'Forever protest the annexation of Hawai'i'

'Forever protest the annexation of Hawai'i'

By Zohl de Ishtar

On August 12, 100 years ago, the US illegally annexed Ka Pae'aina (Hawai'i). The US had invaded the archipelago in 1893, overthrowing the Maoli Queen Liliu'okalani.

In 1993 President Clinton and the US Congress apologised and admitted that the overthrow, annexation and statehood were illegal and violated the Kanaka Maoli people's right to sovereignty and self-determination.

Annexation took place without any consent from the indigenous population and was not accompanied by a treaty between the Hawai'ian kingdom and the US government. The Kanaka Maoli of 1893 began a resistance which is carried on today.

In 1897 the Hui Aloha 'Aina created the Ku'e Petitions. Signed by almost all of the Kanaka Maoli of the time, the petitions were used as legal evidence to defeat a treaty of annexation.

The lack of a treaty didn't stop the US from taking Ka Pae'aina as a major military and commercial base, but the petitions have inspired the Kanaka Maoli as they celebrate 100 years of resistance.

Nalani Minton says, "We have recovered and are distributing the Ku'e Petitions as a loving tribute to the heroic actions of our [predecessors] ...

"The immediate significance of the petitions is to unite all Kanaka Maoli as descendants of the people who courageously signed their names in solidarity 100 years ago to secure our continued existence as an independent nation forever ...

"More than 100 years of traumatic dehumanisation, forced assimilation and theft are being exposed as manipulations of power without foundation in truth, morality, US law or international law."

From GLW issue 330