DID YOU KNOW THAT HAWAI'I WAS A MULTI-EHTNIC INDEPENDENT NATION BEFORE IT WAS ILLEGALLY OVERTHROWN?
Tuesday, June 1, 2004
Letters to the Editor
The Honolulu Advertiser
Non-Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) Ancestors Included
I have worked with Isaac Harp and others now for several years to restore Hawaiian government to the Hawaiian Islands. Mr. Ken Conklin, after pointing out technical inaccuracies in Isaac's April 29 letter that did not diminish its substance, concludes that "Today's sovereignty activists try to deny that non-natives were full members of the kingdom, just as today's Akaka bill excludes us who have no native ancestry" (Letters, May 24).
Isaac has long held that it is the subjects of the Kingdom of Hawai'i, both kanaka maoli and non-kanaka maoli, who have been wronged by the overthrow of the kingdom. Because of this, Isaac promotes the rights of the descendants of nationals of the Kingdom of Hawai'i to independent government regardless of race or ancestry.
The sovereignty activists Mr. Conklin refers to who support exclusion by reason of blood or ancestry restrictions are those who are following the model proposed by Conklin's own government in the Akaka bill. Isaac does not support the Akaka bill and does not support the exclusion of anyone descended from Hawaiian nationals at the time of the overthrow by reason of ancestry or race.
Conklin's own words: "Some of the independence activists deserve some moral credit for their principled stand in favor of independence." Isaac is one of these people. Informed independence advocates know that it is far better for a Hawaiian national government supported by international venues to establish policies and make laws protecting the value of kanaka maoli ancestry and culture. This, rather than laws made by a foreign government that have proved disastrous for others who have gone the federal recognition route.
David Ingham
San Francisco
