Aborigines, n.: Persons of little worth found cumbering the soil of a newly discovered country.  They soon cease to cumber; they become fertilizer.

- Ambrose Bierce
 

I've never had the pleasure of visiting Hawaii - we would possibly have gone that way when we came to New Zealand if we had had different crew members who had lobbied for us to go in that direction.  I'm glad we didn't, because I think it would've raised my expectations of shore accommodation on Pacific Islands, and made me less receptive to what was there, rather than what I expected to be there.

Trouble in Paradise: Hawaiians Want Their Islands Back

by Anu Manchikanti

Washington - Native Hawaiians will be saying more than "aloha" when they march into the nation's capital this weekend.  They'll be talking about the US invasion of the islands and overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy in 1893.  And they're not happy about it.  That action, said Butch Kekahu, founder of the Aloha March, ultimately caused the downfall of an entire culture.  "We're still hurting after 105 years."

Planned activities for this weekend include a 24-hour prayer vigil and the march itself, from the Capitol Building to the White House.  The march will mark the 100th anniversary of the 1898 annexation of the Hawaiian Islands by the US.  Hawaii became a US territory in 1900.  For the marchers, it also will signify a turning point in the Hawaiian sovereignty movement as they seek to make their campaign an issue of national interest.  Native Hawaiians are defined as the descendants of the aborigines of the Hawaiian Kingdom and represent 18 to 20% of the total population of Hawaii, Kekahu said.

"We want to bring before America the plight of Native Hawaiians," said Riley Cardwell, media coordinator for the Aloha March.  Cardwell said indigenous people in Hawaii have little access to health care or education, are burdened by low economic status and have the highest rate of strokes, cancer, heart disease and diabetes in the state.

Francis Boyle, a professor of international law at the University of Illinois, said the 1898 annexation was illegal because Congress failed to ratify two treaties of annexation, as required by the Constitution.  Hawaii became the 50th state of the union in 1959.

Even then, independence was not an option, Kekahu said, because voters were given only two choices - to become a state or remain a territory.  Kekahu said President Clinton and Congress inadvertently sparked the independence movement in 1993 when they issued a formal apology to Hawaii for overthrowing the kingdom and depriving citizens the right of self-determination in the 1959 special vote.  "He (Clinton) just opened up the door when he signed the apology bill."

The apology states that the Native Hawaiians had a "sophisticated language, culture and religion" before the arrival of the Europeans, and economic and social changes have been "devastating to the health and well-being of the Hawaiian people."

The Hawaiian Kingdom was never validly annexed and therefore, they want their kingdom back," said Boyle.  "We (the US) stole their kingdom."

Kekahu said other organisations in Hawaii support the sovereignty movement but disagree on whether to seek full independence or a lesser form of autonomy.  "It's time to put back our culture, our language, our people," Kekahu said.  "Every nationality in this world has a home to go to except the Hawaiians."

Source: NandoTimes 7 August 1998 © Nando.net and Scripps Howard News Service

-------- Original Message --------
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Date: Fri, 26 Oct 2007 18:55:36 -0500

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Comments: Your ancestors ran the original inhabitants off the Pali cliffs and killed most of the rest.  The US Government didn't do that to you.

You also have no right to the Islands.  You just want to be in power.  So what if some ancestor of yours conquered the original peoples?  That doesn't give you a right to power.  Heck, without the US you'd have been ravaged by the Japanese in WW2.

Tony

Kingdom of Hawai'i Declares Independence

The island Kingdom of Hawai'i, which in August 1959 was annexed to be one of the States of the United States of America, has announced secession from the US and formally declared its independence, notifying both President Bush and UN General Secretary Kofi Annan of its decision.

________________________________

I am Edmund Kelii Silva Jr, Ali’i Nui (Sovereign) of the kingdom of Hawai’i.  On my mother’s side I am the direct lineal descendent of King Kamehameha the Great, and heir to the throne.  And, on my father’s side I am the direct lineal heir to King Kamehameha Nui of the kingdom of Maui before King Kamehameha the Great unified the lands.  On 22 November 2002, the prime minister of the Hawaiian kingdom, along with the Council of Regency, Na Kupuna Council O’ Hawai’i Nei, the Na Kupuna Council Hawai’i Moku of the legislative body of government, and the Royal Kupunas of the House of Nobles, proclaimed that I am the lawful successor to Ali’i Nuis (High Chiefs) of ancient Hawai’i.

