle and the protection of entitlements of Native Hawaiians, while enabling the building of a strong and healthy Hawaiian people and nation, recognized nationally and internationally.”

The sovereignty movement created a multitude of diverse groups, each having an agenda as well as varying interpretations of Hawaiian history. Operating within an ethnic or tribal optic stemming from the Native-American movement in the United States, the sovereignty movement in Hawai‘i eventually expanded itself to become a part of the global movement of indigenous peoples who, according to Ivison, Patton & Sanders’ Political Theory and the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2000), p. 89, reject colonial “arrangements in exchange for indigenous modes of self-determination that sharply curtail the legitimacy and jurisdiction of the State while bolstering indigenous jurisdiction over land, identity and political voice.”

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Haunani TraskIn her article Settlers of Color and “Immigrant” Hegemony: “Locals” in Hawai‘i, Amerasia (2000), p. 17, Professor Haunani-Kay Trask, an indigenous peoples’ rights advocate, argues that “documents like the Draft Declaration [of Indigenous Human Rights] are used to transform and clarify public discussion and agitation.” Specifically, Trask states that, “legal terms of reference, indigenous human rights concepts in international usage, and the political linkage of the non-self-governing status of the Hawaiian nation with other non-self-governing indigenous nations move Hawaiians into a world arena where Native peoples are primary and dominant states are secondary to the discussion.”

This political wing of the renaissance is not in any way connected to the legal position that the Hawaiian Kingdom continued to exist as a sovereign State under international law, but rather focuses on the history of European and American colonialism and the prospect of decolonization. As a result, sovereignty is not viewed as a legal reality, but a political aspiration.

Noel KentAccording to Professor Noel Kent’s Hawai‘i: Islands under the Influence (1993), p. 198, the “Hawaiian sovereignty movement is now clearly the most potent catalyst for change,” and “during the late 1980s and early 1990s sovereignty was transformed from an outlandish idea propagated by marginal groups into a legitimate political position supported by a majority of native Hawaiians.” The political activism relied on the normative framework of the developing rights of indigenous peoples within the United States and at the United Nations. At both these levels, indigenous peoples were viewed not as sovereign States, but rather non-State nations. According to Corntassel & Primeau’s article Indigenous “Sovereignty” and International Law: Revised Strategies for Pursuing “Self-Determination, Human Rights Quarterly (1995), p. 347, “indigenous peoples were viewed not as sovereign states, but rather ‘any stateless group’ residing within the territorial dominions of existing sovereign states.”

When the General Synod of the United Church of Christ (UCC) passed a resolution “Recognizing the Rights of Native Hawaiians to Self-Governance and Self-determination” in 1991, it was heralded as the beginning of a reconciliatory process between native and non-native Hawaiians for the 1893 overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom government. This resolution prompted the President of the UCC, in 1993, to issue a formal apology and committed the church to redress the wrongs done to native Andrew WalshHawaiians. In Professor Andrew H. Walsh’s Historical Memorandum on the Hawaiian Revolution of 1893 for the UCC’s Sovereignty Project (1992), p. 24, who was commissioned by the UCC’s Sovereignty Project to assist UCC officials in preparing a statement of apology in 1993, found that certain members of the Hawaiian Evangelical Association were complicit in the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom government:

“The Christian church founded by American missionaries in Hawai‘i played no direct role in the Hawaiian Revolution of 1893. The Hawaiian Evangelical Association was, however, clearly under the control of white leaders who backed the revolution and attempted—at some cost—to influence indigenous Hawaiians to accept its outcome. The church’s leaders endorsed the revolution in their correspondence with Congregational officials in the United States and vigorously attempted to enlist American Protestant support for annexation. In addition, several individual ministers of the HEA played active roles as advocates of the revolution to the American public.”

The UCC’s Redress Plan included multi-million dollar reparations and the transference of six parcels of land on five islands to Native Hawaiian churches, the Association of Eric YamamotoHawaiian Evangelical Churches, and the Pu‘a Foundation. Professor Eric Yamamoto, a legal expert in reconciliation, in his book Interracial Justice: Conflict & Reconciliation in Post-Civil Rights America (1999), p. 215, views these reconciliatory efforts by the UCC within the framework of post-colonial theory in post-civil rights America, and focuses on interracial justice for Native Hawaiians within the United States legal system—an approach similar to the “United States’ 1988 apology to and monetary reparations for Japanese Americans wrongfully interned during World War II.” Yamamoto and other contemporary scholars, view the U.S. takeover of the Hawaiian Islands as fait accompli—a history and consequence no different than other colonial takeovers throughout the world of indigenous people and their lands by western powers.

The UCC apology also prompted the Congress to pass a joint resolution in 1993 apologizing only to the Native Hawaiian people, rather than to the entire citizenry of the Hawaiian Kingdom, for the United States’ role in the overthrow of the Hawaiian government. This resolution maintained an indigenous and historically inaccurate focus that implied that only ethnic Hawaiians constituted the kingdom, and fertilized the incipient ethnocentrism of the sovereignty movement. The Resolution provided:

“Congress…apologizes to the Native Hawaiians on behalf of the people of the United States for the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawai‘i on January 17, 1893 with the participation of agents and citizens of the United States, and the deprivation of the rights of Native Hawaiians to self-determination.”

The Congressional apology rallied many Native Hawaiians, who were not fully aware of the legal status of the Hawaiian Islands as a sovereign State, in the belief that their situation had similar qualities to Native-American tribes in the nineteenth century. The resolution reinforced the belief of a native Hawaiian nation grounded in Hawaiian indigeneity and culture, rather than an occupied State under prolonged occupation.

Akaka-072806-18268- 0032Consistent with the Apology Resolution, Senator Akaka attempted five times since 2000 to have the Senate pass a bill that would provide for federal recognition of tribal status for Native Hawaiians. On February 4, 2009, he reintroduced Senate Bill 381 for the sixth time, known as the Akaka Bill, to the 111th Congress. According to Akaka, the bill’s purpose is to provide “a process within the framework of Federal law for the Native Hawaiian people to exercise their inherent rights as a distinct aboriginal, indigenous, native community to reorganize a Native Hawaiian government for the purpose of giving expression to their rights as native people to self-determination and self-governance.”

According to Professor Rupert Emerson, an international law scholar, in his article Self-Determination, American Journal of International Law (1971), p. 463, there are two major periods when the international community accepted self-determination as an operative right or principle. President Woodrow Wilson and others first applied the principle to nations directly affected by the “defeat or collapse of the German, Russian, Austro-Hungarian and Turkish land empires” after the First World War. The second period took place after the Second World War and the United Nations’ focus on disintegrating overseas empires of its member states, “which had remained effectively untouched in the round of Wilsonian self-determination.”

These territories have come to be known as Mandate, Trust, and Article 73(e) territories under the United Nations Charter. Because Native Hawaiians were erroneously categorized as a stateless people, the principle of self-determination would underlie the development of legislation such as the Akaka bill.

