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Ali‘i Diplomatic Missions and Other Business Travel to Washington, D.C. Phase 2 Research Compiled by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Washington, D.C. Bureau In partnership with Ke Ali‘i Maka‘āinana Hawaiian Civic Club Ali‘i Diplomatic Missions to Washington, D.C. Phase 2 June 2009 Aloha nui kākou e nā ‘ōiwi ‘ōlino, nā pulapula a Hāloa, mai Hawai‘i a Ni‘ihau a puni ke ao mālamalama: I am very pleased that the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) and Ke Ali‘i Maka‘āinana Hawaiian Civic Club (KAMHCC) have again joined together as partners to produce Ali‘i Diplomatic Missions and Other Business Travel to Washington, D.C. Research Phase 2. OHA deeply appreciates this continued partnership with KAMHCC, and acknowledges the leadership, research, commitment and time of all the individual volunteers, KAMHCC members and the OHA D.C. Bureau “team” that worked together to produce this second booklet for all of us. On behalf of the OHA Trustees and Administrator, mahalo nui. The Ali‘i Diplomatic Missions and Other Business Travel to Washington, D.C. Phase 2 enhances our understanding of the kuleana of the Ali‘i and those Native Hawaiians that accompanied them, participating in the world community as native, indigenous leaders, and representatives of a sovereign nation. As originally stated in Phase 1, this is not intended to be a definitive work, but rather, an amplification of previous research. Through this second compilation, we gain a better understanding of the events experienced by the principals of certain diplomatic missions and other official business, we discover who led on these journeys and who accompanied, where they stayed, whom and where they visited and what length of time they spent conducting official business in Washington, D.C. We are reminded again of the many differences between traveling and conducting such business in the past as compared to the present day. For those interested in re-tracing the steps of these historic missions, researchers have reviewed official itineraries to identify the addresses of lodgings, meetings and introductions, as well as other local sites which were visited in the course of official business travel. If a named building or address no longer exists, or has been renamed or replaced with a new structure, that information, if available, is provided to the reader. Where possible, the reader is provided with an address or a geographic location, and information about how the current site compares to the original noted in the historic itinerary. A chapter on Hawaiian postal service and postage has also been included in Phase 2, as a means of documenting one of the characteristic activities of a sovereign nation. We anticipate that the partnership between OHA and KAMHCC will continue with the Ali‘i Diplomatic Missions and Other Business Travel to Washington, D.C. Research Phase 3. New and established research sources will be explored to further amplify existing chapters of research, to identify additional Hawai‘i diplomatic representatives and to document their contributions to Native Hawaiian world diplomacy. We look forward to this continuing work, as it presents information on how the historic missions of the Ali‘i as representatives of their indigenous sovereign nation continue through to the present day. No nā ‘ōiwi ‘ōlino, Trustee S. Haunani Apoliona, MSW Chairperson, Board of Trustees Office of Hawaiian Affairs i Ali‘i Diplomatic Missions to Washington, D.C. Phase 2 Ke Ali`i Maka`āinana Hawaiian Civic Club Aloha Kākou, June 2009 Ke Ali‘i Maka‘āinana Hawaiian Civic Club (KAMHCC) and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) continue in partnership on this historic project entitled, Ali‘i Diplomatic Missions and Other Business Travel to Washington, D.C. Research Phase 2. This fine collaborative work showcases the commitment of our dedicated researchers, of the community resources they engaged and the generosity of those resources who often provided unexpected richness to many, many data points. Phase 2 is an accounting of an indigenous sovereign nation, of government-to-government relationships and inherent self- determination; of our Ali`i working for the kanaka maoli. A relationship with Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington, introduced an interested on-site librarian to the history of Hawai`i. Our site visit revealed guest registries signed by our beloved Queen Kapi`olani and Princess Lili`uokalani. A gardener’s work ledger describes the visit of the royal party; an archival Washington Post article details the dress and appointments of the royal entourage, identifying Queen Kapi`olani and Princess Lili`uokalani in a group photograph taken near the back porch of Mount Vernon. During our visit, one Mount Vernon tour guide, noting a few Hawaiians in the crowd, commented that on a separate visit “the Queen from the Sandwich Isles”, Queen Lili`uokalani, brought with her a “wreath” of flowers to present to George Washington at