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The Lili'uokalani Cult -- A scary but true Halloween story. Hawaiian secessionists try to inspire winners for 21st Century battles by conjuring the ghosts of 19th Century losers.

Hawaiian Sovereignty

(c) Copyright October 31, 2013 [Halloween, when people bring ghosts from the past to try to scare us, play tricks on us, and demand treats from us]

by Kenneth R. Conklin, Ph.D.
All rights reserved

Queen Lili'uokalani has become a cult figure. Hawaiian sovereignty activists worship her in an uncritical, mystical way similar to how Catholics worship the Virgin Mary. Some say her spirit lives at Iolani Palace or Washington Place, some say she lives at Mauna Ala (the Royal Mausoleum) or at her statue on the Capitol grounds; but all say she lives forever in the hearts of 527,000 Native Hawaiians (Census 2010). Other cult heroes include about 350 men arrested, including 189 put on trial, for the Wilcox attempted counterrevolution of 1895. This year at least one published essay says Hawaiians should try that again.

The activists have been working hard to make the general population of Hawaii think of Lili'uokalani as a noble, virtuous leader who was unjustly and illegally overthrown, who exercised non-violence in her peaceful surrender, who wrote beautiful music while imprisoned in her own Palace, and who behaved like a saint in forgiving those wicked haoles who dethroned her with the help of an armed invasion by the United States.

Lili'uokalani's 175th birthday on September 2, 2013 provided an excuse for an unusually aggressive propaganda campaign aimed at stirring anti-U.S. and anti-haole resentment, and determination to restore Hawaii as an independent nation under ethnic Hawaiian control.

Of course Lili'uokalani was an important historical figure. She deserves to be remembered along with Hawaii's other monarchs of the Kingdom period and Governors of the Territorial and and Statehood periods. But during her disastrous two years as Queen she accomplished nothing worthwhile except being overthrown. Why should she be more highly celebrated than King Kauikeaouli Kamehameha III, who reigned for 30 years with many great accomplishments? He gave up absolute power to create Hawaii's first Constitution recognizing fundamental rights of all people regardless of race or inherited status; and he gave up absolute ownership of all Hawaii's lands to create private property with fee-simple deeds.

Why should Lili'uokalani's two years of ineffective and corrupt governance from Iolani Palace be more highly regarded than Sanford Dole's masterful leadership? He governed from the Palace through nearly eleven years of profound and tumultuous change as President of the Provisional Government, President of the Republic, and first Governor of the Territory. Dole also gave earlier service as Kingdom legislator elected from Koloa, and Supreme Court Justice appointed by Kalakaua. And later Dole served for 12 years as Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Territory. Yet there's no painting of him on the Palace walls alongside the other ruling chiefs of the independent nation of Hawaii; and no statue of him anywhere in Hawaii. See webpage "Sanford Ballard Dole -- Elected Legislator and Appointed Supreme Court Justice of the Kingdom of Hawaii; President of the Provisional Government and of the Republic of Hawaii; Governor of the Territory of Hawaii, and Presiding Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Territory of Hawaii" at
https://www.angelfire.com/hi2/hawaiiansovereignty/dole.html

There's a simple reason why the sovereignty activists elevate Lili'uokalani to cult hero. She was the last monarch of the Kingdom. They believe that sovereignty remained with her until she died in 1917, because the overthrow of the monarchy was illegal and annexation to the U.S. was illegal. Thus the sovereignty of the native Hawaiian people remains unrelinquished, and can be reasserted through U.S. and international courts. Hawaii does not have Holocaust deniers or Obama birth certificate deniers. But we do have overthrow deniers, annexation deniers, and statehood deniers. The first two of those are the special kuleana of the Lili'uokalani cult because they happened during the ex-queen's lifetime. Celebrating Lili'uokalani is a socially acceptable way to express hatred toward the U.S. and toward residents who lack Hawaiian native blood.