My islands have always been alive in the sacred blessing of a paradise on earth.  At one with the land, the Kana’ka Maolis have always known God in the beauty of their lives, in the strength of their humanity, and in their faith in the goodness of their fellow man.  At one with the timeless seas, we have always known power in the force of life and in the force of all the earth’s treasures.  At one with the winds, the rains, and the sun, we have always known the wonder of nature.  And, at one with the stars, we have always revered the mystery of creation.

In harmony with the lands, the seas, and the skies of our birth, ours is a duality of spirit.  We value greatly compassion and charity, while we are capable of powerful response against threats to our lands, culture, and families.  We are proud of our beauty while we esteem humility as among the most precious of virtues.  Youthful in play, we are an ancient culture respecting the dignity of elder wisdom.  We live our lives in open joy, seeking perfection in obedience to God.  We are Kana’ka Maolis.  We are Hawai'ians.

For centuries, we have lived in harmony with nature and each other.  My people were free of disease and corruption, and our laws and customs were just and noble.  In 1778, the arrival from England of Captain Cook and his crew changed everything.  Welcomed openly and mistaken for gods, Cook and his men left behind the catastrophe of venereal diseases, chicken pox, and measles, along with their accompanying madness, suffering, and death.  What did we know of deceit?  What did we know of know of Western diseases and corruption?  What did we know of greed?  Had we known more, our relations with this alien society would have certainly taken a different course.

Word of the beauty and riches of our islands spread quickly among the haole (foreign) nations.  Our lands were torn apart.  American missionaries, businessmen, and politicians came to the islands in great numbers, promoting their various agendas.  They introduced private land ownership, money, and other hallmarks of western culture.  Hawai’i’s sugar cane crop and its strategic location were of particular interest.  American incursions continued to erode Hawaiian values throughout the 19th century.

In 1810, King Kamehameha the Great unified the Hawaiian islands under a monarchial government.  The Kana’ka Maolis ratified the Hawaiian constitution in 1839 and 1840.  The United States recognised the independence of the kingdom of Hawai’i and extended full and complete diplomatic recognition to the Hawaiian government until 1893.  In 1826, 1842, 1875, and 1887, the United States and the kingdom entered into treaties governing commerce and navigation.

On 8 March 1892, John L Stevens, the American minister to the Hawai'ian islands, sent a letter to the American president.  In this letter, Minister Stevens described his plan to subvert the lawful Hawai'ian government by staging a false rebellion amongst the inhabitants of Hawai’i.  In the face of this "rebellion," Minister Stevens would call upon American military forces to occupy the island and "protect" American interests.  Thus, Minister Stevens could invade a foreign country without the approval of congress.  Moreover, he could occupy the kingdom and set up a provisional government to advance American interests exclusively.  This would give America complete control of the lucrative Hawai'ian agricultural industry.

On 14 January 1893, Minister Stevens and a small group of non-Hawaiians staged a "rebellion" on the island of Hawai’i.  By design, American naval forces invaded the kingdom and imprisoned Hawai'ian monarch Queen Lili’uokalani and high-ranking representatives of the Hawai'ian government in the Iolani Palace.  On 17 January 1893, a Committee of Safety representing American and European sugar planters, descendants of missionaries, and financiers deposed the Hawai'ian monarch and declared the establishment of a provisional government.  On 1 February 1893, Minister Stevens proclaimed Hawai’i to be a protectorate of the United States.

On 18 December 1893, President Grover Cleveland addressed the United States congress and acknowledged the deceitful work of Minister Stevens, saying, "The ownership of Hawai’i was tendered to us by a provisional government set up to succeed the constitutional ruler of the Hawai'ian islands, who had been dethroned, and it did not appear that such a provisional government had the sanction of either popular revolution or suffrage."

Queen Lili’uokalani was imprisoned in the Iolani Palace under military guard as her people suffered the robbery of their self-determination, the theft of their lands, and the devastation of disease brought to the islands by the haole capitalists.  She died broken-hearted, her prayers for justice and the redemption of her lands unfulfilled.

