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Sunday in Honolulu:
For more than a decade, Hawaiians have gathered on July 31 to raise the colors of the Hawaiian Nation, often in place of the American Flag, to recognize the day in 1843 when British Adm. Richard Thomas ordered the Hawaiian flag raised and the kingdom restored after five months of British rule on the islands.
Following Thomas' order to restore sovereignty to the kingdom [...] King Kamehamea III proclaimed a 10-day holiday and July 31 became an annually celebrated holiday.
In the past decade, the observance of Sovereignty Restoration Day has taken on new significance for Hawaiians seeking independence from the United States.
View Photo galleries from Sunday's events in Honolulu.
On the flip, original current nationally relevant context, with the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act coming up in the Senate right after the August recesss...
Also Sunday was an
event to launch the re-issuing of the massive 1897 anti-annexation "
Ku`e Petitions" in an "island-by-island" format, plus the publication of the
Hawaiian Civil Code of 1884, as well as Hawaiian Kingdom
Treaties and Conventions.
Meanwhile, on Saturday, the day the Senate recessed, Sen. Frist filed a cloture motion on what is known as the Akaka bill, the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act, a bill that would begin a process of recognizing aboriginal Hawaiians under the Dept of Interior, similar to Native Americans and Alaska Natives, and initiate a process for Hawaiians to set up a domestic, dependent limited form of self-government.
Although Hawaii's Republican governor, Linda Lingle, has been lobbying hard in support of the bill (some on the right, who think she is too moderate, say she may be looking to run for senate), in Hawaii there is opposition to the bill on one side from the conservative extremists who want complete elimination of all "Native Hawaiian" policies and programs, who are allied with Federalist Society types nationally. And some conservatives and Republicans nationally have been ranting against in the bill in the editorial pages of the WSJ, Wash Times, etc. MM has been calling it "apartheid." And one of the scares they are raising against the bill is that it could lead to Hawaii's secession.
Ironically, at the same time the bill is opposed by the Hawaiian nationalists (nonviolent) who believe (with very compelling legal evidence) that Hawaii's independence is still legally intact but under prolonged illegal military occupation. (They are not "secessionist" because there was never a valid cession of Hawaii's sovereignty or territory to the U.S.) Although many supporters of independence also support the Akaka bill for various reasons, or are neutral on it, there is vocal opposition to the bill from some of the most outspoken voices for independence, who feel that it is an attempt to internalize and subvert the still existing international status of the Hawaiian state.
In the past five years, Sen. Kyl (R-AZ) has blocked versions of the bill from coming to the floor of the senate for debate. But last year he was forced in a compromise to promise to let it come to a vote this year, and Frist also promised to bring it to the floor for debate. Then a couple weeks ago when it was expected to be debated, as many as six other Republicans put up blocks. Akaka threatened to file a cloture motion, but Frist finally agreed to file it on the last day before recess.
Which means, if I understand Senate rules correctly, it is the first think they have to take up after the recess.
It has been getting some print and TV news coverage nationally, and has been picked up some on blogs. But much more on the right side of the blogosphere than the left, and on the left side it has been mostly under the radar so to speak.
If this is all news to you, you catch up at the Akaka bill section of my blog about Hawaiian independence.
There are a number of interesting twists and enough political irony to ... actually I can't think of an appropriate and/or ironically witty comparison, but believe me, there's plenty of irony. I'll write a list sometime.
Anyway, below is Monday's article from West Hawaii Today, which was also in the Hilo Tribune-Herald.
The article doesn't say this, but this day Kamehameha III also uttered the phrase "Ua Mau Ke Ea O Ka Aina I Ka Pono" which is today the Hawaii "state" motto. It is usually translated as "The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness" but Ea very literally means sovereignty or independence, in a political sense, as well as "life."
On November 28 of that year, 1843, France and England jointly recognized the Hawaiian Islands as an independent, sovereign country, which the United States had also agreed to recognize. This became Hawaiian Independence Day.
West Hawaii Today
August 1, 2005
Group re-enacts 1843 replacing of Union Jack with Hawaiian flag
by Betsy Tranquilli
btranquilli@westhawaiitoday.com
In Honolulu, there were organized speeches, presentations, marches, music rallies and flag-raising.
On the Big Island, things were more subdued, although just as reverent. The independence group Huakai I Na Aina Mauna and a few independent observers made the trek Sunday to the summit of Mauna Kea. They lugged large bamboo poles, while the sound of conch shells echoed behind them.
As the group of 25 made it to the peak, laboring for air at the nearly 14,000-foot elevation and bundling up to block the brisk wind, they prepared for the day's purpose -- to commemorate Ka La Hoihoi Ea, or Sovereignty Restoration Day, a former national holiday under the Hawaiian Monarch.
"We're here with a very special purpose," Ku Ching said, addressing the crowd. "On July 31, this very day in Honolulu at Thomas Square, Adm. Richard Thomas took down the Union Jack and put back the Hawaiian flag. ... Today we re-enact the same thing."
For more than a decade, Hawaiians have gathered on July 31 to raise the colors of the Hawaiian Nation, often in place of the American Flag, to recognize the day in 1843 when British Adm. Richard Thomas ordered the Hawaiian flag raised and the kingdom restored after five months of British rule on the islands.
Following Thomas' order to restore sovereignty to the kingdom under London's new law that 'native government be treated with forbearance and courtesy, and their laws and customs be respected,' King Kamehamea III proclaimed a 10-day holiday and July 31 became an annually celebrated holiday.
In the past decade, the observance of Sovereignty Restoration Day has taken on new significance for Hawaiians seeking independence from the United States.
"I'm trying to educate my children on the true history of Hawaii," Waimea resident Issac Hart said while making offerings at the summit's alter, as his son Jacob Cherish and niece Pua stood behind him carrying the Hawaii state flag upside-down in protest.
"It's the history not taught in public schools. Hopefully, it will set an example for the U.S. to follow the example of the British to restore the Hawaiian nation."
But looking out over the green and yellow landscape of the Big Island, Sunday's ceremony had another purpose aside from calling for Hawaiian sovereignty.
The only speech of the day was delivered by Kailua-Kona resident Allen Hoe, father of Army 1st Lt. Nainoa K. Hoe, who was killed Jan. 22 in Mosul, Iraq by a sniper as he led a foot patrol.
Hoe, a Vietnam veteran, told the group of his family's proud warrior ancestry, a lineage his son carried with him proudly while serving in the military. He spoke of the 17 men he lost in Vietnam, eight of whom are still missing, and how he never thought he would be able to understand those families pain and loss until he lost Nainoa.
"I thought I knew what it was to be a soldier," said Hoe, fighting back tears. "I thought I knew what it was to be brave, what it was to put on this face. And then I learned to be a father. ...Thirty-seven years ago, I lost 17 guys and every day since then I thought about them and their families. Until January, I could not imagine what they were going through."
Copyright © West Hawaii Today, 1997 - 2004
More on the sacrifice of Hawaiian nationalist and Army 1st Lt. Nainoa Hoe. Yes, he's one of the most tragic of ironies.