In 2011, the State of Hawai‘i enacted their version of the Akaka Bill that established a Native Hawaiian Roll Commission called Act 195, which provided “Native Hawaiians as the only indigenous, aboriginal, maoli population of Hawai‘i.” Act 195 also committed the State of Hawai‘i “to support the continuing development of a reorganized Native Hawaiian governing entity and, ultimately, the federal recognition of Native Hawaiians.” The Roll Commission will “determine eligible individuals that with to participate in the process of reorganizing a Native Hawaiian government for the purposes of Native-Hawaiian self-governance recognized by the State of Hawai‘i. Act 195 also expresses the State’s desire to support federal government recognition of a Native Hawaiian government.” Act 195 also provides that OHA will house the Commission and is responsible for it’s funding. The text of Act 195 is replete with inaccuracies and admissions to violations of the law of occupation.

The identification of Native Hawaiians as an indigenous people with a right to self-determination relies upon the U.S. National Security Council’s position on indigenous peoples. On January 18, 2001, the Council made known its position to its delegations assigned to the “U.N. Commission on Human Rights,” the “Commission’s Working Group on the United Nations (UN) Draft Declaration on Indigenous Rights,” and to the “Organization of American States (OAS) Working Group to Prepare the Proposed American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Populations.” The Council directed these delegates to “read a prepared statement that expresses the U.S. understanding of the term internal ‘self-determination’ and indicates that it does not include a right of independence or permanent sovereignty over natural resources.”

The Council also directed these delegates to support the use of the term internal self-determination in both the U.N. and O.A.S. declarations on indigenous rights, and definedIndigenous Peoples as having “a right of internal self-determination.” By virtue of that right, “they may negotiate their political status within the framework of the existing nation-state and are free to pursue their economic, social, and cultural development. This resolution sought to constrain the growing political movement of indigenous peoples “who aspire to rule their territorial homeland, or who claim the right to independent statehood under the doctrine of self-determination of peoples.”

The sovereignty movement and Kana‘iolowalu falsely maintains that aboriginal Hawaiians have a right to self-determination, which implies that aboriginal Hawaiians were never nationals of a sovereign and independent State. Self-determination also implies that aboriginal Hawaiians are an ethnic group residing within the United States of America. Hawaiian history cannot support this position. Aboriginal Hawaiians are the majority of the population of Hawaiian subjects who have been subjected to Americanization and indoctrination. As an occupied State under an illegal and prolonged occupation, the proper framework to understand Hawai‘i’s unique situation is through international law and the laws of occupation and not through the laws of the United States, and, by extension, the laws of the State of Hawai‘i. In this way, Hawai‘i’s vibrant political and legal history is not only embraced, but is honored and respected.

66 thoughts on “The Hawaiian Sovereignty Movement: Operating on a False Premise

  1. Thank you for clarifying the truth about the aboriginal people and the nationals of the Hawaiian Kingdom. I said this before and I say it again, the citizens/nationals/subjects of the Hawaiian Kingdom are not indigenous to these islands. We are nationals of a democratic monarchial government called the Kingdom of Hawaii. Our people has been brainwashed to sign away there rights to become an Indian nation and forever live as an Indian tribe as the American Indians live. Makaala open your eyes, look and listen, we are surrounded by traitors who want to sell our nation for money, its a disgrace. No money can replace our aina and our national resources. We need to control our own water, fish, land, and remove the united states military forces, control all taxes for imports and exports. Educate yourselves and realize the truth of what is going on here in you back yards. Let us create a better future for our keiki. Mahalo ke akua

  2. AND WE SURVIVED – GETTING THROUGH – THE FALSE PREMISES
    OUR KINGDOM LIVES – HAWAIIAN NATIONALS NEED TO “RE-ORGANIZE OUR GOVERNMENT” – NOT – THE NATIVE HAWAIIAN INDIGENOUS AMERICANS – AND – DUE TO THE U.S. MILITARY OCCUPATION
    WE HAVE DUAL CITIZENSHIP.

    IT’S TRUE – I MUA I MUA NA IHE O KAMEHAMEHA – EA – WE LIVE!!!
    THE “LIVING HEIRS OF KING KAMEHAMEHA”
    ALL – COUSINS TO PAUAHI.

    THE TRUTH – NOTHING BUT – THE TRUTH.

    UA MAU KA EA O KA AINA I KA PONO – UA MAU.

    • AE ANAKE! ALOHA WAU FOR THOSE WORDS . UR AIM HIT CENTERMASS AUNTY! lol. NOELANI MAKA KEIA LĀ A ME KUHINA NUI. MAHALO PĪHĀ FOR BEING COMMITTED TO NOT LET THIS INACCURATE UNVETTED OPALA STAND WITHOUT UADDRESSING THAT PERSON. PA’A. GIVING SYNTAX AND CONTEXT. THEY ALWAYS UNDERESTIMATE HAWAIIANS ESP WAHINEKOA. #MATRIARCHALSOCIETY♡ MAU A MAU. KIA KAHA.

  3. For the very first time I am beginning to see exactly what they are trying to enforce here. They are opening the window for other nationalities that live here to look in the window and through miss information make them feel that they will not be part of Hawaii, when in fact The Hawaiian Kingdom is for all of us Kanaka Maoli and the rest of the subjects and nationals of other countries living harmoniously together with our rights and responsibilities. I’m so excited that the HULU HULU BAG IS LIFTED!!! Mahalo Ke Akua!!!!

    • I’m not of Native decent of Hawaii or other Indigenous groups, however, I support what you and previous comments say…Very well said….The U.S. govt. has always used conniving schemes to take advantage of the Native Peoples…like Hawai’i, another example. It’s Typical Colonizer behavior. In New Zealand, the Maori people still struggle to gain more independence and to get some land back. I say, give the Hawaiian Islands back..to the Native People.

  4. the only false premises regarding kanaka maoli, the kingdom and nation of Hawai’i and our inherent right to our sovereign independence, our lawful government and our freedom come from the american government and their puppet regimes, political scholars, social anthropologists, authors and others who sought to define who we are, what happened to us from the illegal overthrow, to the unlawful annexation treaty and the fraudulent statehood act to bring us to where we find ourselves today, an unlawfully occupied kingdom and nation denied our sovereign independence, our lawful government and our freedom.

    what makes the characterizations of all of these groups so far off the mark is that their various premises are built upon the lies, treachery and deceit of the unlawful american occupiers.

    now that the well-documented and verified truth has surfaced we kanaka maoli are able to define ourselves rather than allow others to continue to define us. others who know NOTHING of our origins and our long history as a people, a nation, a culture and a society and know only the lies the americans have told about us for more than 121 years now.

    we know the truth of ourselves now free of all lies. these truths will guide us toward the justice that is our right!

