The state House of Representatives’ Hawaiian Affairs Committee on Wednesday recommended passage of a resolution recognizing Hawaiian Nationals as a population residing lawfully in the islands.
“It just brings more awareness to Hawaiian people as a whole,” said Rep. Dee Morikawa, D-16th District. “It’s about everyone in Hawai`i.”
House Resolution 68 formally recognizes the right of Hawaiian Nationals — defined in the document as the authentic heirs, beneficiaries and body politic of the Hawaiian Kingdom — to organize and restore their national government in Hawai`i.
It also commits to the state government to encourage courts and law enforcement to stop “nationality-based harassment and prosecution of Hawaiian nationals,” defined in the resolution as lineal descendants of Hawaiian Kingdom subjects, anyone born in Hawai`i or naturalized through a formal process.
Morikawa was one of the nine committee members who voted for the resolution. She said it’s still early in the process - the resolution still has to be heard by the House Judiciary and Finance committees. When that happens, language may change.
“It’s hard to say what will come out of it, but the intent is really good,” Morikawa said.
The term “Hawaiian National” is not to be confused with “Native Hawaiian,” which was coined by the US Congress to “narrowly define Hawaiians” according to aboriginal blood quantum, the resolution states.
“The state has on numerous occasions, and in official documents and statutes, including Act 195, Session Laws of Hawai`i 2011, affirmed that beginning in 1893, the United States violated the sovereignty of the Hawaiian Kingdom when it colluded with insurgents to usurp the government of the Hawaiian Kingdom,
“… International law clearly confirms that the sovereignty of the Hawaiian Kingdom was never relinquished or extinguished and that the Hawaiian Kingdom is “in continuity,” the resolution states.
All submitted testimony supports the resolution, including that from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.
“The Native Hawaiian community generally agrees that the Hawaiian people’s claims to inherent sovereignty have never been relinquished. The Native Hawaiian community also generally agrees that repatriation of that unrelinquished inherent sovereignty is just and overdue,” states testimony from OHA to the House.
