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.
Ian Lind in Civil Beat runs down the arguments on both sides in the federal court hearing today on the legality of the Na‘i Aupuni election process, and motion of preliminary injunction seeking to put the election on hold.
After four hours of legal arguments on Tuesday by supporters and opponents of the current election for delegates to a Native Hawaiian political convention that both sides agree could be an important step toward some form of Hawaiian self-governance, federal Judge J. Michael Seabright said he will decide by the end of the week whether he will block the election from proceeding.
Seabright is presiding over a lawsuit brought by several opponents of the process that is widely expected to be a significant step toward Hawaiian political autonomy. The lawsuit is backed by Judicial Watch, a conservative Washington foundation, and the lead plaintiff is Kelii Akina, CEO of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, a local conservative, free-market educational group.
Tuesday’s hearing was request by plaintiffs seeking a preliminary injunction that would put the election on hold until the issues being raised by the lawsuit can be decided. No trial date has yet been set, while ballots are due to be distributed to the list of certified voters on Nov. 1.
Seabright said he will rule on the injunction and scheduled another hearing for 10:30 a.m. Friday to explain the basis for it.
[…]
The election is opposed by Hawaiians on two ends of the political spectrum. Some Hawaiians like Akina, a political conservative, have opposed extending special status to Hawaiians. But the election process is also opposed by those Hawaiians who say they will not support anything less than full national independence. They also are against any process that would grant Hawaiians the same status as Native American tribal governments, which they see as limiting sovereignty.
[…]
Much of the legal wrangling during the hearing revolved around the issue of whether this election is truly a private affair among Hawaiians only, or whether its public funding and the participation of OHA, a state agency, mean that it is really a government function involving “state action” and subject to the constitutional protections against various forms of discrimination in voting and elections.
Asian-Pacific Law & Policy Journal, Vol. 16.2, 2015
Abstract: To Delegates to the Hawaiian Convention to Establish a Governing Entity
Before moving ahead, Native Hawaiians must study and learn about the various forms of government throughout the world. Others around us know little about our real history. We, too, may not know our full history. We must gather more knowledge before making the momentous decisions which are the ostensible objectives of this convention. Justice Scalia, an extremely educated and esteemed constitutional scholar is an example of how little the world knows about the history of Hawai‘i.
Recent remarks by Justice Scalia reveal the extent and consequences of the campaign of deception asserting that Hawai‘i was acquired by joint resolution. This claim is not only false. It is impossible. The inability of a Joint Resolution to acquire the territory of the sovereign nation of Hawai‘i was emphatically pointed out during the Senate debate on the Joint Resolution in the summer of 1898.
Justice Scalia is not the only one deceived. The Hawai‘i Supreme Court, in a 2013 ruling on the effects of annexation, blithely ignored the most basic of all state laws—those describing the boundaries of Hawai‘i. Truth-telling through re-education of Native Hawaiians—and the rest of the world—is just beginning. One must not underestimate the tremendous ned for knowledge that must precede such an enormous task as nation-building.
Whether one supports restoration of the Kingdom or Tribal recognition, what Hawaiians need now is more scholarship about the world—particularly as to the world of newly emerging sovereign states and the history of decolonization. We should not let the current United States administration in Washington push us into tribal status. The path we take must be fully informed. Native Hawaiians must fully comprehend all the advantages and disadvantages of Federal Recognition as a Tribe.
An interview of Dr. Keanu Sai and Ph.D. candidate Lorenz Gonschor by Dr. Lynette Cruz on Issues that Matter. The subject of the interview focused on the Hawaiian Kingdom as a non-European Power in the nineteenth century and its relationship with Japan.
Academics Dispelling the Myths of the Hawaiian Kingdom through Research
An interview of Professor Niklaus Schweizer and Ph.D. candidate Lorenz Gonschor from the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa by Kale Gumapac, host of the show The Kanaka Express. The interview is focuses on dispelling the untruths of the Hawaiian Kingdom that is a part of the research and classroom instruction at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa.
Na‘i Aupuni (Native Hawaiian Convention): What it Is and What it’s Not
An interview of Dr. Keanu Sai by Kale Gumapac, host of the show The Kanaka Express. The interview focuses on Na‘i Aupuni or the Native Hawaiian Convention from a political science, historical and academic standpoint.