The sovereignty activists also know that public opinion is important, especially in getting the Hawaii legislature to do what the activists want. See "Native Hawaiians As the State Pet or Mascot: A Psychological Analysis of Why the People of Hawaii Tolerate and Irrationally Support Racial Separatism and Ethnic Nationalism" at
https://www.angelfire.com/hi2/hawaiiansovereignty/hawnsasmascots.html
and "Playing Favorites -- Da Punahele Race" at
https://www.angelfire.com/hi2/hawaiiansovereignty/punahelerace.html

The activists need to persuade Hawaii's people that a great injustice was done and must be corrected. They want to convince people that ethnic Hawaiians today have the worst statistics for all bad things -- a deplorable condition caused by the overthrow of Lili'uokalani and deserving of massive reparations in the form of land, money, and political power. See "The Hawaiian Grievance Industry -- Panhandling for Race-Based Handouts and Political Power" at
https://www.angelfire.com/hi5/bigfiles3/grievanceindustry.html
and "Forced assimilation may hurt Hawaiians -- Debunking a typical combination of junk history and junk science fueling the Hawaiian grievance industry, and protesting the use of so-called news reports as vehicles for propaganda" at
https://www.angelfire.com/hi5/bigfiles3/ForcedAssimHurtsHawnHealth.html

By portraying Lili'uokalani as a saintly, noble, kind-hearted peace-loving and talented Queen, the sovereignty activists hope to make Hawaii's people feel the pain and injustice of what was done to her by the evil haoles who overthrew her with help from an armed invasion by the U.S. In the name of Lili'uokalani, let's rip the 50th star off the flag and give political control to the natives whose land this has always been! Her role is like Joan of Arc or Richard The Lionhearted, stirring up public passion for (restoration of) the nation she championed.

Below are analyses of five major propaganda events during the Summer and Fall of 2013 showing the intensity of feeling in the Lili'uokalani cult, and the willingness of its leaders to not only twist history but to proclaim outright falsehoods as truth. These events are especially numerous and intense at this time because September 2, 2013 is the 175th anniversary of Lili'uokalani's birth. (It also happens to be the Labor Day holiday.) But there are similar events every year, not only near her birthdate but also near the date of the Hawaiian revolution of January 17 (1893).

As with any religious/political cult, the same small group of activists devote their lives to organizing and leading race-focused Hawaiian independence political rallies and media campaigns all year long, year after year. Some names that keep cropping up are Hayden Burgess (alias Poka Laenui) and his wife Puanani Burgess (community organizer), Lynette Cruz and her acolyte Evern Williams, Rev. Dr. Kaleo Patterson and his acolyte Ha'aheo Guanson, Meleanna Meyer (entertainer, filmmaker, artist, community organizer) and her sisters Maile Meyer (CEO of Native Books) and Manulani Meyer (Professor of Education at UH Hilo).

The Meyer sisters are proud to boast that they are descendants of and carrying forward the work of native Hawaiian nationalist Joseph Nawahi and his second wife A'ima (Emma) Nawahi. A'ima was a close confidant and companion of Lili'uokalani. Joseph Nawahi served for 20 years in the Kingdom legislature, served in Queen Lili'uokalani's cabinet as Minister of Foreign Affairs, wrote the Constitution which Lili'uokalani tried to proclaim in 1893, was President of the Hawaiian Patriotic League which fought against the overthrow of the monarchy, and operated the Hawaiian language royalist newspaper Ke Aloha 'Aina.

