UNIVERSITY OF HAWNJ LIBRARY FROM RESISTANCE TO AFFIRMATION, WE ARE WHO WE WERE: RECLAIMlNG NATIONAL IDENTITY IN THE HAWAllAN SOVEREIGNTY MOVEMENT 1990 - 2003 A DISSERTATION SUBMITIED TO THE GRADUATE DMSION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI'I IN PARTlAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSPHY IN ANTHROPOLOGY MAY 2003 By Lynette Hi'ilani Cruz Dissertation Committee: Bion Griffin, Chairperson Robert Borofsky Alice Dewey Leslie Sponsel James Dator Abstract Inmost texts about Hawaiian history, the Hawaiian Kingdom was overthrown in 1893. Hawai'i, as a result, was then governed first by a Provisional Government, then by the Republic ofHawai'i. Such texts further note that in 1898, Hawai'i was annexed to the United States and, subsequently, became the State ofHawai'i through a vote ofthe people in 1959. This dissertation examines Hawaiian history from a different perspective, one based on the issue of'legality', and on documentation that surfaced in the 1990s that challenges the United States' claim to annexation ofHawai'i. The illegality ofthe takeover by haole businessmen, the resistance ofQueen Lili'uokalani and her loyal subjects to the takeover, statements by then-President Grover Cleveland referencing the overthrow as an "Act ofWar," in many ways set the tone for the present-day sovereignty movement. Highlighted are some ofthe activities within the Hawaiian sovereignty movement during the 1990s and the first few years ofthis century that are turning points in the struggle for Hawaiian sovereignty. Identified spokespersons for the movement are extensively cited, as well as individuals with strong but thoughtful opinions. Many ofthe citations used were gathered and saved from emails or from relevant websites. iii Prophecy, and the acknowledgement ofspirituality as a grounding force in a unified movement, is a significant element, and serves to remind activists, and especially Hawaiian activists, that the work to re-establish the nation can only succeed ifit is based in Hawaiian cultural concepts that are pono (correct or in proper relationship). Maintaining 'right relationships' between the people, the heavens and the earth is necessary to successfully carry forward the reclaimed Hawaiian nation and the identity ofthe people as Hawaiian nationals, as the Queen directed a century ago. Most importantly, it allows those involved in the struggle to see themselves, not as victims, but as masters oftheir own fate. IV Table OfContents Abstract .iii Preface '" vii Chapter I: Introduction l Beginning with the Queen 1 Chapters.. ............................•................................... .. 14 Chapter II: Theory and Methodology 19 A Hawaiian Perspective 39 Researching Online - Contemporary Research Methods 45 Chapter Ill: Hawaiian Sovereignty - An Introduction and Overview..... 48 What is Sovereignty? 48 Why Sovereignty?......................................................... 50 Political Sovereignty... 55 Chapter IV: Some Key Players inthe Sovereignty Movement 58 Kekuni Blaisdell............... 58 Mililani Trask............................................................... 65 Pu'uhonua Bumpy Kanahele 70 Poka Laenui (aka Hayden Burgess) 76 Chapter V: Expressions ofCultural Sovereignty...... 84 OfSacred Times and Sacred Places 84 Ka Lei Maile Ali'i: The Queen's Women 88 Allies 90 Kupa·a 91 Japanese American Citizens League 93 American Friends Service Committee - A Quaker-based Organization 96 Ahupua'a Action Alliance 99 Kanakamaoliallies Discussion List 107 Chapter VI: Contention Within the Sovereignty Movement: Federal Recognition vs. Independence .112 Understanding Hawaiian History 116 Significant Actions in the Movement 124 Perfect Title Company 124 The Issue of'Ceded Lands' 138 OHA & Aluli, et al v. State ofHawai'i and HFDC 142 The John Marsh Case: Marsh v. Commissioner ofInternal Revenue Service 149 Chapter VII: Symbols and Modes ofResistance 155 Flags 155 T-shirts, Banners, Signs 164 Culture as Resistance 165 ChapterVill: 1998-2003 168 The Hawaiian Kingdom in the International Arena ".. 172 The Living Nation Working Group 179 v Chapter IX: Thoughts about Significance and Assessment 186 Rediscovery and Recovery '" ., 189 Mourning and Dreaming......................................... 