KE AUPUNI UPDATE - JUNE 2023
June Celebrations in the Hawaiian Kingdom
One way to assert the Hawaiian Kingdom still lives is to remember and celebrate important days in our history. Here are three significant days to remember in the month of June.
June 11 – Kamehameha Day
On December 22, 1871, King Kamehameha V proclaimed a national holiday to honor and celebrate his grandfather, King Kamehameha the Great, the founder of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Originally, Hawaiian subjects wanted to mark the legacy of Lot Kapūaiwa (Kamehameha V) on his birthday, December 11. But in humility he opted to honor his grandfather instead, choosing a date as far away from his (Lot’s) birthday as possible, hence the date of June 11.
Since 1872 the June 11 King Kamehameha Day celebration has steadfastly endured. Even through the upheavals of insurgency, usurpation, regime changes, occupation, “annexation” and “statehood”, the one constant has been Kamehameha Day. And rightly so. Through his life, Kamehameha Ekolu transitioned from fierce warrior to conqueror to unifier and founding father to peace maker to human rights advocate (The Law of the splintered paddle) to statesman.
June 7, 1839
The Hawaiian Kingdom Declaration of Rights
Issued by Kamehameha III, the king’s Declaration of Rights profoundly improved on the American Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights from which it was fashioned. The Hawaiian Kingdom Declaration of Rights is written from a distinctly Hawaiian perspective. For instance, the American declaration famously says, “We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal...” (but “equal” was not meant to include blacks, native Americans, Asians, etc.). In contrast, the Declaration of Kamehameha III says, "God hath made of one blood all nations of men to dwell on the earth, in unity and blessedness.” Wow! The Hawaiian Declaration says we not only have equal rights, but that we are all related by blood! We are all family, meant to dwell in unity and blessedness... Our declaration says we must treat each other not just “equally” as defined in legal terms, but with aloha, as we would treat our relatives. From the highest to the lowliest, we are all ʻOhana.
June 17, 1897
The Kūʻē Petition is delivered to the U.S. Senate
Queen Liliʻuokalani went to Washington, DC to lobby against the ratification of the McKinley Treaty of Annexation. To show their support for their Queen and country, Hawaiian patriots conducted massive petition drives throughout the Islands. One of them, with 21,000 signatures, was hand-delivered to the U.S. Senate by James Kaulia (president of Hui Aloha ʻĀina), David Kalauokalani (president of Hui Kālaiʻāina), William Auld, and John Richardson. Their mission succeeded in defeating ratification of the treaty. Because of this, still today, there is no treaty annexing the Hawaiian Islands to the United States.
“Love of country is deep-seated in the breast of every Hawaiian, whatever his station.” — Queen Liliʻuokalani
Correction:
In the May 27, 2023 issue of Ke Aupuni Update I stated that hearing the case of Larsen vs. Hawaiian Kingdom at the Permanent Court of Arbitration at the Hague in 2000, constituted recognition by the court of the Hawaiian Kingdom as a State (sovereign country). It did not. The case was accepted by the PCA under rules that did not require one party to be a recognized State. Mahalo to renown international lawyer, Curtis F. Doebbler for that clarification.
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Ua mau ke ea o ka ʻāina i ka pono. The sovereignty of the land is perpetuated in righteousness.
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For the latest news and developments about our progress at the United Nations in both New York and Geneva, tune in to Free Hawaii News at
6 PM the first Friday of each month on ʻŌlelo Television, Channel 53.
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"And remember, for the latest updates and information about the Hawaiian Kingdom check out the twice-a-month Ke Aupuni Updates published online on Facebook and other social media."
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Malama Pono,
Leon Siu
Hawaiian National
