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Land and Sovereignty in Hawai'i: A Native Nation Re-emerges.
In 1993, the 100th anniversary of the overthrow of the independent Kingdom of Hawai'i, Congress passed Public Law 103-150, called the Apology Bill. In it, Congress "apologizes to the Native Hawaiians on behalf of the people of the United States for the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii on January 17, 1893," the bill reads, "...and the deprivation of the rights of Native Hawaiians to self-determination."
Interestingly, the Act contains wording that actually questions the legitimacy of Hawai'ian statehood: "...[T]he indigenous Hawaiian people never directly relinquished their claims to their inherent sovereignty...to the United States, either through their monarchy or through a plebiscite or referendum."
Slade Gorton (R-Wash), arguing against the bill on the Senate floor invoked the carnage in former Yugoslavia, and stated, "I know that the two Senators from Hawai'i do not agree with the radicals who wish independence as a result, but the logical consequences of this resolution would be independence" and "a basis -- perhaps even a legal basis -- for...the return of lands."
Senator Daniel Inouye (D-Hawai'i) protested Gorton's remarks as "a very painful distortion of our intent." Senators Inouye and Daniel Akaka, co-sponsors of the legislation, both claim to support some sort of "sovereignty." These pillars of the state's long-ruling Democratic regime, however, are quick to disavow efforts to address the historic control of Hawai'i's land, which passed from Native hands in the past century.
But Native Hawai'ians are rapidly building a movement around such "radical" demands -- and they increasingly agree with their nemesis Gorton. Tensions are escalating.
THE SOVEREIGNTY MOVEMENT
The sovereignty movement in Hawai'i has several tendencies, ranging from calls for outright secession to a moderated sovereignty within the state. The most "radical" tendency in the fast-growing Native Hawai'ian sovereignty movement is that calling for actual separatism from the United States of America. It has engaged in direct confrontation tactics, some threatening violence and not surprisingly, the leader of this current is in big legal trouble with the federal government.
Pu'uhonua Bumpy Kanahele is a veteran of the entertainment biz and a former reggae producer. "Kamehameha I was my 6th grandfather," he says. "He had 24 wives."
The Governor's Sovereignty Advisory Commission, created for 100th anniversary, included...