KE AUPUNI UPDATE - APRIL 2025
Times have changed…
Back in 1893, when the friendly, enlightened and peaceful Hawaiian Kingdom government was suddenly seized and supplanted by a cabal of 13 disgruntled and greedy white sugar planters, lawyers and businessmen, in cahoots with a conniving US diplomat and the US Navy, no other nation objected — not even any of our numerous treaty partners.
While the Hawaiian people and their leaders raised strong objections and diplomatic protests, the nations of the world, whom we thought were our friends, kept silent and looked the other way.
Then, after valiant acts of resistance culminating in 1897 with the ultimate act of resistance embodied in the Kuʻe Petition, which stopped annexation cold in its constitutional tracks, the US bypassed their own laws and in 1898, under cover of the Spanish American War, simply declared Hawaiʻi “annexed” and took over. What the US did in Hawaiʻi in 1898, set the tone and style of American imperialism up to today, 127 years later.
So as preposterous and ridiculous the notion of America annexing Canada and Greenland may sound in today’s geopolitical schematic, people shouldn’t be too surprised. It has been the modus operandi of American overseas imperialism since it took Hawaiʻi in 1898.
The good news is that, in this day and age, a unilateral annexation of Canada and Greenland, is seen as an international wrongful act. The international standard now is self-determination. Today, any lawful change in a nation’s governance requires the consent of the people — self-determination. Thus, any annexation or acquisition of Canada or Greenland would require a period of education and contemplation culminating in a referendum to determine the free, prior and informed consent of the people of Canada and Greenland.
And unlike what happened in Hawaii in 1898 (and numerous other countries since then) the world is now watching and quick to respond to irregularities and anything that smells like an unlawful taking.
The Hawaiian Kingdom, one of the most progressive nations on the planet at that time, clearly understood this principle: that consent of the people is crucial to keeping proper order. The reason for the Kuʻe Petition was to oppose the United States’ annexation of the Hawaiian Islands by registering unequivocal support to maintain the Kingdom.
Going to war against the US was out of the question as Hawaii was well-aware of the destruction of native Americans at the hands of the US cavalry and what was to play out in the Philippines. To our kūpuna, signing the Kuʻe petition was the best way to protect the integrity and future of their beloved Hawaiʻi nei.
And they were right! Even though the rest of the world did not share that level of thinking regarding sovereignty and human rights, what our forefathers did, set the plumb line for Hawaii’s sovereignty even through the 127 years of foreign occupation and adversity.
Our kūpuna laid the foundations and left the blueprint for us to follow today to free Hawaiʻi.
Aloha ʻĀina —
“Love of country is deep-seated in the breast of every Hawaiian, whatever his station.” — Queen Liliʻuokalani
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 7 PM, the first Friday of each month on ʻŌlelo Television, Channel 53.
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"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
