Hawaiian sovereignty movement

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

Groups and organizations

Office of Hawaiian Affairs

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

Related Topics:
Office of Hawaiian Affairs - 1978 - State of Hawaii Constitutional Convention - Hawaiian Homelands - Ceded Lands - 1898 - Territory of Hawaii - 1959

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

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

Related Topics:
Native Hawaiian - U.S. Supreme Court - Rice v. Cayetano

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Few Native Hawaiians now believe that OHA has represented them successfully. Many think that the OHA trustees have been too pliant, too willing to please the state government. Trustees have also been prone to factional strife. Disappointed, many Native Hawaiians turned to other organizations.

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Ka Lahui

Ka Lahui Hawai‘i was formed in 1987 as a grassroots initiative for Hawaiian sovereignty. The Trask sisters, Mililani Trask and Haunani-Kay Trask, were prominent in the effort. Native Hawaiians were to sign up as citizens of Ka Lahui. Once they were united, they would be able to bargain with the United States government for recognition, land, and restitution. They took as their model the Indian reservations of the U.S. mainland, which have increasingly become self-governing. Many thousands of Native Hawaiians signed up as members. However, few of them actually participated in the affairs of Ka Lahui after signing their name.

Related Topics:
Ka Lahui Hawai‘i - Mililani Trask - Haunani-Kay Trask

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Ka Lahui seems to have succeeded to the extent that the Hawaii congressional delegation is supporting a bill by Senator Daniel Akaka that recognizes Native Hawaiians as a first nation on a par with Native Americans and Alaskan tribes. Ka Lahui, however, regards the bill as illegitimate and opposes it.

Related Topics:
Bill - Daniel Akaka

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Nation of Hawai'i

Dennis Puʻuhonua "Bumpy" Kanahele made the news in 1993 when he and followers occupied Kaupo Beach, near Makapuʻu, Oʻahu (they had occupied the area surrounding the Makapuʻu lighthouse in 1989). A descendant of the Kamehamehas, Bumpy took the title "Head of State" of the Nation of Hawaiʻi in an attempt to gain international recognition for Hawaiian sovereignty. The group abandoned their occupation in exchange for the use of ceded lands in the adjacent community of Waimānalo. The group nearly lost its land several times, due to issues surrounding rent and liability insurance, but as of 2005, it is still there, home to 70 people.

Related Topics:
Dennis Puʻuhonua "Bumpy" Kanahele - 1993 - Kamehamehas - Ceded lands - Waimānalo - 2005

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Kanahele made headlines again in 1995 when his group gave sanctuary to Nathan Brown, a Native Hawaiian activist who had refused to pay federal taxes in protest of the continued U.S. "occupation" of Hawaiʻi. Kanahele was arrested, convicted, and sentenced to eight months in federal prison.

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

Related Topics:
Kawaipuna Prejean - Linda Lingle

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Ka Pakaukau: Kekuni Blaisdell

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

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

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Poka Laenui (Hayden Burgess)

Hayden Burgess now goes by the Hawaiian name Poka Laenui and heads the Institute for the Advancement of Hawaiian Affairs. A lawyer, Laenui argues that because the "U.S. armed invasion and overthrow" http://www.multiworld.org/m_versity/articles/poka.htm of the Hawaiian monarchy was illegal, the current government of the state is illegal, and that residents owe it no fealty or taxes. He advocates a "process of decolonization" resulting in a totally independent government that would include all non-Hawaiians living in Hawaiʻi.

Related Topics:
Hayden Burgess - Poka Laenui

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

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Hawaiian Kingdom: Keanu Sai

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

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Sai co-founded a Hawaiian title company, Perfect Title, which stated that all land transactions since the overthrow of the monarchy were invalid if superseded by legitimate pre-existing claims; some clients refused to make mortgage payments and lost their property. The title company's offices were raided in the 1990's (although no warrant was issued), resulting in the eventual closure of the company.

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Sai represented the Hawaiian Kingdom in a case brought before the World Court's Permanent Court of Arbitration at the Hague, in the Netherlands (Larsen v. Hawaiian Kingdom;  Honolulu Weekly item), seeking to have U.S. rule in Hawaii declared in breach of mutual treaty obligations and international law. The World Court acknowledged the existence of the Hawaiian Kingdom, but could not continue with the case because of the nonparticipation of an affected third party, namely the United States.

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