Declaration Reaffirming Independence and Protesting Naʻi Aupuni
Whereas Kanaka Maoli are the first peoples of Ko Hawaiʻi Pae ʻĀina (the Hawaiian Archipelago) since time immemorial;
Whereas the Kingdom of Hawai‘i was recognized as a nation in 1843 by the then Family of Nations;
Whereas, the multi-ethnic Kingdom of Hawaiʻi – the majority of which were Kanaka Maoli – was overthrown in 1893 by a small clique of American businessmen with the assistance of the United States (US) military;
Whereas the living descendants of the citizens of the Kingdom of Hawai‘, like their ancestors, continue to assert unrelinquished sovereignty over Ko Hawai‘i Pae ‘Āina;
Whereas, in 2014 the Department of Interior (DOI) ignored all verbal testimony for restitution, reconciliation, self-determination, and Independence as the DOI continues to pursue the path of Federal Recognition for Hawai`i;
Therefore be it resolved that we the undersigned:
Reaffirm our right to Independence and self-determination;
Repudiate Na‘i Aupuni‘s false claim to be the representative voice of the Kanaka Maoli people;
Reject the present and future US attempts through the DOI to Federally Recognize the Kanaka Maoli people on a par with a Native American Tribe under the document entitled “Procedures for Reestablishing a Formal Government-to-Government Relationship with the Native Hawaiian Community;”
Assert our commitment to Uphold and Honor the ongoing endeavors to rebuild our Lāhui via, among other ways:
1) the reclamation of our gathering rights,
2) the spread of ‘ōlelo Hawaii and the re-envisioning of our educational systems,
3) the revitalization of our traditional resource stewardship that assured food sustainability through responsible stream, estuary/reef management as well as kalo farming and fishpond upkeep;
4) resistance of the perils of climate change via the pursuit of a truly independent economic system free from the strangle-hold of transnational corporations;
5) the re-invigoration of traditional means of healing such as ‘ai pono, ho‘oponopono, lomilomi, and the protection of wahi pana like Mauna Kea, Waipi‘o, and Haleakalā;
6) the expansion of scholarly research to uncover the full range of traditional knowledge that our kūpuna gifted us;
Finally, we shall Unify all efforts to create an Independent Hawaiʻi, and so restore Ko Hawai‘i Pae ‘Āina to the descendants of the Hawaiian Kingdom for a better future for generations to come…
A Mau A Mau
ʻAha Aloha ʻĀina 