In the wake of the manufactured coup, the Kana’ka Maolis were reduced to a pitiful handful of survivors.  As our numbers dwindled, the American government secured a stranglehold on our stolen lands and sold them off to the highest bidders.  This exploitation was foreign to us and we were defenseless against it.  Soon there was little left to steal or subvert.  Nothing was left of our laws and our government.  We were a conquered people.

World War II reminded the American government that the Hawai'ian islands were a strategic resource as well as an economic one.  Upon conclusion of the war, America began a campaign of propaganda and political pressure to absorb the wondrous islands of my kingdom into the American empire.  On 21 August 1959, the American government completed the destruction of Hawai'ian culture by incorporating our lands into the United States.  In a political maneuver, the Kana’ka Maolis were offered only the options of choosing American statehood or continuing as an American territory.  Our numbers were too few, our spirit too battered, and our political acumen too undeveloped for us to make a statement in opposition.

A look at Hawai’i today illustrates America’s contribution to our lands; there is destruction and desecration of a scope unparalleled in contemporary history.  Once, ours was a pristine kingdom lovingly maintained by my people.  We understood the sanctity of life with the environment.  We lived in harmony with nature.  We lived our lives within the rhythms and seasons of the seas and the lands.  Now the land reeks with the smell of internal combustion engines, and suffers the ravages of unchecked greed and the monstrosity of monolithic "progress."  Asphalt ribbons bind the land between concrete monuments to hedonism.  Zealous developers trample the rich and fertile soil underfoot, hurrying to build another shopping mall.

Tourists in the shadows of ATM machines eat processed ice cream shipped from the mainland, while coconut trees are uprooted and replanted to shade American hotels designed in Los Angeles.  American soldiers seek ribald pleasures on the back streets of Oahu.  Organised crime in epic proportions threatens the sanctity of homes, schools, churches, and work places.  Whatever became of the true beauty, the spiritual quietude, our peaceful culture?  Their loss is the legacy of Minister Stevens.

Albeit grievously wounded by the American invasion, the Hawai'ian soul remains alive.  Though forced into dormancy by the relentless pressure of American threats and demonstrations of violence, our dual spirit now quickens.  Those who would annihilate us have mistaken our open and inviting countenance for weakness.  We have learned.  Our soul was tempered in the crucible of nearly two centuries of haole indecencies.  Seeds of understanding and activism in the kingdom began to be seen in the 1970s.  In a resurgence of spirit, the Kana’ka Maolis began to resurrect their traditional arts, culture, and modes of expression.  There was once again energy and pride among the people.  In the 1980’s, seeking redress, we brought our grievances before the United States congress.  Time and again, we were offered platitudes and meaningless gestures.  There was little, if any, evidence of the rights and privileges purportedly attendant upon citizenship in the United States. In our anger, we responded.

In 1991, The Hawaiian state legislature voted for a resolution encouraging debate on the restoration of the Hawai'ian nation.  In 1992, the legislature voted for a much stronger resolution stating that "the citizens of the state of Hawai’i recognise the inherent right of the indigenous Hawai'ian people to sovereignty and self-determination."  In 1993, United States Senators Inouye and Akaka introduced and successfully campaigned for Public Law 103-150, "The Apology Bill."  Facing significant political pressure, President William J Clinton signed the bill on 23 November 1993.  As expected, the American congress acknowledged the injustices perpetrated against my people but made no effort to take responsibility for, or action to right, the wrongs of so many years.

On 28 September 2000, Na Kupuna Council Hawai’i Moku, under authority of Article 33 of the Hawai'ian constitution ratified in 1839 - 1840 (under which Queen Lili’uokalani ruled), appointed Samuel Keolamauloa Kaluna Jr, regent and lawful prime minister of the Hawai'ian kingdom.

The American Declaration of Independence asserts that "governments are instituted among men, deriving their just power from the consent of the governed."  The Kana’ka Maolis refuse to be governed by the United States.  Moreover, the Kana’ka Maolis have never given their consent to be governed by the United States.  The Kana’ka Maolis established a constitutional government, ratified in 1839 - 1840, which describes our government and sets the rights of the people, the responsibilities and structures of government, and the systems by which laws may be promulgated and enforced.