With that genealogy it's no surprise that Meleana Meyer was a principal organizer and participant in all the events described below that were staged by the Lili'uokalani cult in the Summer and Fall of 2013, including the August 4 Forgiveness Day at the state Capitol, the Lili'uokalani statue rededication ceremony and Queen's birthday celebration at Iolani Palace on September 2 (including twisted-history performances about the overthrow), the "Lili'uokalani Legacies" performances at numerous branch libraries throughout Hawaii from September through February, the "Mai Poina" [Never Forget] performances in the old Supreme Court chamber at Ali'iolani Hale (the "Government Building" of the Kingdom and Republic, where the Kamehameha statue stands). Meyer's role as community organizer and performer at many of these events is documented in "Ka Wai Ola", the OHA newspaper for October 2013, pp 20-21, which can be downloaded from
http://www.oha.org/sites/default/files/KWO01013_web.pdf

The programs described below, and the booklets and materials handed out free of charge, are very expensive to produce. Clearly there are some very wealthy individuals and institutions paying for all this, including Kamehameha Schools, the Hawaiian Civic Clubs, and other private groups; but also including some government agencies using taxpayer dollars, who are spending enormous amounts of money on these propaganda materials, performances, and facilities. For example: Iolani Palace, Ali'iolani Hale (building behind Kamehameha statue), University of Hawaii faculty time and especially the UH Center for Biographical Research, Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Hawaii Public Library branch library facilities for performances, and many others.

Here are the titles of the remaining portions of this essay. Scroll down to read them.

1. Rewriting history: The overthrow deniers have gotten the State of Hawaii to rewrite history by changing the information on the famous Lili'uokalani statue to make it appear that she remained reigning Queen of Hawaii until her death in 1917, and held a ceremony to rededicate the statue with Governor Abercrombie and former Governor Waihe'e in attendance.

2. Lili'uokalani's 175th birthday celebration at the Palace on September 1, 2013 (a day early) featured prayer, chanting, musical performances, and walking tours with twisted-history reenactments of events and speeches from the overthrow of the monarchy on January 17, 1893.

3. Sunday August 4, 2013 was "Hawaii International Forgiveness Day" at the Hawaii state Capitol, focused on Lili'uokalani as a "Heroine of Forgiveness" and poster-girl for nonviolence because she gave up without a fight. But the propaganda event conveniently left out the fact that a few months after the overthrow Lili'uokalani several times angrily refused to consider granting amnesty to the revolutionaries as part of an attempted mediation by U.S. Minister Albert Willis to restore her to the throne, insisting that she would behead them and confiscate their property. The propaganda event also left out the fact that in 1889 she conspired with firebrand racist Robert Wilcox and facilitated a violent attack on the Palace in an attempt to overthrow her brother (7 men were killed), and in 1895 she again conspired with Wilcox and facilitated a violent attempted counterrevolution (several men killed in 3 battles) for which she was placed on trial and convicted of conspiracy to commit treason.

4. For 5 months, September 2013 through February 2014, a program "He Lei, He Aloha" -- the Legacies of Queen Lili'uokalani, is presenting a program at numerous branch libraries on 6 islands. The program resembles a church service, including an opening chant/prayer in honor of Lili'uokalani, carefully selected short passages about historical events from her book handed out to be read by volunteers from the audience, songs from her songbook with audience singalong for well-known ones, a short film, and talk-story where audience members are invited to tell their impressions and what they feel this program has inspired them to do. Audience participation is a wonderful propaganda tool, encouraging people to feel like they belong to the cult and are taking a pledge to engage in future support and action.

5. Another event in the "Mai Poina" [Never Forget] series was a theatrical performance -- sort of an opera or Greek tragedy -- entitled "The Trial of the Queen 1895." It includes chanters, re-enactments of portions of the trial, and commentaries by a group of independence activist "scholars." The concept is that poor dear Lili'uokalani was unjustly imprisoned for her role in the attempted counterrevolution of 1895, when several men were killed in three battles, a cache of guns and ammunition and bombs were found buried in the flower bed at Lili'uokalani's private home (Washington Place) where she was living at the time, and letters were found which she had signed appointing the cabinet ministers for her new government when the counterrevolution succeeded. Naturally Lili'uokalani denied knowing about the cache of weapons or plans for the counterrevolution, and said she had every right to write letters appointing cabinet ministers. Of course the opera gives her the benefit of the doubt. Commentaries by the "scholars" praise the patriotism of the men who tried to restore the monarchy and were imprisoned, and praise the dignity and "mana" of Lili'uokalani.