    #iiwk #imuaHawaii #ponoKeAlii

    • Hi i am producing a documentary film on hawaiian sovereignty and native haeaiian culture or sustsinability and malama aina history. do you have any advice on certain citizens or elders i should speak with. the film will be based of the big island but feature others as well. mahalo

      • Aloha Zach,

        Your timing to produce a film about the re-emerging Hawaiian Kingdom is right on. Our true political status is no longer a controversy, the big question is how do we best move forward in while being pono (righteous), lawful (under our common law based constitution), and inclusive to Hawaiian nationals of all races. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.

        “God (Ke Akua) hath made of One Blood all nations of men (People) to dwell on Earth in unity and blessedness.”
        Kauikeaouli, Kamehameha III 1839

        The sovereign People are gathering and marching this weekend at Kamehameha Statue in Hilo, Today, Friday, November 28, 2014 @ 9am. We will march to Puhi Bay in Keaukaha where we will spend the weekend to celebrate Lono I Ka Makahiki.

        Mahalo for your interest in concern.
        Imua Hawai’i nei!

        Gene 345-1411
        alohauprising@gmail.com

      • I am the daughter of Louisa rice who founded the ALOHA Association. My number is 213-1069 and I will be more than glad to assist you

  5. Aloha.
    Due to a recent family bereavement to advise I will be internet unavailable for a spell. These are exciting times for Hawaiian Kingdom National subjects, how the late Richard Pomai Kinney would have enjoyed being with you as Ko Hawai’i Pae’aina moves toward inevitable de-occupation.

    As IZ once said (some words to the effect): “Hawaiian to me is about moving forward without stepping on anyone else’s toes.” May the spirit of Pomai guide you all. ‘Onipa’a! Form our beloved islands to yours. Andrew. Aloha.

  6. I understand and applaud this exposition in the blog post. It is also very important to use terms correctly,because in the jargon of law, the wording is crucial. For example, the term “inherent sovereignty” is misleading. Remove the word “inherent,” for the U.S. government has a specific meaning to “inherent sovereignty” which would cut out the full right due the people.

  7. The “Hawaiian Sovereignty Movement” is a pure example of more than 100 years of this occupation’s propaganda and indoctrination institutionalized in every person’s mind. Horrible stuff! Strong word of advice to the young generation: Ask the right questions; start learning Hawaii’s legal history. Go to “Hawaiiankingdomgovernment.org” Don’t follow or participate in the Sovereignty Movement! They’re just gonna drug your mind into anger and confusion. (Take it from me, when I used to go to those gatherings in the past, I could FEEL anger, pain and confusion when I was around them. It even affected me too! What is worst, no one is talking anger. I can just FEEL it! Not to mention I’m feeling confusion writing this comment talking about the Sovereignty Movement! Haha)

    And for those who knows or is getting aboard of the knowledge of Hawaii’s legal history, same thing; continue to educate yourself of this beautiful country. Stay in the light. Don’t go in the dark!

    Of course, I honestly cannot blame the Sovereignty Movement for what they are doing. I really cannot. It shows proof positive how severe the occupation is to the psyche of everyone in Hawaii! Its like we are living on another planet! Real horrible stuff! Its even hard to fathom that this is horrible!

    This occupation is a stain towards humanity! It cannot go on like this forever. Please my dear country Switzerland, become Hawaii’s Protecting Power. Plant the stones to end this Wizard of Oz world.

  8. You are so right Keahi, we all must be mindful of the words we use and their definitions within the context they are used. Inherent sovereignty was already expressed by our kupunas. They not only expressed it but achieved international recognition as nationals of an independant nation state. It has already been done we don’t get to do it again. Learn what they did and see how they did it to perfection. Let us honor them for the legacy they left us and let us continue and settle for nothing less than perfection. We can only be what they were and they were not dual citizens. They were of one nation and one nationality, Hawaiian Subjects.

  9. Coffman mentioned that when he came to Hawai`i, the study of history started in 1941…nothing before that was taught…in reading all of the above…it seems that the history is starting in 1898…there is nothing that comes before that,..and yet, it is what happened in 1819 that started the Domino Effect!!! Yes, read your history…start at the beginning to see how it ended in 1898…we are stuck on the Monarchical period…a clone European system that mimicked a foreign rule that opposed that which was Maoli…can’t anyone see this? If Ka Po`e want to return to that which was Maoli and truly theirs, they’re going to have to go further back then the “beloved queen.”

    • Aloha kaua! If I understand correctly your comment is lamenting the fact that we who love and support the Kingdom of Hawai’i recognized internationally in 1843, are living in the past? We should move on because Kamehameha III and the subsequent HK Governments were modeled on European Monarchy? Perhaps, in the future the subjects and Kingdom government will change, but for now, the HK is a Nation among Nations in the world stage and our Queen is here present with us and beloved in the now! We look to the past, and educate ourselves, to walk into the future. The Hawaiian Kingdom was not mimicry at all but a genuine show of genius of the Hawaiian Monarch and Subjects.

        • What in the world does that mean “Seriously???”? Have I written something adverse to the Kingdom of Hawai’i? Have I written something that is disrespectful to the work and legacy of our Queen? So, I don’t understand your comment at all. I am quite content with a Constitutional Monarchy and am no anarchist. So again, I do not understand your comment.

  10. This article is very confusing. It seems to link “Indigenous” rights, Native rights with national rights. What ‘Native” rights can be expressed in countries like America or England or France? I am particularly worried about Indigenous rights being applied to Hawaiians who actually have rights, unlike the UNDRIP that only suggests rights and give the occupying state to decide what those right are. The movement has been born of the beautiful Hawaiian culture, but why do these academics need to use identity to fit the American idea of right and race?

    Other independence movements reject these notions of race based nationalism. Tahiti, West Papua, Kanaky, South Moluccas, Puerto Rico and many Original Nations in America reject colonial government from brainwashing peoples to seperate them from their rights. Ethnic government will never be respected in the family of nations and for Hawaii to return to our rightful place in the world, we will have to restore Hawaiian identity as it is, not as wards of the State.

  11. Aloha Lucia and aupuni, our kingdom and it’s citizens lived in a system that was legally created by them. No changes could be made unless done through a legal process which is no different than america or another nation state. In our situation of occupation there is no other recourse but to return to that legal system. Then if the citizens want to make changes it could be done through the legal process of the HK . However, if you think you have another legal process that is backed by law and legal doctrines to address our situation of occupation to support your position I am all ears. Please cite specifics. Mahalo

  12. Aloha Christopher, ….The Hawaiian Kingdom was not mimicry at all but a genuine show of genius of the Hawaiian Monarch and Subjects…. Yes, I totally agree with your comment.
    Our Ali’i were intelligent and understood that inorder to maintain control of our Hawaiian way of life and not be subjected to a colonizing foreign power they had to formulate and execute a process of modernization of laws and governance without violating the rights and laws that were already in place for the chiefs and the commoners. They achieved that goal inorder to show the World Powers ( Family of Nations) the HK had the quailifications and ability to engage in world commerce and policy as a recognized nation state. They achieved their goal as the first non-european nation to be recognized as a nation state and adopted into the Family of Nations.
    If they were not progressive thinkers and remained locked into the past, Hawaii would be like all the other colonized nations subjected to a foreign rule and at the mercy of the colonizer for independence through the de-colonization process.
    Mahalo for our intellectual progressive thinking Ali’i
    of the past and the leaders of today that are moving for de-occupation inorder to re-establish our governance once again as a independent nation state.