192 Chapter X: Inside Out I Outside In 198 A Prophecy 198 Appendix A: An Afterword 214 Appendix B: Chronology ofSignificant Events in the Hawaiian Sovereignty Movement 1990 - 2003 " 224 Bibliography .,226 vi Preface One hundred and ten years ago, in 1893, Hawaiians found themselves at a political, economic and cultural crossroads, not the first time in the history ofthis independent nation. A gang ofthieves, white men masquerading as clever businessmen and honorable Christians, many ofthem descendants of missionaries, attempted to steal the Kingdom. Queen Lili'uokalani, herselfan astute and well-educated woman, knew that a time ofturmoil was coming for the little Kingdom in the Pacific. She gathered around her those who held the nation close to their hearts, and mounted a campaign ofresistance, in defiance ofthe military might ofthe United States. Standing onher second floor balcony at 'Iolani Palace, she could see, from the short distance to Honolulu Harbor, the American warship Boston, with its guns pointed at her, as embodying the nation. With that very real threat before her, she made a decision on behalfofher people to steer the course ofhistory to provide for Hawaiians ofthe future an opportunity to regain what would be taken-a country, a language, a memory ofnationhood, the freedom to be and to remain Hawaiian subjects through a process ofnatural political evolution. The Queen left evidence ofher handiwork here and there-stories, songs, newspaper articles, directions for gathering petition signatures in protest of annexation, hosting oftea parties in Washington, D.C. to win allies for the vii Kingdom, letters, photos-and today Hawaiians are busily collecting the bits and pieces left that tell oftheir own history, and what went down in 1893 at the so­ called overthrow ofthe Hawaiian Kingdom. Today there is a large and dynamic movement fur Hawaiian sovereignty, much ofit the direct result ofHawaiians learning about their history, and taking up the banner ofthe Queen, who continues to live in the minds and hearts ofHawaiian patriots. The thrust toward acquiring historic data, learning genealogy and Hawaiian language, reconnecting to the spiritual mana in nature, and practicing culture as passed down through the generations came about because ofthe realization that the indices that describe Hawaiians today-most inprison, most on welfare, highest morbidity rate, worst health, least educated, most economically depressed--stem from injuries ofa century ago, injuries compounded and perpetuated by occupation ofthe Hawaiian homeland by a foreign nation that has continued until this day. The resistance movement has steadily gained ground since 1893, and especially in the period from 1993 to the present, because Hawaiian activists are no longer reflecting on themselves as simply victims, as being the cause oftheir own disability. Rather they are seeing themselves as evidence ofinjury. As Skippy Ioane, noted composer and musician ofHawaiian resistance music writes, "we are the evidence, not the crime." viii The movement grows stronger daily as more Hawaiians come to understand their history, reconnect to ancestors and spirituality, and as a result, express their mana through loving and nurturing their physical enviromnent. Using Hawaiian cultural concepts, especiallyaloha (love and respect) and lculeana (responsibility), as guides for behavior, Hawaiians in struggle daily commit themselves to efforts toward recovery. Learning about and practicing legal strategies laid out in Hawaiian Kingdom law has empowered the ordinary Hawaiian to resist and to challenge the state of Hawai'i and the United States, despite the personal and financial costs. Hawaiians oftoday, who have recovered a legal and accurate Hawaiian history, know that their cost cannever be more than what the Queen paid. It might be fair to say that the "reason" for the sovereignty movement today is to reconnect to what is above and what is below-to allow the mana to flow from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven, through the people who are in right relationship to both heaven and earth. When the connection is re-established, when balance is re-created, energy will flow and the earth will be cared for, all ancestors will be acknowledged and the Hawaiian people will thrive. The movement for Hawaiian sovereignty is more thanjust to create a political entity. The movement is to create some semblance ofbalance in the world in a way that would bring honor to the Queen and perpetuate her legacy. ix FROM RESISTANCE TO AFFIRMATION, WE ARE WHO WE WERE: RECLAIMING NATIONAL IDENTITY IN THE HAWAIIAN SOVEREIGNTY MOVEMENT 1990-2003 CHAPTER I Introduction Beginning with the Queen "Oh, honest Americans, as Christians hear mefor my downtrodden people! Their form of government is as dear to them as yours is as precious to you. Quite warmly as you love your country, so they love theirs. With all your goodly possessions. covering a territory so Immense that there yet remain parts unexplored, possessing islands that. although new at hand, had to be neutral ground in time ofwar, do not covet the little vineyard ofNaboth's. so far from your shores, lest the punishment ofAhabfall upon you. ifnot in your day. in that ofyour children, for "be not deceived, God is not moclced " The people to