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.

By Scott Crawford, Hana, Maui

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La Ku’oko’a – ‘Iolani Palace

Understanding the Overthrow

The Queen’s birthday celebration is on Sunday, Sept. 1, at Iolani Palace, sponsored by the Hawaii Pono’i Coalition and the Friends of Iolani Palace. Please come and remember her here, in this special place. Ceremonies begin at 10 am. Hui Aloha Aina o Ka Lei Maile Alii will be performing the reenactment titled, Ka Lei Maile Alii – the Queen’s Women, on the main stage this year at around 10:45 am. At 12:30 we’ll be presenting a talk by Dr. Keanu Sai at the Kanaina Bldg. Please join us for that, as well. The event is free and open to the public. 

Kanaka Maoli Flag origin

With the abundance of “Kanaka Maoli flags” being displayed at Mauna Kea and many demonstrations and vehicles flying the flag in support, I thought it would be helpful to revisit the origin of this flag.

At some point there was some misinformation spread that this was an historical flag, perhaps “once was the flag of the Hawaiian admiralty and flown at high seas” as one site puts it.

But in fact the original version of this flag design was created in 1993 by Uncle Louis “Buzzy” Agard, published in the book He Alo a He Alo as a short essay called “A Pro Active Symbol.” While some symbols in the flag are of ancient origin, the overall design itself is not.

The flag, with some modifications, has served the purpose that he envisioned, adopted as a symbol of protection to replace the union jack, which the Kanaka Maoli and supporters do indeed rally around and fly with pride.

I just hope that those who fly the flag are also aware and respectful of its true origin.

La Ho’iho’i Ea 2019

La Ho'iho'i Ea

Date should be 2019

Whose independence?

Christian Science Monitor examines the question of why some Hawaiians don’t celebrate on July 4.

Dr. Sai talks to the Maui County Council about the ongoing American occupation of the Hawaiian Kingdom

MauiTime Magazine covers the presentation by Dr. David Keanu Sai to the Planning and Sustainable Land Use Committee of the Maui County Council on May 15.

Dr. Sai presentation to Maui Council Planning Committee

On Wednesday, May 15 at 9:00 am, Dr. Keanu Sai will make a presentation to the Planning and Sustainable Land Use Committee of the Maui County Council, chaired by Tamara Paltin.

From the agenda:

Pursuant to Rule 7(B) of the Rules of the Council, the Committee intends to receive a presentation from Dr. David Keanu Sai relating to an update on land use and planning in consideration of Hawaii’s status under international law and other related matters.

The committee meeting will take place in the Council Chambers on the 8th Floor at 200 S. High Street, and will also be broadcast live in Akaku cable access channel 53, and at www.akaku.org.

Pursuing Hawaiian Sovereignty in the Time of Trump

Trisha Kehaulani Watson has a column in Civil Beat questioning the status of the push for federal under the Trump administration, and arguing for the importance of considering all options, including independence:

On one level independence seems unimaginable, and there are real questions as to whether Hawaii has enough of an economic base to be self-reliant. There’s no doubting that many Pacific Island nation states rely heavily on foreign aid, which begs the question of whether we wouldn’t be worse off if we were independent.


Yet, we need to at least begin to recognize that our current model is highly problematic. We continue to waste and ruin natural resources at an alarming rate. The wealth gap in Hawaii seems unbridgeable. A solution to the housing crisis continues to elude us.


This was the biggest problem of the race to federal recognition, it denied us the time and opportunity to have the hard conversations. It denied us the space to educate ourselves and each other about our needs and our future.

Building a Hawaiian Nation

Hawaiian Apartheid

A free public illustrated research presentation by Ronald Williams Jr. PhD — Saturday 20 April 2019 11am
1777 Eames Street, Wahiawā, HI 96786

From Lee Lewis, Sami Chef, Farmer, Most Interesting Guy in the World, and host of Lee’s Breakfast Club

It gives me great pleasure to announce that Dr. Ronald Williams Jr. will be the guest speaker at Lee’s Breakfast Club on Saturday morning, 20 April 2019. I encourage anyone on the island of O’ahu to join us for breakfast at 10:00am and hear Dr. Williams presentation—”Hawaiian Apartheid: A History of the California Colony at Wahiawā, Oʻahu, 1898-1910—beginning at 11:00am.

Dr. Williams earned his PhD in History of Hawai’i with a focus on a historiography that platforms Native voice through Hawaiian-language sources. He is a former president of the 127-yr old Hawaiian Historical Society, owner-principle researcher and writer at Ka ʻElele Research and Writing and an archivist at the Hawai’i State Archives.

He describes himself as a father, writer, PhD, historian, researcher, story-teller, Buddhist, surfer, moments of beauty-seeker. I’m going to add to that list an incredibly interesting and passionate speaker.

Lee’s Breakfast Club, held every Saturday from 10-noon in the laid-back Face Cafe on the grounds of the Ryoin-on-the-Eames in the high lands of Wahiawā, Hawai’i, is a private initiative of its host, Lee Lewis, to promote one of the major tenants of the Bahá’í Faith, namely the unification of the human race.

“Breaking bread together to breakdown the barriers that keep us from uniting” is the mission statement of Lee’s Breakfast Club.

Activities at Lee’s Breakfast Club include sharing a breakfast of blueberry buttermilk pancakes with numerous choices of toppings including a maple syrup, garden fresh omelettes or egg scramblers, a rice medley and LEE Coffee. After breakfast here is a guest speaker or entertainer whose segment is shared on Facebook Live beginning at around 11:00 am Hawai’i time, please tune in! Each breakfast is “sponsored” by a food, a virtue and an Hawiian word of the day.