  13. The U.S. is a racist (Manifest Destiny) WASP mainstream exclusive society. This should be common knowledge. The Hawaiian Kingdom is a non-racist Polynesian-Hawaiian mainstream inclusive society. When we want our country restored, U.S. Americans condemn us for being an exclusive racist group that want the Hawaiian-Polynesian society to take preference and excluding them and their racist WASP society. Can one see the folly of that logic? Since we are not part of the U.S.A., the racist WASP society is not ours. We emphasize that the Hawaiian Kingdom is and always has been a Hawaiian-Polynesian society. Their lawless U.S.A. mainstream racist WASP is of their country and not that of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Two different countries which are two different nation-states. Would they claim that Japan, China, Germany, Italy, or any foreign country is racist because they are not a White Anglo-Saxon Protestant mainstream society? We need not kowtow to the WASP society in our own countries and can find common ground in which to inter-relate with each other. Since the WASP are incapable or refuse to learn other languages to communicate, then it’s their kuleana to learn other languages instead of assuming others have to learn their language and adopt their mind-set. This is one of their biggest downfall and arrogance. Polynesian-Hawaiian’s mind-set is to adopt, adapt and be adept with changes that progress to better communications and international relations and new technologies and modernization. It’s what made us one of the most modern, progressive, and enriched society in the world. This is something we shouldn’t forget. The forced Americanization of Hawaii is a U.S. war crime; westernization is a conscientious choice we made to incorporate into our Polynesian-Hawaiian society to comfortably fit into international affairs that concerns us. Let’s not lose sight of these things mentioned here which we should be always mindful.

    • The above comment by “TANE” us is one of the MOST Racist comment’s I’ve read in support of Hawaiian Sovereignty. Is this the type of person that is pushing this drive? How many agree with this garbage? How quaint..

      • Frank, please share further your perception on the comment?

        IMHO, I believe the comment reflected what was posted.
        What do you see?

        The Hawaiian Kingdom government included people of
        other ethnic and gender backgrounds. Inclusive!
        Queen Lili’uokalani was a women of Kanaka maoli decent,
        and the cabinet members she worked with were not
        exclusively Kanaka maoli.

        The United States government now have an African American
        as its Commander in Chief, but cannot claim to ever having a
        women serve as their Commander in Chief. Partially exclusive,
        but if U.S. President Obama was born on Oahu, Hawaii as he
        asserts, then perhaps “exclusive” as his qualifications under
        the U.S. constitution prohibits his participation in the Office of
        the U.S. President. Exclusive, hoping to be inclusive!
        Not Hawaiian constitutional laws, but U.S. constitutional laws!

        Similar to OHA’s nation building efforts today and its
        promotion of Kana’iolowalu, a project of the Native Hawaiian
        Roll Commission funded by the U.S. is exclusive and race
        based! This effort, as they claim, is for Hawaiians. The
        question is, for what Hawaiians? U.S. defined Hawaiians or
        Hawaiian Kingdom nationals. After all OHA new about the
        occupied status since May 5, 2014. Go figure!

        Hope this helps!

        • BTW, a U.S. defined Hawaiian is not an option!

          Princess Ka’iulani, had she lived to succeed Queen
          Lili’uokalani and the Hawaiian Kingdom government
          not interrupted would’ve been the next women to be
          the Head of State and of Kanaka and Scottish decent
          as Crown Princess Heir Apparent.

          Sure the U.S. congress saw many changes with
          Senator Daniel Inouye, Senator Daniel Akaka, U.S.
          House Representative Patsy Mink, being the first woman of color and the first Asian American woman elected to Congress and a host of others, but it all
          comes on the heels of Hawaiian politics. Further,
          these U.S. political representatives from Hawaii,
          whether knowingly or not, did so while the Hawaiian Islands remain under prolonged U.S. occupation,
          putting into question the validity of their representation
          as with U.S. President Barack Obama.

          JMM

  14. From my many visits to Hawaii, and I am a “WASP” who has lived all around the world, I can say that there are few societies on Earth as racist as the Hawaiian. Remember Kamehameha schools only admit persons of Hawaiian ancestry. Yes, blatant discrimination. And if Hawaii becomes independent, I believe all semblance of racial toleration will end.
    Hawaii was settled in a couple or three waves of Polynesians, some of which practiced human sacrifice prior to Kamehameha. It was a feudal system.
    Hawaii receives much more in Federal benefits than its citizens pay in taxes. Only 10 states proportionately receive more than Hawaii.
    Yes it is a shame that the US has had military bases in Hawaii. It is a shame that hundreds of thousands of haole WASPS lost their lives in the Pacific theater. Why defend Hawaii against Japan? Hawaii would have been better off as a Japanese colony. Just ask the Chinese in Manchuria. They were so happy while occupied by Japan.
    People tend to romanticize the past. You forget how Kamehameha rose to power–with the help of the haoles and their technology. It was Kamehameha’s exploitation of his people that led to famine, disease and suffering. It was Kamehameha’s use of Western armaments that enabled him to conquer the other islands in bloody conflicts.
    The haoles were no better nor worse than the Hawaiians. No one has a monopoly on virtue or vice.
    I agree that Hawaii should be independent and the US military should leave and not defend the island. The military contributes 18% of Hawaii’s spending.
    The US would be much better off without Hawaii. Our tourists would visit Hawaii less and less, meaning more money for our local tourism. So, please go. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.

    • “White man speak with forked-tongue” is a sad and shameful truism and is demonstrated here once again by ThomasTheWise. The fact is the white men have been liars for thousands of years going back in time to when they denied that their ancestors came from Africa and despite the white women’s insistence that the ancestors of everyone, everywhere came from Africa. Even today there are white men who continue to maintain that charade despite DNA evidence to the contrary. Another of the white man’s lies is that there is a god and that they worship god’s son, Jesus Christ. That fact of the matter is that the wm cannot explain why he cannot see, hear, touch or produce his god. Still another wm lie is the lie that his paper money is worth more than the paper it is printed on. Yet that money cannot feed, heal, shelter or protect anyone from anything. Still another wm lie is the lie that he can ‘own’ the land by merely scribbling ink on paper. Than there is the lie that it were the wm who ‘discovered’ america when, in fact, the natives had thousand of burial sites before the wm had even one. Lies, lies and evermore lies! Thats all you will ever get from the white man.