In keeping with our traditional heritage and culture, we approach this matter peacefully and with dignity.  As we respect the dignity of those who have abused us, so do we expect that we shall receive the same respect in kind.  We remember well the lessons we have been taught in our prior relationships with the American government.  We shall no longer blindly trust the government of the United States.  As we proceed, we shall do so under the supervision of international law agencies.  We call on the United Nations to monitor these proceedings.

Toward resolution, we shall purchase our lands back from those who have benefited from their theft.  As we do so, we shall return the lands to the paradisiacal state in which they existed prior to the destruction, devastation, and desecrations wrought in the name of "progress".  We shall restore our stolen right of self-determination by setting up the government under which we will live.  We shall no longer allow the United States government to dictate the laws under which we live.

We have taken our cause before the ministers and sovereigns of nations around the world.  The response of civilised and honourable countries has been unilaterally supportive.  The response of the United States has been disingenuous and dismissive.  This response from the United States is not a surprise but a disappointment.  We call on all honourable and honest peoples of the world to support us in this just cause.  We call upon these nations to recognise our government and our sovereignty, while we call upon those who have desecrated our seas, stolen our lands, and mutilated our bodies to hear our righteous plea.  We call upon Almighty God to guide us as we proceed.

"Au’we, au’we!"  Alas, my people cry for beloved Hawai’i.  Their ceaseless laments are borne to heaven upon the restless winds.  Their cries echo in the endless pounding of the surf on the shores of our islands.  Their tears fall upon the asphalt and concrete of Americanised Hawai’i.  "Au’we, au’we." The spirits of Hawai’i past walk the lands and grieve for our paradise lost.  The cries of my people are heard but not felt by the United States government, which acknowledges the unlawful taking of our lands but inappropriately offers as token compensation Native American status.  The cries of my people are heard but not felt by the United Nations, which deigns to offer sympathy, but scant assistance.

The cries of the old and the young, the cries of my mother, my father, my children, Prime Minister Kaluna, the House of Nobles, the citizens of the kingdom, and the spirits of my ancestors, ring in my ear.  I have heard their cries since childhood: "Au’we, au’we!"  It breaks my heart.  Now a man, I can no longer tolerate my people’s pain, nor shall I.

I am Edmund Kelii Silva Jr, direct lineal descendent of King Kamehameha the Great, direct lineal heir to King Kamehameha Nui of Maui, and Ali’i Nui of the people of Hawai’i.  I come in the name of Almighty God and of my people, and under authority of the Hawai'ian constitution in effect on 17 January 1893, and hereby declare Hawai’i to be an independent, sovereign nation.  In the name of Almighty God and of my people, I hereby declare the nation of Hawai’i to be free and independent from the influence and authority of any and all other nations.  In the name of Almighty God and of my people, I hereby declare the nation of Hawai’i to be a sovereign nation grounded in the noble culture of an old and honorable people.

His Royal Majesty Edmund Kelii Silva Jr, Ali’i Nui Nou Ke Akua Ke Aupuni O’ Hawai’i, The House of the Royal Family
Edmund Kelii Silva, Sr, Father To the Ali’i Nui, Direct Heir to King Kamehameha Nui Of Maui
Cecelia Ku’ulei Silva, Mother to the Ali’i Nui, Direct Heir to King Kamehameha the Great
Prince Edmund Kelii Silva III, Son to the Ali’i Nui
Princess Gabrielle Leilani Silva, Daughter to the Ali’i Nui
Princess Collette Maile Silva, Daughter to the Ali’I Nui

Regent, Prime Minister Samuel Keolamauloa Kaluna Jr, Na Kupuna Council Hawai’i Nei, Na Kupuna Council Hawai’i Moku

CERTIFICATION OF MAILING

I, Samuel Keolamauloa Kaluna Jr, do hereby certify that a true and correct copy of the foregoing Declaration of Independence was placed in the United States Mail, sufficient postage prepaid, correctly addressed to the following at their respective addresses as indicated, on the 23rd day of June 2003.

George W Bush
President of the United States
The Presidential White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 25500

Kofi Annan
Secretary General, United Nations
S-378
New York, New York 10017

Samuel Keolamauloa Kaluna Jr, Prime Minister - Kingdom of Hawai’i

Source: www.newmediaexplorer.org 26 July 2003

See also:

Hawaii Is Not Legally a State! (an external site) - ...The truth is that each and every step along Hawaii's path from sovereign and independent nation, to annexed territory, to state, was done in violation of laws and treaties then in effect, without regard to the wishes of the Hawaiian people.  Many people, including President Grover Cleveland, opposed the annexation of Hawaii.  But in the end, simple greed and military interest overrode any concerns or moral right and legality.  Hawaii's legitimate government was toppled using threat of American military force.  Hawaii was stolen from her people for the benefit of wealthy American plantation owners and military interests, and the justifications for the crime were invented after-the-fact....

