Two events are planned for Sunday to commemorate the day in 1843 when the Hawaiian nation re-established its independence following five months of British military occupation.

Ka La Ho'iho'i Ea — Sovereignty Restoration Day — was a national holiday in the days of the monarchy. The occasion has gained renewed significance in recent years for Native Hawaiians and others who seek national independence from the United States.

As has been the custom for more than a decade, a gathering of independence groups and their supporters will lower the American flag and raise Hawaiian Kingdom banners at Thomas Square. It was at the site in 1843 that Adm. Richard Thomas, British Pacific fleet commander, ordered the lowering of the British flag after condemning and withdrawing the military occupation headed by another British sailor, Lord George Paulet.

Also Sunday, speakers will gather at the Native Books/Na Mea Hawai'i outlet at Ward Warehouse to give presentations on restoration day and what it means to be a Hawaiian national in today's world.
[...]
The Native Books event, co-sponsored by Pae 'Aina Productions, will run from 3 to 5 p.m. Presentations are scheduled by Williamson Chang, a University of Hawai'i Richardson School of Law professor, and David Keanu Sai, a doctoral candidate in political science at UH who maintains that the Hawaiian Kingdom still exists and is being illegally occupied.
[...]
Pae 'Aina, a publisher, also is using the occasion to launch its release of the Ku'e Petitions that were sent to Congress in 1898 in an "island-by-island" format. The Ku'e Petitions contained the signatures of thousands of Native Hawaiians who opposed U.S. annexation.