      • I speak as an elder (biologically) white man who unites 100% with the effort to regain full de facto sovereignty (de jure sovereignty exists already). I lived in Hawai’i for 36 years and half my family currently lives in Waipahu. I miss and think of Hawai’i daily. I am keenly aware of the more than one century of injustice, and that is why I wrote the book “Liberate Hawai’i” (subtitled: Renouncing and Defying the Continuing Fraudulent U.S. Claim to the Sovereignty of Hawai’i) published just less than a year ago. I wrote it principally to educate Americans (and others not from Hawai’i) about the valid moral and legal claim for such full sovereignty.
        I will not argue with Kamanalo about the long history of betrayal and deception of this government and the economic/political system that permitted it. He is right. But There are many of us Caucasians who are honorable and it is not a simple race issue, as there are also kanaka maoli who have benefitted from this systematic corruption, and who have become wealthy as a result of their accommodation to it. I suspect you can think of more than a few names.
        Judge all people by their deeds and know that in order for there to be justice, there must be truth, and before truth, people must act with honor. I love the incredible word “pono” that means so much and takes half a dozen English words to describe.

        • jon,

          mahalo for your mana’o. the more than a century long systematic campaign of lies, treachery, deceit and propaganda, among other injustices committed by the american government against the crown, nation and people of Hawai’i, is not primarily a racial issue but more a political and cultural one.

          though to be sure the blatant racism of the americans (ie. african enslavement as an institutionalized “common business practice” among colonial plantation owners and the systematic cultural and physical genocide imposed upon the native american population of north america as an integral part of the american expansionist “pioneer” policy) played a large a role as a “justification” for the many illegal and unlawful actions committed by the american government in its goal to turn the peaceful, neutral kingdom and nation of Hawai’i into an armed fortress from which to launch its strategic imperialist expansionist campaign across the globe, spreading american political influence and military might throughput the pacific and asia from its military bases in the hawaiian islands.

          the genesis of the general western european policy of imperialist colonial conquest throughout the world and specifically the american imperial philosophies of manifest destiny, american exceptionalism and the u.s. expansionist policy implemented following the spanish-american war are all based upon the western, judeo-christian, biblical philosophy that “god created man in his own image” and “gave him dominion over the world and everything that he created.”

          it is this institutionalized western perversion of biblical philosophy that has spurred first the western europeans and eventually the americans to venture to all parts of the globe and to “claim” what they wrongfully believe is their god-given right to “discover, conquer, subjugate, enslave, plunder and pollute” the peoples and nations of the world in the name of their god and under his commandment.

          yes, there are undoubtedly “white people” who are good and not evil by nature. but the widely held institutional belief among western governments and particularly the americans is that they are “greater than” all of the other native peoples and nations of the world which is why most western europeans and especially americans are held in such great disdain by the native peoples and cultures of the world.

          we have only their deeds and actions to go by… deeds that include conquest, slaughter, rape, pillage, plunder, pollution, enslavement, forced religious conversion, cultural and physical genocide. in light of this widespread and ongoing campaign of institutionalized evil i’m surprised that any caucasian person would put forward the idea that we, the native peoples of the world, specifically in this case kanaka maoli, should not be so quick to judge all of “pale ones” of the north for all they have wrought upon the planet and its peoples.

          the ongoing imperialist colonial actions that i’ve described here carried out by the western europeans and especially the americans are completely unjustified and therefore indefensible. these are not the actions of a few “bad apples”but a systematic, fundamental, institutionalized campaign carried out by a people whose whole culture, they believe, commands that the kill, conquer, destroy, rape, pillage, plunder and enslave the rest of the world for their own ultimate benefit because it is their god-given right as the embodiment of their creator.

          with specific regard to Hawai’i’s situation, the bottom line is that we just want the american government, its military forces and its illegal settlers to leave our island kingdom and nation so that we can continue to practice our culture and move forward to greatness unencumbered by the scourge of western influence and so that we can restore Hawai’i to pono. mahalo for listening to my mana’o.

          ponokeali’i

          • Thank you ponokeali’i for your deep understanding of this perverse and yes, evil culture which dominates the world currently. I have been an anti-imperialist, rejecting all you have described so well above since about 1966 when my political awakening happened with the War Against Vietnam for trying to achieve what the colonists did in 1776. I am not the only one who understands that the system is putrid and beyond repair.
            All I ask is that the righteous Hawaiian anger not be directed against us who are not just “cheerleaders” for the mission of independence, but part of the team, without which success is much more problematic. The example I use in my chapter 9 is that of Lithuania, very similarly “annexed” by Stalinist USSR through utterly fraudulent means, yet today independent. What they DID with that independence by aligning with US imperialism is another matter, though related.
            Consider too the white Americans who now march in the streets of major metropolitan areas proudly carrying signs saying “black lives matter!” It is a long overdue mass movement against gross violations of the right to life and liberty. My aloha to you in struggle for all that is pono. Jon Reference:

            http://www.Liberatehawaiithebook.com

          • mahalo again for your mana’o jon. undoubtedly there are many caucasian, western european and even american individual citizens who are good and are working for good. that’s neither the point nor the problem.

            with respect to the kingdom and nation of Hawai’i and its people, the point is that the u.s. is unlawfully occupying Hawai’i, wrongly claiming that Hawai’i is a u.s. state and backing an illegal “state” government that is nothing more than a puppet regime of the unlawful american occupiers.

            the problem lies in the many instances of blatantly illegal and unlawful actions that the u.s. government and its military have engaged in the illegal overthrow of our lawfully elected monarchy, illegally replaced our lawful government with a succession of illegal puppet regimes, tried and failed to legally annex Hawai’i, have unlawfully occupied Hawai’i, violated the international laws of occupation and illegally attempted to make Hawai’i, a peaceful, neutral, sovereign and independent kingdom and nation and u.s. diplomatic partner into a u.s. state in clear violation of the statutory limitations of u.s. law under the u.s. constitution.

            there exists no “righteous Hawaiian anger” toward either the u.s. government, its military or any of its citizens. to be sure there is much hatred, anger, frustration and even violence directed against “haole”, in its derogatory connotation meaning “white people”, in the hawaiian and kanaka maoli communities. but these are isolated instances that are carried out by those among our people who were raised within the westernized local culture and who have no real foundation in kanaka maoli or na ali’i culture.

            western culture taught them hatred and violence. in our culture we believe in pono in the sense of seeking harmony and balance through justice and right actions. pono is founded on the universal principle that the universe is always seeking to restore harmony and balance that is born from chaos. pono holds that right will always triumph over wrong, light over darkness, good over evil, justice over injustice.

            those of us who were raised with a strong foundation in our traditional kanaka maoli and na ali’i cultures trust in pono to restore Hawai’i so we only need to assist the process in whatever way we can mostly by right actions to correct wrongs and injustices as well as to remove impediments that our blocking our path to restoration. this is why we seek to remove the unlawful american occupiers from Hawai’i completely and permanently. their very presence here is the ONLY obstacle and impediment to our restoration of Hawai’i to pono.

