Honoring Our Ancestors Who Signed the Petitions Protesting Annexation of Hawaii to the United States
July 31, 2010 · Thomas Square
Photos: Dora Johnson / Pono Kealoha / Nathan Leo
Click here for more pictures of the event by Vivian Wong.
Approximately 1500 signs were displayed on July 31, 2010 to honor those men and women who, in 1897, following the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom, signed their names to a petition opposing the annexation of Hawai’i to the United States.
Hawaiian nationals throughout the Hawaiian Kingdom supported their Queen and country by signing the great petition against annexation in 1897. The petition was sent on to Washington DC later that year. As a result, a second treaty of annexation before the U.S. Congress failed to pass. The first attempt was withdrawn by President Grover Cleveland. Without a treaty, how did Hawaii become part of the United States?
Queen Lili’uokalani was in Washington D.C. at the time, advocating against passage of the Treaty of Annexation submitted by representatives of the Republic of Hawai’i. She called for the citizenry of Hawai’i to make their voices heard via petition, and they responded nearly unanimously. These petitions were then presented to the U.S. Senate in 1897 when the issue of the annexation of Hawai’i to the U.S. came to the floor. Because of opposition voiced by the people, the treaty, in its second attempt, failed.
There was no Treaty of Annexation. Instead, several U.S. Congressmen drafted a municipal law titled “The Newlands Resolution” purporting to take possession of Hawai’i, an action contrary to the U.S. Constitution and to International Law. The rest is the history all of us in Hawai’i have been taught: we were ‘annexed’ to the U.S. but there is no Treaty of Annexation to document that action.
Two petitions were circulated during that time by two political action groups—Hui Kalai`āina, in support of the royalty, and Hui Aloha `Āina (both men’s and women’s branches), in opposition to annexation. The citizenry numbered approximately 40,000 at the time, and the two petitions together included more than 39,000 signatures, a huge testament to the desire of Hawaiians to maintain and support their Queen and country.
Overwhelmingly, our kūpuna did not want to be Americans. Their opposition was captured in these petition signatures and today we honor them for taking a clear and strong position.
The petitions were retrieved from the U.S. National Archives in Washington DC and brought back to Hawaii by Dr. Noenoe Silva in 1997. They were first presented to the public on January 17, 1998 during the Sovereign Sunday event at `Iolani Palace grounds.Subsequently, Dr. Silva took the petitions throughout ka pae `āina to introduce them to their descendants, and there begins our tale of how these name signs come to be here today.
We honor our kupuna today because of their (successful) protest in 1897 and because their signatures and voices remind us of our history of political and legal independence.
About the sponsors of this project.
Ka Lei Maile Ali`i (KLMA) Hawaiian Civic Club was formed in 2003. The club’s mission is to honor the life and work of Queen Lili`uokalani, Hawaii’s last reigning monarch. The club’s work relies heavily on educational and cultural programs, particularly the dissemination of information about the Queen and about the people who supported her efforts and her person during and after the overthrow, including in the present time.
The Hawaiian Independence Action Alliance (HIAA) was formed in December 2008 to call attention to Hawaii’s continued independence, to push for de-occupation of Hawai`i, and to oppose federal recognition by the United States.
About the project: Ku`e Name Signs
In 2009, KLMA introduced to the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs a resolution to have the document in the hand of the McKinley Statue recast to remove the words “Treaty of Annexation”. The resolution passed unopposed. In 2010, on American President’s Day, KLMA and HIAA co-sponsored the first display of the ku`e name signs (a total of 600) at McKinley High School in downtown Honolulu, with names laid out immediately around the McKinley statue in the circular area that the school refers to as “sacred ground” (but sacred for school-related reasons).
For the Kamehameha Day Celebration on June 12, 2010, the groups sponsored the display at `Iolani Palace grounds, this time laying out approximately 1100 individual name signs. Hundreds of passers-by came to view the signs, to ask questions, to create new signs with their own kupuna names and, in the process, honoring their ku`e and their memory. In participating with us, visitors learned about the petitions and about a history of Hawai`i that had been erased for over a hundred years.
The July 31, 2010 display is the third in a series. Future displays are planned for September 5, 2010 at `Iolani Palace and on November 28 (La Ku`oko`a – Hawaiian Independence Day) and December 30 (Memorial Day in the Hawaiian Kingdom), 2010.
Want to kokua? Palolo@hawaii.rr.com, (808) 284-3460