his final resting place. KAMHCC members continue community discussions about this project’s progress with Pacific Islander communities in Maryland, the District of Columbia and Virginia. During the March 2006 Mainland Council of Hawaiian Civic Clubs’ meeting, an Ali‘i Missions Project brief generated a suggestion from one of our kupuna: inclusion of photos / drawings of minted coins and postal stamps depicting the actions of a sovereign nation. A section on Hawaiian postal service and postage has been incorporated in this Phase 2 booklet. Mahalo, kupuna. We are listening. We mahalo all who read, typed, emailed, googled, archived, traveled, sat in conference with librarians, historians, and staff to retrieve and piece together the even more of the journeys of our beloved Ali`i to and through Washington, DC. The year 2012 marks an Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs convention to be held in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area, hosted by the Mainland Council. A Walking Tour DVD of the Ali`i Diplomatic Missions and Other Business Travel to Washington, D.C. is under consideration for presentation at that event. The KAMHCC Board vows to continue this honored partnership with OHA and the Ali‘i Diplomatic Missions and Other Business Travel to Washington, D.C. Research Phase 3. We are motivated and take up this ongoing commitment with vigor and focus, viewing the venues and events of Washington, D.C. with renewed interest. Darlene Kehaulani Butts, President KAMHCC P.O. Box 33802 Washington, DC 20033-3802 www.kamhcc.org ii Ali‘i Diplomatic Missions to Washington, D.C. Phase 2 Introduction to Ali‘i Diplomatic Missions and Other Business Travel Research Phase 2 Prepared by Martha Ross, Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Research Project 1 & 2 Director Aloha kakou. We, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA), Ke Ali‘i Maka‘āinana Hawaiian Civic Club (KAMHCC) and many volunteers worked together on this project to learn more about nation-to-nation diplomatic missions to Washington, D.C. directed by Native Hawaiian Ali’i (chiefs, kings, queens - leaders of the indigenous sovereign nation of Hawai‘i), and to share our findings. The inspiration for this research are the leaders of the Royal Order of Kamehameha 1, ‘Ahahui Ka‘ahumanu, Hale O Nā Ali‘i O Hawai‘i and The Daughters and Sons of Hawaiian Warriors - Māmakakaua, who traveled together to Washington, D.C. the week of September 13, 2003, joining OHA Trustees, Administrator and D.C. Bureau Chief, to walk the halls of Congress and speak with U.S. Senators. These Native Hawaiian royal benevolent societies and OHA representatives sought support for the Akaka bill to reaffirm the political-legal relationship between the U.S. and Native Hawaiians and establish a process of federal recognition for a reorganized Native Hawaiian representative governing entity, similar to the recognition process already available to American Indians and Alaska Natives. They understood in order for Native Hawaiians to have strong standing to negotiate reconciliation between Native Hawaiians and the U.S. and State of Hawai’i, protect existing Native Hawaiian rights, assets and cultural places from erosion and assure perpetuation of the distinct indigenous Hawaiian culture through self-determination, the political and legal status as indigenous sovereign must be reaffirmed, and a reorganized Native Hawaiian governing entity recognized, before government-to-government discussions can take place. The OHA D.C. Bureau is asked about Ali‘i diplomatic missions to D.C. Ali‘i conducted diplomatic business throughout the world community, including D.C. These missions to D.C. continued after the illegal overthrow of the kingdom of Hawai’i by force in 1893, when the Ali‘i advocated in D.C. for restoration of the Native Hawaiian government, and continued to express inherent indigenous sovereign rights, culture, values and priorities. Today, in 2009, Native Hawaiians, the lineal descendents of the indigenous, native, aboriginal people who lived and exercised sovereignty in the Hawaiian archipelago that later was taken as part of the United States, have a distinct Hawaiian community, continue Hawaiian language and cultural practices and give political expression to Hawaiian sovereignty as a people. Visitors ask where, why and with whom did the Ali‘i conduct business in Washington, D.C.? Many want to visit these places of historic importance. Our research to answer these inquiries is on-going; not all Ali‘i diplomatic missions in Washington, D.C. are included in Phase 1 & 2, and not all diplomatic purposes, itineraries and locations, then and now, have been identified at this time. Our intention in producing Research Phase 1 & 2 is to provide some additional facts, as a place to start for those interested in visiting sites where Ali‘i and their representatives conducted business and lodged while in D.C. There is much more research to be completed in Research Phase 3.

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