            its not simply a matter of determining right or wrong. the mountains of undeniable legal evidence, much of which comes from the u.s. national archives and congressional record, prove conclusively and beyond any shadow of a doubt that the u.s. government and its militarily have acted in clear violation of both international law and u.s. constitutional law in every single action that they’ve ever taken in regards to Hawai’i.

            we seek only to remove the american impediment from our island kingdom and nation so that we can restore Hawai’i to pono.

            if you truly wish to help then you can certainly do so by continuing to expose the 122 years of american lies, treachery, deceit, propaganda and illegal and unlawful actions to all of the peoples and nations of the world. help us by disseminating the truth that exposes and dispels the american government’s lies.

            if you will do that then you will be acting with pono. mahalo for listening to my mana’o ?

            ponokeali’i

          • Ponokealii, I am in accord with virtually everything you have said here and in your prior posts. What I don’t think you know is that I lived on Oahu from 1965 to 2001, and have been part of numerous efforts toward honor, truth, justice and peace. I began relating to the sovereignty effort in the 1970’s. I got a lot of my education about Hawaiian sovereignty by listening every Tuesday to Keanu on radio with Keomiki on KCCN. I am no novice to this effort. So when I wrote “LIberate Hawai’i!” it .was principally drawing upon Keanu’s work when he presented to the International Court of Arbitration on the Lance Larsen case. (I got a copy of his document before I left Hawai’i as my Dad was turning 90 and needed help) and that of Queen Liliu’okalani. I got much of my education from my mentor in this–Keanu–by listening weekly on Tuesdays to his explanations with Keaumiki on KCCN. I was also honored that Keanu and Poka Lainui read my book in manuscript form prior to publication and offered constructive criticisms that significantly improved the final version. I give full credit in my book to the brilliant research done by Hawaiian scholars. I follow this issue passionately and am trying to find venues in New England where I can give public presentation on this vital matter. The book is intended primarily for Americans (I see that as my kuleana) but can be a useful tool for Hawaiian activists (who already know the issues well, as you certainly do) in their efforts to extend the educational process to those who have yet to learn. I honor all of you and merely ask that the same be extended to me and others who are ethnically non-Hawaiian but whose passion for all that is pono equal to yours. Mahalo for the respectful tone you have shown, Jon

          • mahalo jon. it was never my intention to imply that you were a novice in these matters. i know of your fine scholarly work and appreciate all of your efforts on behalf of Hawai’i and its people.

            there is so much more new evidence which continues to surface almost daily that it seems as though each day brings more insightful revelations to light regarding our struggle to achieve Hawai’i’s rightful restoration. the gods willing, we will continue to uncover more truths and evidence which can only serve to further bolster and strengthen our efforts to finally realized Hawai’i’s complete restoration.

            i certainly consider you to be a true friend and ally of our kingdom, nation and people as we move steadily closer each day to our inevitable and long-prophesied restoration.

            every one of us who is involved in Hawai’i’s inevitable restoration at any level, including yourself, must adjust and revise our strategies and efforts on an almost daily basis as more truth and factual evidence continues to surface.

            this is why i encourage you to continue the effort that you have already begun with your fine book and to continue to share the truths about Hawai’i with all who will read, listen to and carefully consider all of the knowledge that you have to share with the world about Hawai’i and our coming restoration. mahalo nui loa jon.

            ponokeali’i

          • Thank you Ponokealii for your kind and generous words. This is a lifelong path for me. Actually I have come to the realization that seeking justice is my spiritual calling. Not coincidentally , my daughter named her children Paz (peace in Spanish) and Justice, and I am spending most of January with them now in NYC.

          • perhaps she might consider naming her next child pono (harmony and balance) or aloha (unconditional universal love) or malama (to nurture and sustain).

            ponokeali’i

        • Thank you Jon Polo lei true !! There is lots of good American kanaka that fear the reality of truth an will not accept it because they don’t want to loose all there VA benefits SSS etc!! don’t judge people at all trust people by there deeds of the heart how sincere and true there intention are !!no treaty !!no annexation !!we need U.S.deoccupation period !! we are and will always be national subjects of the kingdom of Hawaii we just need all our subjects loyal to the KOH to assert there jurisdiction as nationals !!

    • How odd that when one who has compound ignorance will spout history pre 1795 ad; rather than the history of the crime. Every time the U.S. citizens brought up ceding the Hawaiian Kingdom to their country, they were always faced with vehement opposition; a sentiment still held today by many Hawaiian Kingdom subjects.

      I guess we could emphasize the holocaust, genocide and massacre of the Native Americans and the buffalo by the U.S. WASP Americans who broke all their treaties with the native Americans. The atrocities committed against all people of color. The war-mongering aggression of the theocratic British colonies that became the United States of America.

      The Hawaiian Kingdom subjects had no racist feelings toward the Caucasian; except for those racist whites that came to Hawaii. Other than them; Hawaiian subjects loved all people; yes, including Americans. Haole, meaning foreigners were mostly Caucasian people because they were the first foreigners to arrive to the islands save a few Asians that happened to come here and some Spaniards. Their arrival made little impact until the U.S. racist Americans with their doctrines of Manifest Destiny, expansionism, ethnocentric, and imperialism forced themselves to our shores embolden with their government and its military along with its criminal activity.

      So as YOU leave OUR independent, neutral nation of the Hawaiian Kingdom, don’t let the door slam you on YOUR ass on YOUR way out!

      • Great response, Tane! Love it! One need look no further than the frequent shooting of black/brown skinned people by US police in contemporary society to flush ThomasThe Wise’s (sic) argument down the toilet.

  15. I have made friends with some people in the southern part of Kauai. I ask them if they consider that because Hawaii is so strategically valuable, location-wise, if the US and it’s military “leave” Hawaii, then China, Russia, or Japan will likely try to posses next, overtly or otherwise. They quickly deny the possibility or gloss it over. The possibility seems very real to me, and I hope they have a practical solution in mind before shaking off their uninvited “big brother”. The US is a bully and was wrong to take Hawaii, but what other bullies are lurking in the alleys who’ll make much less caring occupiers? If the question angers you, why?

    • When the white missionaries first arrived in Hawaii they were astonished to find that the Hawaiian’s did not lie or were ever a part of any lie. They were open and outgoing and would tell you anything you wanted to know. They did not have secrets, as the white men did. The same thing happened when the thieving white men first invaded the eastern seaboard of the american continent. The natives there, too, never lied or were ever a part of any lie.
      The missionaries were incredulous. They thought that all pagan people were savages and, therefore, liars yet the hawaiians never lied. So the missionaries took it upon themselves to change the mindset of the hawaiians. They told the hawaiian’s that they should not tell everyone their ‘business’ and when the hawaiian’s asked them what is ‘business?’ The missionaries replied that ‘businesses’ were personal information that you didn’t want others to know. The hawaiians response was that everyone should know every other person’s ‘business’ because, then, no one would have an unfair, unjust or unnatural advantage over another or others. But the missionaries disagreed and repeatedly admonished the hawaiian’s not to be so truthful and open because bad things will happen to them.
      What the missionaries did not tell the hawaiians is that they were there to steal as much of the hawaiians land as they could. And that’s exactly what they did. They stole our land.