Poor Hawai'ians.  It's amazing how similar their story is to that of New Zealand's Maori.  But the hands of time can never be unwound.  For example, how can the writer respect western churches (and medicine?) while rejecting western paved roads?

Jared Diamond's Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Guns, Germs, and Steel is an excellent attempt to explain why aboriginals the world over have always ended up with a raw deal.

They Eat Dirt

by Chiksika, elder brother of Tecumseh, to Tecumseh

19 March 1779 - When a white man kills an Indian in a fair fight it is called honourable, but when an Indian kills a white man in a fair fight it is called murder.  When a white army battles Indians and wins it is called a great victory, but if they lose it is called a massacre and bigger armies are raised.  If the Indian flees before the advance of such armies, when he tries to return he finds that white men are living where he lived.  If he tries to fight off such armies, he is killed and the land is taken anyway.  When an Indian is killed it is a great loss which leaves a gap in our people and a sorrow in our heart; when a white is killed, three or four others step up to take his place and there is no end to it.  The white man seeks to conquer nature, to bend it to his will and to use it wastefully until it is all gone and then he simply moves on, leaving the waste behind him and looking for new places to take.  The whole white race is a monster who is always hungry and what he eats is land.

Source: Anderson Valley Advertiser Boonville California November 1999

Overriding Concerns

by Noam Chomsky

Each time there's a large scale slaughter of natives, of brown people, "the enemy," those in charge say that the "victory" proves that OUR people, as embodied by our soldiers, are victorious, they are good obedient workers who do their job, they're not lazy; we produce the best goods, etc.  These are familiar "lessons."  It was done in Vietnam, it was done it Korea.  The same thing was done all then way back to the Indian wars.  Do you know how many people were killed in Vietnam?  Did anyone ever actually go and look at the badies and total them up?  Do you know how many American Indians were slaughtered as we moved across the continent?  How many Mexicans were slaughtered?  And so on.  The point is the lives of natives that we slaughter are valueless.  That's a deep rooted principle of not only American history, but of our English forbears.  You slaughter the natives, that's your job.  They don't count.  You never look at them.

When Americans are asked today how many Vietnamese casualties they think there were - there are some recent studies - the responses are pretty mind-boggling.  The average response is about 100,000.  That's about 5% of the official figure, perhaps 3% of the actual figure.  That's the way good propaganda works.  The natives basically don't count.

When the US conquered this continent, the native population could have been in the neighbourhood of 10 million, maybe more, maybe a lot more, there are various estimates.  It was basically reduced to 200,000 or so.  In the state of California alone there was MASS genocide.  Nobody paid much attention.  And they are not paying any attention now.  Slaughtering the natives has always been good old-fashioned fun.  That's what we do.

Source Anderson Valley Advertiser 8 July 1998

Also see:

	Coming Face to Face with Racism (the next page in this section) - The videotape showed Eskimos in downtown Anchorage flinching and shielding their faces as they were shot at with paint ball guns by three young white men in a car, who laughed as they cruised the streets and filmed their search for victims...  The youths, a 19-year-old and two younger teenagers, appeared to be looking for Eskimos.  "Shoot him! Shoot him!", one voice on the tape said.  "You need to shoot that guy."  Another voice replied: "No.  He's Chinese..."
	The Farmer's Curse - The farmers' system and philosophy have condemned them to go forth and multiply, peopling the earth and expanding their domain to the detriment of hunter-gatherers, whose philosophy, based on respect for nature and for the equality and freedom of each individual, including children, was no match for the rapacity, technology and productivity of the newcomers...
	Killing Other People's Children - Just how many deaths of other people's children are we willing to ignore, or to rationalise with words like "unintended consequences"?  One million?  Two million?  If the government tells us it's necessary, and the mass media makes the deaths small news, could we perhaps ignore the deaths of 10 million children?  Why not?  It's certainly possible, given our recent history...

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