================

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, recently President of Iran, drew enormous negative attention when he publicly denied the Holocaust. In modern Germany it is a crime to speak or write to deny the Holocaust. But here in Hawaii, the sovereignty activists frequently, publicly, and zealously deny not only that the monarchy was overthrown (1893) but also that Hawaii was annexed to the U.S. (1898) and also that Hawaii became one of the 50 states of the U.S. (1959).

The overthrow deniers say that a small group of American and European businessmen were able to take control of the government, but what happened was illegal and did not change Lili'uokalani's status as rightful Queen under international law. The annexation deniers say there was no Treaty of Annexation, so annexation never truly happened; and from time to time they stage public demonstrations at Iolani Palace, at the statue of President McKinley at McKinley High School, and even on the National Mall in Washington, displaying several hundred small white signs each bearing on one side the name of one of the signers of the anti-annexation petition of 1897 and on the other side the words "no annexation." The statehood deniers say Hawaii remains an independent nation not only because the overthrow and annexation were illegal but also because the statehood plebiscite of 1959 was illegal since the ballot did not offer the option of independence and because most of the voters were not descendants of subjects of the Hawaiian Kingdom.

A six-foot tall bronze statue of Lili'uokalani sits atop a base and pedestal raising it to a height more that ten feet, on the grounds of the state Capitol building and in sight of Iolani Palace. Every day around dawn someone comes to place flowers in the statue's hands, and perhaps also a lei or other token of reverence. It has become a shrine to Lili'uokalani, and occasionally someone can be heard praying or chanting to her (in Hawaiian language, of course).

The statue's left hand is holding a rolled-up document, representing the Constitution she tried to proclaim in 1893, provoking the revolution that overthrew her. Some activists consider that the real, current Constitution of Hawaii in view of the fact that the Queen was never overthrown; but it's complicated because the Queen herself ordered all copies to be destroyed when she was overthrown, apparently because of some highly controversial items in it which might have included a requirement that only ethnic Hawaiians would have the right to vote. For example, the Hawaiian language royalist newspaper Ka Makaainana Vol 1, No 21 (May 21, 1894) page 4 quotes Pauku [Article] 62 as saying: "O na kupa wale no ke hiki ke koho balota, a hoemiia mai hoi ke ana waiwai e kupono ai o na poe koho." The word "kupa" is ambiguous, but often refers to natives with multiple generations of local residence, although it might also include foreign-born but naturalized subjects. In addition to the ambiguity of the word "kupa", the accuracy of that newspaper's report of the contents of Article 62 may also be doubtful. Royalist newspapers often reported rumors or wishful thinking as fact; and the source of the contents for Article 62 is unknown because all copies of Lili'uokalani's proposed Constitution were destroyed in January 1893 by order of Lili'uokalani herself.

For 31 years, from the time the statue was dedicated in April 1982, a plaque correctly indicated that Lili'uokalani reigned as Queen from the date of her investiture on January 29, 1891 until her overthrow on January 17, 1893. It also gave the dates of her birth (September 2, 1838) and death (November 11, 1917).

But on Monday September 2, 2013 (Labor Day), a ceremony was held at the statue, attended by Governor Abercrombie, former Governor Waihe'e, and numerous dignitaries, rededicating the statue with its new overthrow-denying plaque. A photo gallery from the event is on Governor Abercrombie's Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151623734262409.1073742093.150237952408&type=3

Taken from that gallery, below are a photo of the statue at the rededication ceremony, and a closeup of the plaque.

The plaque says

QUEEN LILI'UOKALANI
Born September 2, 1838
Invested as Queen Monarch of Hawai'i on January 29, 1891
Entered into eternal sleep on November 11, 1917

All those statements are true. But by leaving out her overthrow on January 17, 1893, the plaque leads low-information tourists, and Hawaii's school children, to believe Lili'uokalani remained reigning Queen from 1891 all the way to 1917.