    • Most people always say that, but that proves to me how ignorant people are of Hawaii’s legal history. Here’s a question I would ask for those people who would say that countries such as Japan, China, Russia, etc would take over Hawaii after the end of the American occupation or even if the U.S. did not occupy Hawaii:

      “Do you have any evidence to prove that either one of those countries would take over Hawaii? And even if you did have any proof, it does not justify, nor does it legalize the American occupation of Hawaii”

      Then they would try to justify the American occupation of Hawaii such as saying that, “America has freedom, America treats you better” etc. People can justify this occupation as much as they want, but it does not excuse the illegality. Breaking international law is breaking international law regardless of its motives.

      Another thing people would say to justify this occupation is that if countries such as Japan, Russia, China, etc would take Hawaii over, people would get murdered every day, be slaves, etc, etc. Once again, this proves to me how much people are ignorant of Hawaii’s legal history. For countries that would take over Hawaii and would do such things here would range from War Crimes to Crimes Against Humanity. And this American occupation is no exception because, for instance, War Crimes are being committed here. And if one does not know what War Crimes are or thinks just because it is America, it is a small, non-major crime. War Crimes are what Nazi’s did in German occupied territories, it is what Joseph Kony is doing right now, and it is what Bosco Ntaganda is being held accountable right now at the International Criminal Court. War Crimes are very serious violations!

      Does that all make sense to you? And by the way, when this occupation does come to an end, I don’t think anyone would take over Hawaii after that. But for those who say that will happen, they are completely unaware of not only Hawaii’s legal history, but are unaware of the extreme consequences for the United States because of this century-long occupation. Nations would be insane to take over Hawaii after the American occupation!

      • Iolani you are so pololei! It’s just like saying (forgive the vulgar analogy) I raped this beautiful woman because if I didn’t someone else would have; and I’m such a nice guy because before I did it I wined her and dined her, and I’ve a lot of power and money and I can take care of her etc. etc. A completely rubbish-Nazi-Vulgar-inexcusable-and the Queen would be incensed as well argument. Looter and polluters would offer such an argument that if not the USA then another less lubricated tyrant, occupier would have or will occupy the Kingdom of Hawai’i. E kala mai for the huhu.

        • Aloha, Christopher. Interesting analogy actually. Breaking the law is breaking the law regardless of its circumstances. People can justify this occupation as much as they want, but what they cannot do is legalize it and they know it; they just don’t think that way. They just accept this occupation as not only fact, but “good” and “here to stay.” This sadly goes to show how much this occupation has seriously psychologically damaged all of us beyond imagination! It was first hammered down in fear by our great-grandparents generation, by the time it came to our grandparents and parents generation, it was already institutionalized, and now in our generation, there is no thought, nor question, but just a “fact of life.” Biggest case of child abuse in human history, I would say.

          But now that is beginning to change and with the proper education and with things going on in the international community, its only a matter of time before the clock starts ticking towards an established military government–the first step towards de-occupation and eventually, the restoration of the H.K. Government!

          By the way, just for the sake of conversation, raping a woman in the H.K. is punishable for up to life of hard labor or any number of years and a fine not exceeding $1000. And to rape a female child under 10 years of age is even worse; it is punishable by life of hard labor or the death penalty! Just a little something of education. Aloha

    • Have you heard of any Chinese or Japanese invasions or conquest of Samoa, Tonga, Fiji or Tahiti? These are all small Pacific Island nations smaller than Hawai’i. Don’t buy into the scare tactics promoted by defenders of the status quo intended to sabotage our success. The Empire is cracking because it is brittle–hard but fragile. Further, Mother Earth is protesting in her own way and will continue to do so until the ecological wisdom of native peoples is restored among governments, or those governments are disintegrated and new ones arise more in harmony with our Mother.

    • The popular mindset changes with the times. With John Quincy Adam’s remarks in 1826, it became a common argument if another nation gained influence and control of the Hawaiian Kingdom, the U.S. must impose itself before any of those fears come to fruition. By 1843, the establishment of the unique Hawaiian situation changed by Great Britain acknowledging the sovereign independence of the Hawaiian Kingdom followed by other nations including the U.S. to recognize Hawaii as a peer internationally through its treaties and compacts.

      This then eliminated the fears that the U.S. expressed and thus became a non-moot issue. So intelligently one must remove such a frivolous and vacuous argument as if not the U.S., another world power would overtake the Hawaiian Kingdom. Remember treaties become the supreme law in the land for most countries.

      Respect of our boundaries would be acknowledged as our treaties ratified by other countries. The only one that violated it has ONLY been the United States of America. So let’s not hear of such a ludicrous argument.

  16. The white men are the greediest animals to ever set foot in the Americas and Hawaii. Greed is defined here as ‘the abnormal desire to acquire all that one can get despite already having more than one could ever, ever use’. Greed, then, is the root of all evil and wealth is a fruit of that evil.

  17. I am very grateful for all the discussion, most with Aloha, about the hewa that has been done to our Kingdom. And, as you all know we are ever learning the nuances of the ever emerging crimes committed here. I do want to share one encouragement I discovered the other day, and forgive if I’m stating the obvious as it wasn’t obvious to me, was that I consider myself a Hawaiian of British descent; and many times I acknowledge myself as so. Well, I was reading on the Blog and a writer used the title “Japanese Hawaiians” for those born here and interned during the US WWII. I like this term, designation, appellation, because it fits so nicely…so, I’m a British Hawaiian. Ha! love it! I can’t wait till the day when I can go down and sign on the dotted line and make it official. I came to Hawai’i when I was 8 years old in 1959 and lived in Waikiki when it was barefoot days at school, the Coconut trees actually had coconuts, and we could fish, crab, and swim in the Ala Wai! Aue no ho’i e…..ke aloha kakou!

  18. This whole article reads like a haoles attempt to graft themselves into the sovereignty movement. News flash, you’re not part of the revolution… and here’s another news flash, you had more rights under the queen then you’ll ever have with the united states. Yes there were different nationalities who were under subjects of the Hawaiian monarchy. But those nationalities existed in Hawaii for one reason. To rape and pillage the Hawaiian people and the natural beauty and resources of the land. I myself am not full blooded Kanaka Maoli but I recognize that the other races I have in my blood, were only brought to Hawaii to be exploited with wage slavery in the plantations. I’m also part white as well.

