Hawaiian Kingdom

This hour-long documentary is a provocative look at a historical event of which few Americans are aware. In mid-January, 1893, armed troops from the U.S.S Boston landed at Honolulu in support of a treasonous coup d’état against the constitutional sovereign of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Queen Lili‘uokalani. The event was described by U.S. President Grover Cleveland as an “act of war.”

This hour-long documentary is a provocative look at a historical event of which few Americans are aware. In mid-January, 1893, armed troops from the U.S.S. Boston landed at Honolulu in support of a treasonous coup dʻētat against the constitutional sovereign of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Queen Lili‘uokalani. The event was described by U.S. President Grover Cleveland as an “act of war.”

Ka Ho‘okolokolonui Kānaka Maoli — Peoples’ International Tribunal Hawai‘i, 1993

In August 1993, Nā Maka o ka ‘Āina spent twelve days capturing on video the proceedings Ka Ho‘okolokolonui Kānaka Maoli — Peoples’ International Tribunal Hawai‘i, 1993, in which the United States and the state of Hawai‘i were put on trial for crimes against the original people of Hawai‘i, the Kānaka Maoli.

The proceedings of Ka Ho‘okolokolonui Kānaka Maoli — Peoples’ International Tribunal Hawai‘i, 1993, in which the United States and the state of Hawai‘i were put on trial for crimes against the original people of Hawai‘i, the Kānaka Maoli.

A panel of international judges traveled to five islands to hear the charges, which included genocide, ethnocide, the taking of our sovereign government and the destruction of our environment.

Selected segments from a historic 6-hour educational television presentation on Hawaiian sovereignty, broadcast on KFVE, Dec. 19, 1999 and streamed to the world over the Internet. Co-produced by Aloha First and Nā Maka o ka ‘Āina, Aloha Quest was hosted by Ed Kaahea, Iaukea Bright and Kaiulani Edens.

Selected segments from a historic six-hour educational television presentation on Hawaiian sovereignty, broadcast on KFVE, Dec. 19, 1999 and streamed to the world over the Internet. Co-produced by Aloha First and Nā Maka o ka ‘Āina.

Historical segments present the legal basis for the existence of the Hawaiian Kingdom and the history of popular opposition to U.S. annexation in 1897-98.

From Resistance to Affirmation

On August 12, 1898, during ceremonies at ‘Iolani Palace, two figures stood on a platform before an international gathering. Sanford B. Dole and U.S. Minister Harold Sewall exchanged treaty ratifications annexing the Hawaiian Islands to the United States. Or so it appeared. But was it really a treaty of annexation?  And did Hawai‘i really become a territory of the United States?

From Resistance to Affirmation

The story of the defeat of a treaty of annexation by Queen Lili‘uokalani and loyal subjects of the Hawaiian Kingdom, who sent an anti-annexation petition to Congress in 1897 consisting of over 38,000 signatures representing 95 percent of the native Hawaiian population. The story of “the annexation that never was.”

In this 5-hour series, David Keanu Sai gives a comprehensive legal history of the Hawaiian Kingdom, including the Declaration of Rights by King Kamehameha III, the formation of a constitutional monarchy, the 1850 Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation with the United States, the 1893 act of war against the Hawaiian Kingdom, the 1898 purported annexation to the U.S. and the internal U.S. legislation that supposedly made Hawai‘i a state of the union.

ハワイ王国の転覆という歴史上の事件を、刺激的な観点から捉えた1時間のドキュメンタリー作品。1893年1月半ば、ハワイ王国を統治するリリウオカラニ女王への反逆クーデターを支持するため、米戦艦ボストンからの武装兵士がホノルルに上陸。この事件は、クリーブランド大統領によって「アクト・オヴ・ウォー」、すなわち「戦争」と呼ばれました。

Poka Laenui of the Institute for the Advancement of Hawaiian Affairs relates the history of the Bayonet Constitution, the 1893 act of war against the Hawaiian Kingdom, and the formation of the self-proclaimed Republic of Hawai‘i on July 4, 1894.

Representatives of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Ka Lāhui Hawai‘i and indigenous Alaskan and Lakota Sioux peoples, along with an international law expert, discuss human rights, land titles and the legal case for recognition of the Hawaiian Kingdom.

In this five-hour series, David Keanu Sai gives a comprehensive legal history of the Hawaiian Kingdom, including the Declaration of Rights by King Kamehameha III, the formation of a constitutional monarchy, the 1850 Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation with the United States, the 1893 act of war against the Hawaiian Kingdom, the 1898 purported annexation to the U.S. and the internal U.S. legislation that supposedly made Hawai‘i a state of the union.

Transcript of presentations by Jonathan Kay Kamakawiwoole Osorio and Richard Kekuni Blaisdell covering the history of the 1897 petitions signed by thousands protesting the annexation of Hawai‘i to the United States.

Representatives of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Ka Lāhui Hawai‘i and indigenous Alaskan and Lakota Sioux peoples, along with an international law expert, discuss human rights, land titles and the legal case for recognition of the Hawaiian Kingdom.

Day One, August 13, 1993
Day Two, August 14, 1993

April 16, 1998
University of Hawai‘i – Hilo

Panel discussion held on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights