Hawai'ian Sovereignty

The matter of Hawai'ian independence remains a subject of intense debate, especially in light of the official apology issued in 1993 by the United States government apologizing for the illegal overthrow of the Hawai'ian kingdom. The overall consensus seems to be that a satisfactory end result has not been reached, and there appear to be a number of groups continuing to resist the occupation of the United States.

As illustrated in O'Harrow's article (listed below, in the Sources section), there are a number of still-unanswered questions regarding just what complete Hawai'ian sovereignty would look like, including who would be included as "Hawai'ian", how "independence" would be defined, and how (or whether to) separate from the United States. Given that there is no lawful means provided by the U.S. by which to officially secede, and "no credible Native Hawaiian group to date has ever advocated a violent solution to the independence question", the matter is currently in a sort of deadlock, despite the various sovereignty organizations operating throughout Hawai'i.

As discussed in *The Christian Science Monitor*, most "Native Hawaiians" are mixed race, and "Historically, the Hawaiian kingdom was an incredibly diverse nation", so a united but exclusionary independent Hawai'i is likely an impossibility.

Four types of sovereignty have been forwarded thus far: the state-within-a-state model, nation-within-a-nation model, free association model, and independence model.

## Hawai'ian Sovereignty Organizations

### Advocates for Complete Independence

#### Lawful Hawai'ian Government

The Lawful Hawai'ian Government was established on March 13th, 1999 to reinstate the former government structure of Hawai'i. It consists of a House of Nobles, a House of Representatives, and an executive branch with various ministers.

#### Nation of Hawaii

The Nation of Hawaii was established in the wake of the 1993 admission of violated sovereignty. Founder "Bumpy" Kanahele and three hundred people occupied a local beach for fifteen months, after which they relocated onto a tract of land on a fifty-five year lease. Currently about eighty people live in the partially off-grid village, known as Puuhonoa o Waimanalo.

This organization has utilized mainstream media, such as the film "Aloha" and the television show "Hawaii Five-O" to bring attention to their cause. They have also established an official cryptocurrency, Aloha Coin.

## Sources

“H A W A I ` I.” *HAWAII*, hawaii-nation.org/.

*Hawaiian Sovereignty Movement - Hawaii History - Short Stories*, www.hawaiihistory.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=ig.page&PageID=353&returntoname=Short.

Makaawaawa, Brandon. “Nation Of Hawaii Goes Mainstream.” *Honolulu Civil Beat*, 29 Dec. 2016, www.civilbeat.org/2016/12/nation-of-hawaii-goes-mainstream/.

“Meet the Native Hawaiians Fighting U.S. Occupation | AJ+.” *YouTube*, YouTube, 3 Mar. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBokfBwYJo0.

O'Harrow, Stephen. “Full Independence For Hawaii Looks Unfeasible For Now.” *Honolulu Civil Beat*, 26 Mar. 2020, www.civilbeat.org/2020/03/full-independence-for-hawaii-looks-unfeasible-for-now/.

TRACKS. “Hawaii: The Stolen Paradise (Full Documentary) | TRACKS.” YouTube, YouTube, 13 Apr. 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tw4CyxBJEQ&t=181s.

“Whose Independence? Why Some Native Hawaiians Don't Celebrate on July 4.” *The Christian Science Monitor*, The Christian Science Monitor, 2 July 2019, www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2019/0702/Whose-independence-Why-some-Native-Hawaiians-don-t-celebrate-on-July-4.