    Well I’m not trying to make the movement exclusively Kanaka, but its sort of like #black lives matter. When Hawaiian rights and sovereignty is respected, so will the rights of the rest population too be acknowledge. I don’t think the movement is operating on a false premise. Our ancestors, with our blood, took a huge risk sailing into the dark pacific, and for their efforts they were awarded with paradise. Its time to get it back, and use the land for something better than sugarcane and tourism.

    PS I am not a monarchist, I’m a anarchist. But to inject other nationals as somehow victims of the united states overthrow is wrong. Yes everyone gets screwed in the end. But that like saying, slavery in the united states sucked for white people too. it didn’t.

    • The U.S. government was trying to secure over 1 million dollars USD with a 1,000 year loan payback from the Hawaiian Kingdom since it was on the verge of bankruptcy. The Hawaiian Kingdom refused its request. Ergo, it resulted in the destabilizing of the HK government unlawfully in 1887 by enlisting U.S. American businessmen who attained dual citizenship like Thurston, Dole, Damon, etc. to work within the HK government. In collusion with them, they staged the overthrow of the HK government to annex the Hawaiian Kingdom and absconded with its treasury. This helped bail the U.S. out of its dilemma.

      The Hawaiian Kingdom does have its own currency. The U.S. took-over its government and renamed it, changed its currency and postal stamps, took-over its agencies, bureaus/departments, its ali’i trusts, court systems and laws to supplant its own laws to fit its own U.S. national needs. The U.S. was embroiled in its workman’s union strikes and demonstrations during the late 1800s. It’s economy was in turmoil. There is a saying that the only way to balance they economy is to have a war. It’s consistent with the U.S. historical history of criminal aggression and massacre/genocide for U.S. hegemony, expansionism, WASP ethnocentric racism, and imperialism. It’s based on its doctrines of Manifest Destiny and interpreting the dictates of Divine Providence colored to their agenda and advantage to absolve their criminal actions, mindset, and behavior.

    • in it, I failed to mention that in 1854, the Kingdom of Hawaii achieved international status of neutrality; such as what Switzerland achieved. This status was a thorn in McKinley’s-side and he had to figure a way around Hawaii’s status because of the Spanish-American War. The U.S. continues to violate that status today. The mounting U.S. violations of international crimes must end; de-occupy the Kingdom of Hawaii and address the crimes with justice; rather than keep making a mockery of justice.

  19. Mahalo Nui loa, knowledge is power. The Occupier, needed to enforce, Hawaiian Kingdom law. We didn’t occupy Iraq, and enforce American Law. The US can’t do that anymore……For some reason it happened to an Independent nation, it the middle of the North Pacific Ocean, in 1893. Which still has treaties. The United States needs to step up, the descendants of the Ku’e Petitions, are still waiting, for JUSTICE! Is that possible?
    Aloha no,
    IC

  20. We are not satisfied with goverment sums of money.

    We are Hawaiians not just the ethnicity but the nationality. The prolonged illegal occupation in Hawai’i stripped the sovereignty of not just Hawaiians of ethnic desendants, but Swiss Hawaiian subjects, Chinese Hawaiian subjects, Japanese Hawaiian subjects, and American Hawaiian Subjects. The children of missionaries and immigrants were granted citizenship. The Ku’e petitions included 4/5 of Hawaii’s population voting against annexation to Hawai’i.

    America has no treaty of annexation. Because the voice of democracy and voting snuffed it out. The people unanimously said no to becoming American. So America being in Hawai’i today is unconstitutional and stands as a witness against its own laws. No where in congressional law can the United States make laws or tax a foreign Nation or stake claim to it. America is without jurisdiction. No diffrent than how the U.S. cannot annex China, Russia, or Brazil.

    Hawai’i is the pinnacle of international injustice, and defies the law of nations.

    America has only one option. Deoccupation. Just like Iraq, they Hawaii needs to be deoccupied for the illegal acts of war and occupation within its boarders.

  21. My name is Amelia Murray and I am currently a student completing my final year of school. I am from Norfolk Island, a small sub-tropical Island in the South Pacific and I am very passionate about my Island’s culture and sense of community.

    As part of a major work study that I must complete for my school work, I have chosen to investigating the current political conflict between Norfolk Island and the Australian government authorities. With the Australian government publishing their acquisition of Norfolk Island in June last year.

    My work will focus on how the conflicting interests of the Australian government, in conjunction with the disregard for Norfolk unique culture, has impacted on the Norfolk community and their efforts to ensure the sustainability of their culture.

    After participating in the Festival of Pacific Arts in Guam, 2016, it came to my attention that both Hawaii and Guam are under the same battle for justice. Therefore, I was hoping to include thorough evidence from your Island.

    I plan to focus on the idea of continuity and change and specifically how the American authorities in Hawaii have shifted the traditional culture, heritage and community of structure of your people. I have created a short set of questions and was wondering if a member from your organisation would be able to answer these, to better aid my research and understanding. This would be much appreciates

    Thank you for your time,

    Amelia

  22. I would like to have dialogue with pro Hawai’i independance people I see and hear a lot of ignorance and miss information out there I have studied and followed the movement for closs to 50 year and have a lot to share and questions to ask. I dare you

  23. “…when in fact The Hawaiian Kingdom is for all of us Kanaka Maoli and the rest of the subjects and nationals of other countries living harmoniously together with our rights and responsibilities…” If that is what the movement is about I am in. I have long looked for a way as a haole living here for 20 years to participate in the movement. Misinformation says indigenous Hawaiians won’t accept me, but I never quite believed it. I know there are likely requirements and caveats Kanaka will demand of me: dropping my native language for Hawaiian, obeying and accepting new laws and traditions, paying taxes to the Kingdom, and essentially ‘decolonizing’ my mind. I’m all for it, but need Kanaka to guide the way. I quit mainland thinking years ago and my allegiance is to the people here above anything else (especially the US).

    • Egg noggy – this is a racist Hawaiian sovereignty propaganda page. If my reply to you actually gets posted, read above to see how there are nothing but pro-Hawaiian sovereignty posts. No critical rebuttals allowed. Typical. The Hawaiian sovereignty zealots fear and hate everyone who disagrees with them. Same old BS.

      Oh and good luck with getting accepted as a “haole”. If you are using that racial slur to describe yourself, you’re already falling victim to their toxic world view and well on your way to becoming a second class citizen in their eyes.

    • Egg: As a Caucasian (aka haole) who lived on Oahu for 36 years and felt it as home, I can assure you that if you treat people with genuine respect and are sincere, you can easily be accepted by nearly all. Not necessary to abandon your native language, but to make an effort to learn deeply from the local culture and integrate some new words into your vocabulary, you will be on the right track. Read and listen, then participate supportively. I wrote and got published a book in support of the effort to regain de facto sovereignty; de jure sovereignty was never lost. The intent was to educate Americans who generally are clueless about the actual history because it was never (of course) taught to them. Find what resonates with you in your own path in this regard.

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