This blog is about Hawaii's status as an independent country under prolonged illegal occupation by the United States, and the history, culture, law & politics of the islands.
Brandon and Bumpy share about their experience with Al Jazeera Plus visiting Puuhonua O Waimanalo and telling the story of the land base of the Nation of Hawaii, and talk about blockchain technology among other topics.
In the first half, Dr. David “Keanu” Sai, who has a Ph.D. in Political Science specializing in Hawaiian Constitutionalism and International Relations, argued that Hawaii is not legally a US State, and it should be considered a sovereign nation, as it was never legally part of the US. “Hawaii,” he mused, “was kidnapped but it was treated like it was adopted.” Since 1843, Hawaii was recognized as an independent state, and had consulates in various locations throughout the US, he noted, but the US sought to gain Hawaii as a military outpost, and a puppet government bypassed the monarchy and signed a treaty with America in 1893.
Later that year, President Cleveland received a diplomatic protest from the head of state of the Hawaiian Kingdom, claiming that US marines had overthrown a neutral government. An investigation was initiated and the Secretary of State at the time, agreed that the US bore responsibility for the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian government, Sai reported. In 1898, an annexation resolution was passed by US Congress to seize Hawaii during the Spanish-American War, and the military never left– there are currently 118 military installations on the islands, he added. Sai has participated in proceedings at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Netherlands, which has verified that the Hawaiian Kingdom still exists, and is not a part of the United States.
Issues that Matter recorded on Feb. 1, 2017, welcomes Italian National Dr. Federico Lenzerini and Dr Keanu Sai discussing work at the Permanent Court of Arbitration; International Commission of Inquiry/Larson Case.
WAIMANALO, OAHU (HawaiiNewsNow) –
The next episode of “Hawaii Five-0” may be more fact than fiction.
Producers say they wanted to tackle a real issue with a storyline that has relevance in today’s world so they decided to feature the ongoing struggle of Native Hawaiians seeking recognition as a sovereign people following the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii 124 years ago.
“Ka Laina Ma Ke One (Line in the Sand)” features is about a fugitive seeking asylum in the Nation of Hawaii.
The trailer for the episode features a standoff between the U.S. Marshals and the Five-0 crew, who have to inform guest star Lou Diamond Phillips that he doesn’t have the jurisdiction to chase after a murder suspect in the area because the Nation of Hawaii isn’t part of the United States.
While the storyline may be made for television, the issue is all too real — and so is the Nation of Hawaii where it was filmed.
“The concept was to come up with a storyline that would allow the audience to understand more about the sovereign country within the state. So a diplomatic standoff felt like the right way into that world,” said “Hawaii Five-0” producer Bryan Spicer.
“We really just wanted to tell a story deeply rooted in Hawaiian culture and share that with the world. The history of this Nation is not something that a lot of the world — or even our country knows about — so if we can create some awareness or discussion I think that would be beneficial.”
That’s exactly what advocate and head of state of the Nation of Hawaii, Bumpy Kanahele, is hoping for as well.
“The goal of this exposure is to bring awareness of our struggles to bring awareness of the overthrow may have been 124 years ago but today the manifestation of that damage still exists,” he said.
“I want the world to know that Hawaiians have our own identity. We are Hawaiian Nationals. Our national sovereignty returned to us in 1993 when the U.S. apologized for the overthrow in law. We’ve done everything from that point on until today, which has brought us to the point where producers from Hollywood was interested in a story. It’s kind of like a reality show for real.”
The Nation of Hawaii has a long, complicated history.
In short, the area it calls home — Puuhonua o Waimanalo — was created in 2001 when the Nation of Hawaii entered into a lease agreement with the state with the understanding that if and when a government of and by Native Hawaiians is formed, it would become its land base.
Producers say they specifically timed the episode to air this week in commemoration of the 124th anniversary of the overthrow of the government of the Kingdom of Hawaii, which took place on January 17, 1893.
Nate Smith, executive director of the Texas Nationalist Movement, looked uncertain as a man identifying himself as an east Ukrainian resistance fighter pledged solidarity to Smith’s struggle for an independent Texas. Standing in a conference room in the Ritz Hotel in central Moscow on Sunday, Smith nodded noncommittally and handed over his business card.
It wasn’t the only incongruous encounter taking place at the Ritz at what has been dubbed Moscow’s international conference of separatists, an eclectic Kremlin-funded gathering of organizations and sometimes wacky individuals pressing for self-rule for often unlikely territories.
Amidst the heavy glitz of the hotel, Catalonian separatists and dissident Irish republicans listened politely to presentations from east Ukrainian rebels, Azerbaijani minorities and the thoughts of the self-proclaimed “King of Hawaii,” who called in via video link.
And among the few dozen activists comparing ideas for how to achieve self-determination, were two Americans campaigning for Texan and Californian secession from the United States.
The conference, now in its second year, is funded largely by the Kremlin and organized by the Anti-Globalization Movement of Russia, a group that closely follows government positions. The movement says it is unconnected to the Kremlin, but the hotel conference was almost entirely paid for by a charitable fund founded by President Vladimir Putin, which provided close to $546,000 for the project, according to public records. The attendees, including the Texan delegate, had been offered free flights and accommodation.
The conference’s organizers present it as a platform for marginalized groups, but its agenda overlaps with Kremlin efforts to promote Russia as an alternative guardian for global order, at the head of democratic movement opposed to alleged American imperialism.
