Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 15, Number 5, 1 May 1998 — The māhele: land for sale [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

The māhele: land for sale

By Marion Kelly

Editor's note: This article, writI ten by Marion Kelly ofthe UniversiI ty ofHawai 'i at Mānoa. is part ofa I series on ihe historical context leaāing to the 1898 annexation of Hawai'i to the United States, and the resulting loss ofnational and cultural

identity on the part ofthe Hawaiian people.

0F THE MANY crimes committed against kānaka maoli people, perhaps the worst was the plan devised by the American missionaries to privatize the land of Hawai'i nei. That plan, whieh took the land from the great majority of the kānaka maoli people, was called "The Great Māhele" (division). It was described by the Americans as an act of great generosity by the Hawaiian king, who, they said, was "giving" his lands to his people. Was this really true? Unfoitunately, J it did not tum out that way. i Operating from within the govemment, the American [ missionaries carried out their "land registration" scheme \ designed to privatize the ownership of land. It provided > the means for transferring control and/or ownership of I \ land from the kanaka maoh chiefs and their people to m » the foreigners as quickly as possible. And that is what fl it did. M

| Land became a commodity to be bought and sold — bought by those who had money, and sold by ! those who did not have money. Laws were adopted to legalize the theft of land, for example the law of i adverse possession. Land taxes were instituted. I Any land for whieh the tax was not paid, was taken 1 away by the govemment and sold to the highest i i bidder.

^ In these enhghtened times we are at least discussing 1 human rights. To some extent, the discussion has includ- , ed the rights of indigenous peoples throughout the world. | Perhaps we should also look at the history of Hawai'i and ' the kanaka maoh people, from the viewpoint of human ^ rights and the rights of indigenous peoples, as we have I eome to understand them today Genocide is a big word. It is a new word in our loeal vocabulary. Genocide is a crime against a people or against peoples. Genocide is not merely the intentional slaughter of peoples, it also apphes to mueh more subtle : actions that destroy peoples, or peoples' cultures. >

The kānaka maoli are the indigenous peoples of ka pae 'āina. Here, among these islanders, Americans inserted themselves, and their American-Westem and foreign eulmre, money economy and other foreign ideas. We must recognize that these things have changed the lives of the kānaka maoli people forever. And we must remember, above all, that these changes were forced on the kānaka maoli people by those who had the gunboats. the guns and the intent to use them. DATES OF important Māhele events (Sdtirce: Kame'eleihiwa, Lilikalā. "Native Land and Foreign Desires: Pehea lā e Pono ai?" Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 1992, [pictured belowj). Dec. 10. 1845: Board of Commissioners to QuietLand Titles established. Jan. 1846: Experimental land sales to maka 'āinana begun in Makawao, Maui, and in Mānoa, O'ahu. Feb. 11, 1846: First meeting ofthe Land Commission. Oct. 26, 1846: Legislative eouneil passes

Land Commission princi-

| long-time resident aliens to elaim 'āina already in their possession with the proviso that these lands could

i only be sold to Hawaiian I subjects. Dec. 18, 1847: Mō'ī and Privy Council create a committee to divide Mō'ī andAli'i land. Jan. 27, 1848: Mō'īand Ali'i begin the signing ofthe

Buke Māhele (book ofMāhele land awards). March 8, 1848: Mō'ī ends the Ali'i Māhele by dividing his personal 'āinafrom government 'āina. Dec. 21, 1849: Privy Council defines rights ofnative tenants. July 10, 1850: Legislature allows aliens unrestricted rights to buy and sell 'āina. Aug. 6, 1850: Legislature confirms Privy eouneil decision regarding native tenant rights and maka 'āinana are able to elaim theirLand Commission awards. ■

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ples. j Feb. 14, 1848: All claims must befiled by this date. June 28, 1847: Legislature allows