In case there's any doubt that the purpose of this whole exercise is to proclaim historical falsehood, here are some excerpts from the bill SB233 in the 2013 state legislature:

"The legislature finds that Hawaiian sovereignty remains unrelinquished today. ... Queen Liliuokalani never relinquished the throne in the face of the overthrow, notwithstanding her forced removal from the throne. Therefore, the legislature finds that Hawaiian sovereignty was never relinquished in the overthrow and that Queen Liliuokalani remained the Queen of the Kingdom of Hawaii until her death. ... The purpose of this Act is to honor the dignity and memory of Queen Liliuokalani as the reigning Queen of the Hawaiian Kingdom until her death. The memorial statue of Queen Liliuokalani on the grounds of the state capitol shall be inscribed with the year of the Queen's coronation on January 29, 1891, to the date of her death on November 11, 1917, rather than the years inscribed on the statue as of the day prior to the effective date of this Act."

Ken Conklin submitted seven pages of testimony containing detailed evidence proving that Lili'uokalani had formally abdicated the monarchy and signed an oath of allegiance to the Republic of Hawaii, and also proving that emperors, kings, queens, and presidents of at least 19 foreign nations personally signed letters in Fall 1895 giving full-fledged recognition to the Republic as the rightful government of Hawaii. See the testimony at
http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2013/Testimony/SB233_TESTIMONY_THA-TEC_02-11-13.pdf

But despite those facts, the zealots of the Lili'uokalani cult have now succeeded in rewriting history. SB233 apparently died in committee; yet somehow the bill's provisions are now being implemented anyway. Here's an article from the OHA newspaper which explains how the zealots got the job done even without a bill from the legislature, and which also confirms that the whole purpose of this exercise was to change a true reporting of history to a false one.

--------

http://www.oha.org/sites/default/files/KWO01113_web.pdf
OHA monthly newspaper, November 2013, pages 6 and 31

New plaque for queen's statue corrects date of her reign

By Lisa Asato

It took 28 years, but the Queen Lili'uokalani statue at the state Capitol finally has its plaque.

Although the idea isn't a new one, it resurfaced two years ago when record producer Ken Makuakane noticed the statue's inscription referred to 1893 as the end of the queen's reign. That didn't sit well with him, and he brought it the attention of state Sen. Brickwood Galuteria.

"I was looking at the Lili'uokalani statue and it said she was queen of Hawai'i from 1891 to 1893," said Makuakane, a United Church of Christ program associate for vitality. "I was standing looking, going: 'That's not true. She reigned her whole life."

The plaque doesn't refer to 1893, the year American and European business interests and others overthrew the Hawaiian Kingdom with help from the U.S. military. The queen, who yielded her authority to avoid bloodshed, was later imprisoned in 'Iolani Palace. In 1993, then-President Bill Clinton signed the Apology Bill, acknowledging America's role in the illegal overthrow.

Makuakane adds: "So, even if we were taken over by an illegal government, she still didn't give up her sovereignty, and even throughout the rest of her life � she was always trying to regain that legal kingdom back. But she never lost her sovereignty right as a monarch, and she was always treated as our queen."

According to Senate Bill 233 co-introduced by Galuteria in 2013 to correct the inscription: "Queen Lili'uokalani never relinquished the throne in the face of the overthrow, not withstanding her forced removal from the throne. Therefore, the legislature finds that Hawaiian sovereignty was never relinquished in the overthrow and that Queen Lili'uokalani remained the Queen of the Kingdom of Hawai'i until her death."

Soulee Stroud, president of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs, said in his opinion, based on her writings, the queen "absolutely" believed she remained the queen until her death.

Stroud, who calls Makuakane and Galuteria the impetus behind the correction, said Galuteria twice introduced legislation to correct the error, but the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, which supported the change, said a bill wasn't needed.

During the process of determining a way to correct the inscription, it was discovered that state lawmakers in 1985 approved funding for a plaque for the statue but no one followed through.

