Today, November 28, is the day that the independence of the Hawaiian Kingdom is \u201ccelebrated.\u201d I vacillate about how I feel about this. My natural tendency is to be skeptical about arbitrary (i.e., man-made) constructs of \u201cnation,\u201d or even \u201cindependence\u201d as it is used in this context. Independent from exactly whom or what? The k\u0101naka of ko pae \u02bb\u0101ina were here for millennia before the European and American colonial powers happened upon us. In 1843, their recognition that n\u0101 aupuni kahiko already existed, that a real L\u0101hui already was flourishing in a place that they \u201cdiscovered\u201d was an external recognition. We already knew who we were. Kauikeaouli\u02bbs attempt to diplomatically protect Hawai\u02bbi from the onslaught of impending imperialism was not a declaration of independence. It was an identification to the world. And in the end, it only delayed the dam break of change brought on by disease, capitalist-driven greed, corruption, and the ideas of Euro-American (aka white) superiority.<\/p>\n
The recognition of independence was militarily usurped by America when it became convenient and beneficial to do so, and summarily ignored by Europe. What is there to celebrate from this legacy?<\/p>\n
Here is where I vacillate. Because I do celebrate L\u0101 K\u016b\u02bboko\u02bba. I celebrate the intricate, aloha \u02bb\u0101ina-based society that was already independent. I celebrate a society that was able to support a population (comparable in size to what exists today) with innovative, sustainable methods of land, water, and resource management, food independence, and spirituality. Modern Hawai\u02bbi, with all of its modern technology, would starve in less than a month if the ships and planes stopped coming. I celebrate the L\u0101hui that has survived every effort, both natural and invasive, to eradicate it. I celebrate the resurgence of \u02bb\u014dlelo Hawai\u02bbi to a degree that was unimaginable (with the exception of some very special k\u0101naka m\u0101kua). I celebrate what I see happening on social media; K\u0101naka TikTok is a vibrant, living community. I celebrate the new ways of teaching at every level, from preschool to university. I celebrate that we now acknowledge the diaspora and are actively looking for ways to bring people home. (I was away for 25 years, and there were times I thought I would never come back.) I celebrate that I feel pilina to everything I am trying to describe.<\/p>\n
Our k\u016b\u02bboko\u02bba is not given to us by recognition from any \u201cother.\u201d Our k\u016b\u02bboko\u02bba, our ea, exist in us. They exist in the L\u0101hui. They exist in the aupuni, in whatever form it has come to take in 2025. K\u0101naka maoli came very close to extinction. I celebrate that this did not happen. I celebrate the future, a future I did not even know was possible. That future is now.<\/p>\n
Aloha L\u0101 K\u016b\u02bboko\u02bba.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Today, November 28, is the day that the independence of the Hawaiian Kingdom is \u201ccelebrated.\u201d I vacillate about how I feel about this. My natural tendency is to be skeptical about arbitrary (i.e., man-made) constructs of \u201cnation,\u201d or even \u201cindependence\u201d as it is used in this context. Independent from exactly whom or what? The k\u0101naka … <\/p>\n