La Ku`oko`a: Hawaiian Independence Day

Press release...

November 21, 2006 Contact: Lynette Cruz

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Phone 284-3460

The Living Nation Celebrates

La Ku`oko`a: Hawaiian Independence Day

The Living Nation will celebrate La Ku`oko`a, Hawaiian Independence Day, on Sunday, November 26, 3 – 7 pm on the grounds of `Iolani Palace. Melvin Kalahiki, chair of the Living Nation, notes that "we are privileged to remember and commemorate the life and work of Timoteo Ha`alilio, a national hero, and to highlight the relationship of this Hawaiian Ali`i and Ambassador to His Majesty, King Kamehameha III."

The original celebration of Hawaii's independence took place during the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1843, after England and France recognized Hawaii as a member of the European family of nations, and as an independent country equal to England, France, and the United States. The day continued to be an annual celebration from about 1844 to 1895, and for some years afterward, unofficially.

La Ku`oko`a marks the day, November 28, 1843, that the Ali`i Timoteo Ha`alilio, sent as part of an envoy by King Kamehameha III, succeeded in obtaining the signatures of the authorities of Great Britain and France on a treaty recognizing Hawai`i as a sovereign nation. Ha`alilio, with the missionary William Richards along as his secretary, traveled through Mexico on foot and donkey to Washington D.C., where they met President John Tyler. Ha`alilio and Richards, armed with his agreement, then went on to Europe, to Belgium, Paris, and London, where the treaty was finally signed. They returned to the United States to cement U.S. agreement. On the journey home Ke Ali`i Timoteo Ha`alilio died, on December 3, 1844.

The Treaty of Independence was a substantial achievement under international law, recognized by the government of the Kingdom through the official celebration of La Ku`oko`a. After the overthrow in 1893, the so-called Republic of Hawai`i government announced that November 28, 1895—a Thursday—would no longer be celebrated as La Ku`oko`a. Instead, Thanksgiving would become the official national holiday. The po`e aloha `aina—the thousands of Kanaka Maoli opposed to the illegal haole government—were incensed. They ignored the government's orders, and continued to hold celebrations of La Ku`oko`a. At those gatherings, they told the story of Ha`alilio's journey and significant achievement. James Kaulia of the Hui Aloha `Aina said that "the Kanaka Maoli recalled with gladness the restoration and perpetuation of the independence of Hawai`i, but their happiness was mixed with feelings of distress because the right to independence had been snatched from their shoulders." He said, further, "Ke ku nei ke kanaka Hawaii me he kuewa la, aohe ona aina: The Hawaiian person stands as a homeless vagabond, one who has no land." The thieves of 1895-1896 not only deprived the Kanaka Maoli of a national holiday, they enacted laws that caused the loss of our language and the related loss of our own history. That process caused us to be deprived of even the memory of this national holiday.

In our current process of de-occupying, we reject the occupier's holiday, and resurrect La Ku'oko'a instead.

As a result of the recognition of Hawaiian independence the Hawaiian Kingdom entered into treaties with the major nations of the world and established over ninety legations and consulates in multiple seaports and cities. Celebrating our own holidays is one way to raise consciousness of a history that has been erased from the standard American textbooks and from the local Hawaii school system.

For more information about this important Holiday, visit HawaiianKingdom.org. Funding for this project has been provided by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

Posted: Wed - November 22, 2006 at 01:54 AM

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La Ku`oko`a: Hawaiian Independence Day

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