Stroud said he's not sure why that happened, but he's not looking back. He said more plaques might be added to the statue to tell the queen's story, similar to descriptive plaques for the Kamehameha statue on King Street and Father Damien statue fronting the Capitol.

The plaque is the first in a series of changes planned for the bronze statue in the coming months, including new lighting, landscaping and a bronze collar. The bronze collar will cover and correct the existing 1891-1893 inscription along the granite base of the "Spirit of Lili'uokalani" statue. The dates will be changed to 1891-1917, when she died.

Until the bronze collar is installed with the new dates, the statue and the plaque will have conflicting dates, Stroud said. The statue, by artist Marianna Pineda, was commissioned in the late 1970s by then-Gov. George Ariyoshi.

To create the text for the plaque, written in Hawaiian and English, Stroud turned to Hailama Farden of Kamehameha Schools. "He speaks Hawaiian very fluently, � has the deep knowledge of our history as well as of the queen," Stroud said. Suggestions by the Queen Lili'uokalani Trust were incorporated into the text, and on Sept. 2 -- the 175th anniversary of the queen's birthday -- the plaque was unveiled at a rededication ceremony honoring "the dignity and memory of Queen Lili'uokalani as the reigning monarch until her death in 1917."

At the ceremony, Gov. Neil Abercrombie addressed the crowd of about 150, and former Gov. John Waihe'e, chairman of the Native Hawaiian Roll Commission, gave a speech about Hawaiians' unrelinquished sovereignty.

The plaque reads in part: "Our beloved Queen Lili'uokalani � Invested as Queen Monarch of Hawai'i on January 29, 1891 � Entered into eternal sleep on November 11, 1917 � Our Queen lives forever with steadfast devotion in the hearts of her loyal people."

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Using the political process to create false history is nothing new for Hawaiian sovereignty activists. Recently an attempt was made to persuade the legislature to order the vandalism of another statue as a way of changing history. See "HR258 and HCR293 in the Hawaii legislature of 2011 -- A resolution to rip the Treaty of Annexation out of the hand of President McKinley in his statue in front of McKinley High School" at
https://www.angelfire.com/big09/HR258McKinleyHawLegisl2011.html
The concept is that there never was a Treaty of Annexation, so the statue of McKinley should not show him holding it.

The Reverend Dr. Kaleo Patterson led a successful effort to commit history fraud from 2006 to 2010 and beyond. Patterson knowingly used a fake Grover Cleveland proclamation from 1894, cited it as fact, and used it as the basis for a media blitz in 2006 in Hawaii and on the mainland calling for a national day of prayer for restoration of Native Hawaiians and repentance for the overthrow of the monarchy. He repeated his local and mainland propaganda campaign in 2007 and pushed a resolution through the Hawaii legislature citing the joke proclamation as real. The legislature passed the resolution even after receiving testimony proving that the Grover Cleveland proclamation was actually a piece of sarcasm against Cleveland published as an editorial in a New York Republican newspaper in 1894, thus showing that the legislature puts "political correctness" and ethnic Hawaiian favoritism far above historical correctness. In 2008 the Honolulu Star-Bulletin published a story describing the Cleveland proclamation as a fact and refused to publish a correction. In 2010 Patterson made a trip to Caldwell N.J. in furtherance of his hoax, where the town council gave him a check for $2920 to defray his expenses. A lengthy and detailed webpage showing that Patterson and the legislature knew the Cleveland proclamation was fake but went ahead anyway with their campaign of historical malpractice, is at
https://www.angelfire.com/hi5/bigfiles3/fraudpattersoncleveland.html

====================

Visitors taking the walking tour were given an elegantly produced booklet of 28 pages containing a sovereignty activist account of the history of the 1893 overthrow, photos of places and newspaper articles, essays by the activists expressing their hopes for the future, and map showing the streets and buildings in the area of the Palace in 1893. The booklet can be downloaded, but caution: it is larger than 10 megabytes:
http://www.hawaiiponoi.info/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Mai-Poina-Visito-Guide-2013.pdf

