Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 20, Number 2, 1 February 2003 — The Hawaiian Nation lives [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

The Hawaiian Nation lives

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By Naomi Sodetani "What do we want?" "'Ea! (sovereignty)" "When do we want it?" Lilikalā Kame'eleihiwa, director I for the Center for Hawaiian I Studies Director, led about I 1,000 people in a rousing chant that I declared their dream and expectation I of independence. Participants young and old — I including kupuna in wheelchairs and I babies cradled by their mothers - I braved gusty winds and ehill rains to I make abundantly clear what they I want: justice. During the Jan. 15 rally at 'Iolani I Palaee and the state Capitol organized I by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, the I determined group stood in the pouring I rain to lay ho'okupu beside Queen I Lili'uokalani's statue. "This is the time we must stand I together," Kame'eleihiwa spoke. "If I we want our land, our rights for future I generations, we need to kūkākūkā, I even if we disagree." During the week of Jan. 12 to 17, I Hawaiians and non-Hawaiians made a I bittersweet pilgrimage to 'Iolani I Palaee to commemorate the 110th I anniversary of the overthrow of the I Hawaiian nation — and to celebrate I the reunification of the Hawaiian peo- I Hawaiians held a vigil and congre- I gated in peaceful marches from the I royal mausoleum in Nu'uanu to the I State Capitol, where they filled the I rotunda with the thunder of chanting I and pahu drums — the fervent voice I of a free, united Hawaiian nation. "110 years after the theft of our land I and our nation, we're still here," said I Lynette Cruz, addressing the crowd I from a Hawaiian flag-draped gazebo I fronting the palaee somberly shrouded I in black bunting. "We are going to I elaim what's ours." Cruz and Melvin I Kalāhiki co-organized the week-long I events as part of The Living Nation I grassroots pro-sovereignty campaign. I Sovereignty advocates gathered and I strategized how to unite across their I political differences to restore their I government. The prevailing view was I that, for all the serious legal and polit- I ieal challenges that beset the Hawaiian I community, the Hawaiian nation is a I living, breathing reality. Sovereignty activist Maiion Kelly I voiced deep distrust that the U.S. I Senate bill introduced by Sen. Daniel I Akaka and supported by the Office of I Hawaiian Affairs to establish a meeh- I anism for self-governance for Native I Hawaiians would "sell out" dreams of I total independence and reduce I Hawaiians to American Indians.

SELF-DETERMINATION IN ACTION — (Upper left) eoneh blower Rlchard "Babe" Bell calls Hawalians to gather at 'lolanl Palaee; (rlght) OHA's Nanl Lee and Clyde Namu'o ofter ho'okupu to Llli'uokalanl; Halau Lōkahl students (wlth ftag) shown at Nō 'Ōlwi 'Ōllno rally and marchlng on Jan. 17; (bottom) OHA trustees clrcle State Capltol rotunda durlng Nō 'Ōlwl 'Ōllno rally. Still, amidst urgent times, leaders of the long-splintered sovereignty groups committed themselves to the eommon goal of unification. "Unity is the key to our cause," said Kalāhiki, the key mover behind the 1993 centennial observance events. "When it all shakes out, we need to respect eaeh other," agreed Keoni Agard. "Now we need to be smart. It's not a matter of who's better or who's been in the movement longer... unless we unite under one umbrella, we will perish." Kaua'i resident Kai'opua Fyfe of the Koani Foundation, an organization working for independence, stressed that diversity of views are not dysfunctional but "are what makes us healthy, and we will work within our diversity for a united approach," Fyfe said. "We should recognize that we already are a nation, we share a language and eulture. The one thing missing is a governing entity." The week's turnout was far less than the 10,000 who flooded downtown streets and uplifted the sovereignty cause to center stage during the Jan. 17, 1993 centennial commemoration of the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian nation. That year, President Bill Clinton signed The Apology Bill, whieh acknowledged the U.S. government's role in the 1893 'eoup' by a small group of American businessmen and sugar planters. Five years later, the U.S. declared it had annexed Hawai'i, despite two petitions that were submitted opposing annexation signed by about 40,000 Hawaiians. Two years ago, activist Keanu Sai presented the case against annexation at The Hague and is pursuing the matter at the United Nations. "If Hawai'i exists, then where's the evidence that it as extinguished?" Sai asked. "We don't have to prove we're a kingdom; the United States has to prove it took it over." While the numbers of people who attended the week's events were not as high as hoped, Cruz believed the eommemoration "accomplished the most important of our goals: a commitment from a number of influential leaders to sit at the same table and talk about how to proceed from here. "Leaders of groups who have kept themselves separate are now willing to dialogue to find commonalities and to iron out our differences," Cruz said. ■ Photos. Mlehael McDonold and Naoml Sodetanl