In 1990, the AIP moved from the political sidelines to center stage when Walter J. Hickel was elected governor while running under the AIP label. In May 1993 the AIP petitioned the United Nations complaining of abuses by the U.S. government towards Alaska. The complaint accused the United States of denying the Alaskan people their fundamental right to 'political self determination' and their right to 'use and exploit' the state's wealth and natural resources. The petition requested that the U.N. vote on whether Alaska should remain a state or become an independent nation or commonwealth. The downtrodden Kanaka Maoli , who make up more than 12 percent of Hawaii's population, 'die younger, earn less, go to jail more frequently, and are more likely to be homeless than any other ethnic group in the islands,' says the Honolulu Weekly.
Proposals range from full independence to Indian reservation-like status.
Brilliant though the drafters of the Constitution may have been, they could not have envisioned the size and diversity of the U.S. today. Most of our states have far less in common than our politicians pretend. Our country is an unworkable empire that defies central management and control. The time has come to begin planning the rational downsizing of America. States such as Alaska, Hawaii, Oregon, Vermont, or others should be allowed to secede.