A beautifully produced flier advertising the propaganda festival at the Palace can be downloaded at
http://www.hawaiiponoi.info/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Onipaa-Flier-2013.pdf

The contents of the flier are as follows:

175th Birthday Celebration for Queen Lili'uokalani
Sunday
September 1, 2013
10:00 a.m. � 3:00 p.m.
'Iolani Palace Grounds
Free Admission

Ka Lei Maile Ali'i
The Queen's Women, a one-act play, re-enacts a now famous meeting in Hilo in 1897. Begins at 1:00 p.m. in the Kana'ina Building

Lili'u Lei A Ka Lahui
Presentation and rememberance of Lili'uokalani
(Begins at 2:00 p.m. near the Fountain by the Barracks)

Mai Poina Historic Walking Tours
Living history walking tours retracing four pivotal days
leading up to and including the overthrow of the
Hawaiian monarchy.
September 1, 6, 7 and 8, 2013
Tours begin at 4:00 p.m., 4:20 p.m., 4:40 p.m., and 5:00 p.m.
Friday, September 6th tours at 5:00 p.m., 5:20 p.m.,
5:40 p.m., and 6:00 p.m.
(Meet in front of the Hawai'i State Library)
Reservations recommended.
Reserve a space online at www.hawaiiponoi.info
or call 534-8880 for more information.

Ecumenical church service
(12 p.m. noon)
Entertainment by:
Ku'uipo Kumukahi
Jerry Santos and Olomana
Royal Hawaiian Band

Hula � Hawaiian crafts � Exhibits
Palace tours � Ono Food

Tribute to Lili'uokalani
through chant at 3:30 p.m.
www.hawaiiponoi.info

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Additionally, a plain-text explanation was available at
http://www.hawaiiponoi.info/2013/07/17/2013-onipaa-events/

2013 'Onipa'a Events Announced

HAWAII PONO'I COALITION ANNOUNCES PLANS FOR 'ONIPA'A, CELEBRATING QUEEN LILI'UOKALANI
Sunday, September 1, 2013, 'Iolani Palace
FREE ADMISSION

Welina mai nei kākou a pau;

Greetings to you all!

This is an invitation to you, your family and or organization to spend the day with us as we plan to honor Queen Liliʻuokalaniʻs 175th birthday, as a beloved leader of peace and justice. This 7th annual commemoration-celebration will take place at 'Iolani Palace on Sunday Sept. 1st, from 9:50 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on the palace grounds, followed by a special 'oli performance on the steps of 'Iolani Palace at 3:15 p.m., and the famed Mai Poina Historic Walking Tours at 4:00, 4:20, 4:40; and 5:00 p.m.

The opportunity to appreciate Hawaiian culture, through prayer, song, music and dance along with educating the public on the true history of Hawaiʻi is important work that the Hawaiʻi Ponoʻī Coalition has taken as its responsibility since our hui of organizations came together back in 2007.

Our intentions for this Sept. 1st celebration are to unite organizations and individuals participating in activities that will enrich and enlighten attendees about Native Hawaiian culture and history, depicting with accuracy � the life, times and contributions of Queen Liliʻuokalani and her legacy.

Pule [prayer] begins our gathering with the receiving of hoʻokupu, offerings, with a performance to follow by many halau who will gather to pay her tribute. An ecumenical service begins the program at noon, with a medley of songs by Nola Nahuluʻs choir along with short readings from Hawaiʻiʻs story by Hawaiʻiʻs Queen offered by the group, He Lei He Aloha. Musical entertainment will follow featuring outstanding Hawaiian entertainers, with an additional re-enactment-play by the Ka Lei Maile Civic Club, along with birthday cake for keiki, more music, food and entertainment throughout the day. Educational activities will include a kuka kuka [discussion] forum on Hawaiian Self-Governance and the one-act play, the Queen's Women. Many Hawaiian organizations will also exhibit information on their activities.

