TWO KEY MISCONCEPTIONS REGARDING HAWAI`I & SOVEREIGNTY
Excerpted from, "Who Shall Be Sovereign?" a book in progress by Leon Siu
Misconception #2 – Only native Hawaiians were wronged
In the late 19th Century, the Hawaiian Kingdom was a progressive, literate, flourishing, peaceful independent country and an active, full-fledged participant in the Family of Nations. Hawaii conducted trade and enjoyed diplomatic relations with all the leading nations of the world — including the United States.
Domestically, Hawaii had a constitution, a bi-cameral legislative body, a judicial system, session laws, penal codes, a police force, immigration laws, an excellent public education system and all the departments necessary to govern and provide services for the people of this country.
The forceful overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1893, displaced a country’s government and its lands, not the members of an ethnic group. It was the Hawaiian Kingdom — a nation — that was overthrown, not the aboriginal people — the kanaka maoli (what the U.S. and the STATE OF HAWAII insist on calling, “Native Hawaiians”). Yes, kanaka maoli were harmed by the loss of their nation, but so were many non-aboriginal subject/citizens of the Hawaiian Kingdom: Asians, Caucasian, Polynesians and so forth. This is a crucial point. When a nation is stolen, all the citizens of that nation are deprived of their country, not just the aboriginal people.
Both occupying governments, the U.S. Federal and its puppet, the STATE OF HAWAII, either assert or presume in their laws and policies, that the overthrow of 1893 affected only “native Hawaiians.” By purposefully limiting their culpability to “native Hawaiians,” the U.S. carefully conceals the scope of the problem, presenting it as an internal, localized, racial problem, rather than the violation of a sovereign nation.
As long as people buy this fraudulent “native Hawaiian” scenario, their perception of the situation (and whatever quest for remedy) will be skewed along racial lines rather than that of nation-hood. This tactic, used deliberately by the U.S. and the STATE OF HAWAII, creates confusion and division among the people of Hawaii (“divide and conquer”). Race-based programs deflect attention from the real issue of a stolen nation, and fosters insincere, token remedies, doomed to failure.
As an example: the Office of Hawaiian Affairs was created by the State of Hawaii under this false premise. While it is laudable to want to help native Hawaiians who have been wronged by the overthrow, it is a mistake to exclude from recourse and redress, other Hawaiian nationals who were also injured by the loss of their country.
If you were of Japanese ancestry and was born in Canada your nationality would be Canadian. If you were Chinese and born in California, you would be an American national. One’s nationality is determined by the nation of birth or of choice (by a willful act of naturalization), not by one’s ethnic background or bloodline.
At the time of the overthrow, there were many people from different origins and ethnic groups who called Hawaii home. Many of them were naturalized citizens and enjoyed the benefits and responsibilities as citizens/subjects of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Those who were citizens of Hawaii in 1893 were also injured when their nation was summarily taken and occupied by a foreign government, without their consent and, in fact, over their vociferous protests.
Their descendants, should they choose to assert their lawful birthrights, have legitimate claim to the return of their country and Hawaiian Kingdom citizenship and a stake in matters of reconciliation, redress and restitution involving the Hawaiian Kingdom.
To Be Continued...
Excerpted from, "Who Shall Be Sovereign?" a book in progress by Leon Siu
Misconception #2 – Only native Hawaiians were wronged
In the late 19th Century, the Hawaiian Kingdom was a progressive, literate, flourishing, peaceful independent country and an active, full-fledged participant in the Family of Nations. Hawaii conducted trade and enjoyed diplomatic relations with all the leading nations of the world — including the United States.
Domestically, Hawaii had a constitution, a bi-cameral legislative body, a judicial system, session laws, penal codes, a police force, immigration laws, an excellent public education system and all the departments necessary to govern and provide services for the people of this country.
The forceful overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1893, displaced a country’s government and its lands, not the members of an ethnic group. It was the Hawaiian Kingdom — a nation — that was overthrown, not the aboriginal people — the kanaka maoli (what the U.S. and the STATE OF HAWAII insist on calling, “Native Hawaiians”). Yes, kanaka maoli were harmed by the loss of their nation, but so were many non-aboriginal subject/citizens of the Hawaiian Kingdom: Asians, Caucasian, Polynesians and so forth. This is a crucial point. When a nation is stolen, all the citizens of that nation are deprived of their country, not just the aboriginal people.
Both occupying governments, the U.S. Federal and its puppet, the STATE OF HAWAII, either assert or presume in their laws and policies, that the overthrow of 1893 affected only “native Hawaiians.” By purposefully limiting their culpability to “native Hawaiians,” the U.S. carefully conceals the scope of the problem, presenting it as an internal, localized, racial problem, rather than the violation of a sovereign nation.
As long as people buy this fraudulent “native Hawaiian” scenario, their perception of the situation (and whatever quest for remedy) will be skewed along racial lines rather than that of nation-hood. This tactic, used deliberately by the U.S. and the STATE OF HAWAII, creates confusion and division among the people of Hawaii (“divide and conquer”). Race-based programs deflect attention from the real issue of a stolen nation, and fosters insincere, token remedies, doomed to failure.
As an example: the Office of Hawaiian Affairs was created by the State of Hawaii under this false premise. While it is laudable to want to help native Hawaiians who have been wronged by the overthrow, it is a mistake to exclude from recourse and redress, other Hawaiian nationals who were also injured by the loss of their country.
If you were of Japanese ancestry and was born in Canada your nationality would be Canadian. If you were Chinese and born in California, you would be an American national. One’s nationality is determined by the nation of birth or of choice (by a willful act of naturalization), not by one’s ethnic background or bloodline.
At the time of the overthrow, there were many people from different origins and ethnic groups who called Hawaii home. Many of them were naturalized citizens and enjoyed the benefits and responsibilities as citizens/subjects of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Those who were citizens of Hawaii in 1893 were also injured when their nation was summarily taken and occupied by a foreign government, without their consent and, in fact, over their vociferous protests.
Their descendants, should they choose to assert their lawful birthrights, have legitimate claim to the return of their country and Hawaiian Kingdom citizenship and a stake in matters of reconciliation, redress and restitution involving the Hawaiian Kingdom.
To Be Continued...
