Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 15, Number 9, 1 Kepakemapa 1998 — Chairperson's message [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Chairperson's message

Thoughts on annexation

Editor's note: Chairperson DeSoto delivered this address on Aug. 12 at 'Iolani Palaee as part ofthe program eommemorating the annexation centenary. ĪHANK YOU. Hawai'i Loa Kūlike Kākou Committee and especially Mel Kalāhiki, the committee chair, for the invitation to address this gathering on this day we greet so warily. We are here to honor the patriotism of our ancestors as they witnessed the final act of a drama that closed the curtain on a proud sovereign legacy. My kūpuna used to talk of the cries of anguish lhat resonated throughout O'ahu on the day Hawai'i was annexed to the United States. These were the cries of Hawaiians bidding a painful farewell to the Hawai'i they knew, aware of the contrived Hawai'i they were about to be part of. The cries were the prologue of a saga that is still being written.

In the 100 years since annexation, our islands have made others wealthy at the expense of our own well-being. They have been home to the world's rich and famous. Foreign wars were fought on our beloved 'āina. Towering skyscrapers stand over ancestral burial sites. Places we used to farm and fish are no longer productive or even accessible. Many of the kūpuna here ean remember when leaming our culture or speaking our language was not something we did

of»enly. bemg Hawauan was not supposed to be a source of pride. However, we always tried to remain true to who we were while we did our best to adapt to these indignities. As a people, we have passed many milestones and we will continue to do so despite the obstacles we face. We might be over represented in the prisons and at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder, but, today, Hawaiians participate in every

aspect of our island life. | Whether we are business leaders. politicians, teachers, lawyers, doctors, beach boys, entertainers. polieemen, or beauty J queens, we Hawaiians make these islands unique. īn my lifetime, I have seen | the Hawaiian renaissance, | and it continues as suc- | ceeding generations of | young Hawaiians breath new life into our culture. I have felt a renewed sense of what it means to be Hawaiian. a renewed sense of Dride and Dunx)se.

As I ponder what the next 100 years will bring, I can't help but look at the future with a cautious sense of optimism. My hope comes from seeing so many of our people together, - keiki, mākua, and our precious kūpuna - showing their solidarity here today and carrying on what was started by our ancestors. In unity there is great strength and our unity will take us forward.

When more than 21,000 Hawaiians signed a petition objecting to annexation and another 17,000 endorsed restoring the crown, they showed the world that Hawaiians knew what they wanted. As a child I remember my school books saying that the Hawaiians gave their islands as a gift to the United States. Now we have confirmed that such propaganda - taught to us when we were at our most impressionable - was never true. We have witnessed the signatures of our grandparents and great-grandparents on a petition protesting annexation. This proves their love of independence, their determination to have it, given a ehoiee. We should all be grateful to those who did the tedious work in the aichives and the libraries. They have assured us that our ancestors stood up to a terrible wrong. We cannot undo the wrong done. But we ean frame their struggle and their desires into a context for beginning a process to redress that wrong. I feel this deeply as I stand here in the shadow of the room where our Queen Lili'uokalani was held. I would like to think that she is watching now and is pleased that we finally know the truth and we are moving closer to justice. ■

/iMlHP-

TRUSTEE MESSAGES

[?]