The overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawai’i
On Jan. 17, 1893, Hawai’i’s monarchy was overthrown when a group of businessmen and sugar planters forced Queen Liliuokalani to surrender. The coup led to the dissolving of the Kingdom of Hawai’i two years later, its annexation as a U.S. territory and eventual admission as the 50th state in the union.
When King Kalakaua died in 1891, he was succeeded by his sister, Liliuokalani, who proposed a new constitution that would restore powers of the monarchy and extend voting rights for native Hawaiians. The queen’s actions angered many of Hawai’i’s white businessmen, who formed a 13-member Committee of Safety with the goal of overthrowing the monarchy and seeking annexation by the United States.
On Jan. 16, 1893 Hawaiian Marshal Charles B. Wilson attempted to arrest the committee members and declare martial law, but his attempts were turned down by other government officials who feared violence. The next day, after a police officer was shot and wounded trying to halt the distribution of weapons to the Committee of Safety’s militia, the committee decided to put its coup into action. Near the queen’s ʻIolani Palace in Honolulu, the committee’s militia gathered and were joined by 162 U.S. Marines and Navy sailors who were ordered by John L. Stevens, U.S. Minister to Hawai’i, to protect the committee. The queen surrendered peacefully to avoid violence.
The Committee of Safety established a provisional government headed by Mr. Dole. President Grover Cleveland opposed the provisional government and called for the queen to be restored to power, but the Committee of Safety established the Republic of Hawai’i and refused to cede power. A revolutionary Provisional Government was put in place immediately, and given de facto recognition within 2 days by the local consuls of every nation with a consulate in Honolulu. Following a Constitutional Convention and election, the Republic of Hawai’i was created in July 1894. Emperors, Kings, Queens, and Presidents of 20 nations on 4 continents personally signed letters in 11 languages giving full-fledged recognition de jure to the Republic as the rightful government.
In 1895, Hawaiian royalists began a coup against the republic, but it did not succeed. Queen Liliuokalani was arrested for her alleged role in the coup and convicted of treason. The queen agreed to formally yield her authority until the Government of the United States, upon being presented the facts, undid the action of its representatives and reinstated her in the authority which she claimed as the Constitutional Sovereign of the Hawaiian Islands.
Hawai’i remained an independent nation for 4 years. Hawai’i offered a Treaty of Annexation in 1897 and the U.S. accepted the Treaty in 1898. Hawai’i was administered as a U.S. territory until 1959, when it became the 50th state.
Attempts at reparations
We recognize the wrongs committed against the Kingdom of Hawai’i and reaffirm the philosophy and efforts of Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole, the first prince and native Hawaiian elected to U.S. Congress. In his 19-years of service he supported legislation for native Hawaiian rights to a land base for housing, farming and preservation of traditional and cultural practices. His dream was fulfilled with passage of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1921. The federal Hawaiian Homes Commission transitioned to the state run Department of Hawaiian Home Lands in 1960 after Hawai’i became the 50th state.
In 1993, Congress issued an apology to the people of Hawai’i for the U.S. government’s role in the overthrow and acknowledged that “the native Hawaiian people never directly relinquished to the United States their claims to their inherent sovereignty.” Beginning in 2000, Senator Akaka repeatedly proposed to Congress the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act, also known as the Akaka Bill, which would extend sovereignty to over 400,000 native Hawaiians.
The measure would give Native Hawaiians equivalent legal standing to American Indians and native Alaskans and lead to the creation of a governing body that would make decisions on their behalf. The governing body would also have the power to negotiate with federal and state authorities over the disposition of vast amounts of land and resources taken by the United States when the islands were annexed in 1898.
Supporters said the bill was necessary to protect native culture and redress Hawaiians for past injustices. Opponents said the bill was unworkable and would create a racially divided state. Senator Akaka said on the floor of the U.S. Senate in December 2010 that “misleading attacks” and “unprecedented obstruction” led to the failure of the legislation in the 111th Congress.
Where we are now
Is there a way forward for a bill that grants more autonomy in giving Native Hawaiians more control over the land, culture and resources of the islands without racially dividing the state?
Most Native Hawaiians don’t want the Department of the Interior’s definition of “federal recognition” as a Hawaiian Tribe, but rather they want self determination.
Excerpt from grassroots.org
The Grassroot Institute criticized the Department of the Interior for subverting the will of Native Hawaiians on the issue of federal recognition. With the announcement of the DOI’s rule to facilitate the reestablishment of a formal government-to-government relationship with the Native Hawaiian community, the President has reignited a controversy that had begun to wane in the wake of Na’i Aupuni’s dissolution.
Native Hawaiians are on record as overwhelmingly opposed to efforts by the Department of Interior to recognize or establish a Hawaiian tribe or government. Every survey by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, from 1978 to the present, shows that Native Hawaiians want OHA to stop wasting money on federal recognition and, instead, to spend those millions on meeting the real needs of Hawaiians for housing, jobs, education, and health care. OHA and the DOI are on a crash course in their rejection of the will of the Hawaiian people.
The DOI proposed the rule in 2015, and the Grassroot Institute was among the many who submitted comments in opposition to the creation of a federal Native Hawaiian tribe. Grassroot’s comments cited problems with the rule’s Constitutionality, its attempt to usurp Congressional authority, and its divisive nature as only a few of the many reasons the rule should have been set aside.
Most of all, Grassroot cited the continual Native Hawaiian opposition to federal recognition, pointing out that by pushing for the creation of a Native Hawaiian polity, the rule would precipitate a legal challenge and fracture any sense of cultural unity among Native Hawaiian groups.
The bureaucrats in Washington aren’t listening to the Native Hawaiian people. We are still fresh from the disaster that was the Native Hawaiian Roll and the Na’i Aupuni constitutional convention. This rule only encourages OHA and the state to waste more time and resources on a problematic and unconstitutional nation-building effort.
The path forward
We encourage all the stakeholders in Hawai’i to come together to work towards a solution on a path forward that meets the desire of the Native Hawaiian people for self determination that is both workable and non-divisive. I pledge to advocate to the federal government on behalf of the people of Hawai’i on any agreed upon solution to make it a reality.