Kamehameha Publishing is holding a book launch event this evening, Tuesday, October 20, at William S. Richardson School of Law from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. for Native Hawaiian Law: A Treatise.
Native Hawaiian Law: A Treatise is the definitive resource for understanding critical legal issues affecting Native Hawaiians. This extensively revised and updated edition of the groundbreaking 1991 Native Hawaiian Rights Handbook offers a comprehensive overview and analysis of specific topics within this complex area of law including:
Native Hawaiians and U.S. Law
Native Hawaiians and International Law
The Public Land Trust
Water Rights
Traditional and Customary Access and
Gathering Rights
Burial Rights
The Hawaiian Homes Commission Act
The Island of Kahoʻolawe
Indigenous Cultural Property
Native Hawaiian Health
Hawaiian Language and Education
And miuch more
Native Hawaiian Law provides the tools to find relevant cases, statutes,
and regulations impacting the rights of Native Hawaiians. It focuses on
the relationship between Native Hawaiians and the state and federal governments; trust lands; vital areas of resource protection and management; protection of burials, repatriation, language, education,
and health; and emerging human rights norms affecting indigenous peoples. This in-depth guide is an essential addition to the growing body of scholarship on indigenous peoples’ law.
Native Hawaiian Law: A Treatise is a collaborative effort of the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation, Ka Huli Ao Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law at the William S. Richardson School of Law – University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, and Kamehameha Publishing.
Here’s the KS release on the private book launch held earlier.
The Aloha ʻĀina Unity March down Front Street in Lahaina on Sunday was a huge success, according to event organizers, calling it a “a beautiful day of activation.”
Determined to raise awareness about development and the exploitation of the natural and cultural resources of the Hawaiian Islands, Aloha ʻĀina enjoyed an epic day that started with a march from Mala Wharf to Mokuʻula, followed by a rally at Kamehameha Iki Park, where leaders and performers took the stage.
[…]
More than 30 organizations sponsored or endorsed the event, ranging from cultural and environmental groups to surfers and local small businesses.
The Hawaiian Kingdom’s most important national holiday — La Kuokoa, or Independence Day — officially was recognized Wednesday by the Hawaii County Council in a nonbinding resolution asking the state Legislature to add Nov. 28 to its list of state holidays.
Nov. 28, 1843, was the date Great Britain and France formally recognized the Hawaiian Islands as an independent state. La Kuokoa was celebrated openly by the Hawaiian Kingdom until 1895, two years after the 1893 overthrow, said Kale Gumapac, a Hawaiian rights activist.
The council approved Resolution 285 by an 8-0 vote, with Puna Councilman Dan Paleka absent. Three members of the nine-member council, including Paleka, have Native Hawaiian ancestry.
“This is the beginning of the reawakening of our history,” Gumapac said. “We need to restore what was erased from Hawaii schoolbooks. Worse, it was erased from kanaka memory.”
Some 209 candidates will vie for 40 delegate positions across the islands for the Native Hawaiian ‘aha constitutional convention that will work to form a Native Hawaiian government.
Kuhio Asam, president of Na‘i Aupuni, which is in charge of running the November election and subsequent Native Hawaiian convention and ratification process, said the candidates are “diverse in their age, backgrounds and purpose,” adding, “They are representative of a good cross section of the Native Hawaiian community.”
They include former and current state legislators such as state Rep. Kaniela Ing (D, South Maui); former City Council members; Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustees and administrators; lawyers; and University of Hawaii professors.
The candidates also include well-known activists such as Walter Ritte Jr. of Molokai; Moani Akaka of Hawaii island; and Mahealani Cypher, aka Denise DeCosta, a former Honolulu city clerk.
The delegates will be elected to represent Native Hawaiians who live in and outside Hawaii.
On Oahu, 110 candidates will vie for 20 delegate positions. Hawaii island has 32 candidates for seven slots; Maui, 15 contenders for three positions; Kauai and Niihau, five hopefuls for two spots; Molokai and Lanai, four candidates for one position; and out of state, 43 contenders for seven slots.
Ballots to elect the delegates will be sent to certified voters on Nov. 1, said Election-America, a private national company hired by Na‘i Aupuni to conduct the election.
Votes can be cast by mail or electronically but must be received by Nov. 30.
Native Hawaiians who have not been certified can still apply with the Native Hawaiian Roll Commission (kanaiolowalu.org) or the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (oha.org/registry).
