In the recent ceded lands hearing at the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 25, Attorney General Mark Bennett repeatedly asserted that the State of Hawai'i has perfect title to more than 1 million acres of land that were transferred to the United States government upon annexation in 1898 and then transferred to the State of Hawai'i in 1959. This is an incorrect statement. ...
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If there is no record of a deed from the Hawaiian Kingdom government and the Queen to the provisional government transferring government and crown lands, there is a break in the chain of title and therefore the State of Hawai'i cannot claim to have a perfect title, which is a "requirement for the sale of real estate." As far as the term "ceded lands," there is no such thing because the government and crown lands were never "yielded or given up by treaty" to the United States in the first place.

Confusing "cession" for "occupation" is tantamount to confusing "adoption" for "kidnapping." This is not a case of semantics, but ignorance of the legal and political history of Hawai'i.