Hoʻokupu [offerings] of oli [chants] will be presented at the close of the day on the steps of 'Iolani Palace, to be followed by the popular Mai Poina, living history walking tours, back by popular demand! Click here for online reservations or call 534-8880.

Please do come and join us for an exciting and relaxing day at the Iolani palace. Lots to see, experience and share -- you are most welcome!

Nui ke aloha

The Hawaii Pono'i Coalition
(ALU LIKE, Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs, Friends of 'Iolani Palace, Kamehameha Schools, Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Native Hawaiian Bar Association; Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation, 'Ilio'ulaokalani, UH Kamakakuokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies).

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Here is the story about "Hawaii International Forgiveness Day" published on page 20 of Ka Wai Ola, the OHA monthly newspaper for October, which can be downloaded at
http://www.oha.org/sites/default/files/KWO01013_web.pdf

Heroine of Forgiveness

by Mary Alice Ka'iulani Milham

Queen Lili'uokalani was honored as a Heroine of Forgiveness at a Hawai'i International Forgiveness Day observance at the Hawai'i state Capitol.

The Aug. 4 recognition by the mostly non-Hawaiian nonprofit group Hawai'i Forgiveness Project reflects the spirit of the times and the coming together of Native Hawaiians and non-Hawaiians to heal the injuries of history.

"This group knows our history and they want to try to do something about it, and with us -- versus to us, or for us. There's a difference there," says Meleanna Aluli Meyer, a Native Hawaiian filmmaker and member of the Hawai'i Forgiveness Day group.

History tells us that under the greatest adversity, Queen Lili'uokalani had an even greater capacity to forgive. Ascending the throne in January 1891, she bore the brunt of a political storm that had been brewing for decades between the monarchy and the American missionary descendants seeking to control the government.

In 1887, her brother King David Kal�kaua had been forced to sign the Bayonet Constitution, stripping him of his right as monarch to appoint nobles and dismiss cabinet ministers and imposing property qualifications that deprived the majority of Native Hawaiians of the right to vote.

It was Queen Lili'uokalani's attempt to restore those rights with a new constitution that brought the conflict to its head on Jan. 16, 1893, when, with the unauthorized support of U.S. Marines, the same men took the government by force.

Despite such extreme injustice, Queen Lili'uokalani called for peace. And with a moral force strong enough to quell the rising tide of anger among her native people, she urged calm and nonviolence while pursuing a peaceful resolution and the restoration of her government through diplomatic means.

Attacks on the queen continued nonetheless, from threats of assassination to racist political cartoons depicting her as a savage. In 1895, when loyalists mounted a counter-revolution in a failed bid to regain their country's independence, she endured the ultimate indignity of being arrested, charged with treason, put on trial and imprisoned in a sparely furnished bedroom of her former palace.

It was there, isolated from her people under constant guard, that she wrote her famous anthem of forgiveness, "Ke Aloha O Ka Haku, The Queen's Prayer," beseeching God to look not on the "sins of men" but to forgive with loving kindness.

Speaking at the state Capitol, Meyer hailed the queen's triumphant forgiveness.

"Through imprisonment, trial, attempted assassination and long, lonely nights, she wrestled with this treason and betrayal. She met the demons of violence and hatred, and she vanquished them in herself. She made a choice for life, for love, for tolerance and compassion. And what followed is forgiveness, I believe," said Meyer, whose current film project, Ku'u '�ina Aloha (Beloved Land, Beloved Country) honors Queen Lili'uokalani.

"She showed us that we can do it, too. Her example stands proudly, as a lesson for Hawai'i, for America and for the world."

Launched in 2002, the Hawai'i Forgiveness Project is one of the largest International Forgiveness Day events in the world.

"People come here looking for answers and they know the depth of this place," says Meyer.

The Heroine of Forgiveness Recognition Award was presented to Claire Asam of Queen Lili'uokalani Trust, who accepted it on the queen's behalf.

In addition to Meyer, the event included presentations and speeches by several luminaries of the Native Hawaiian community, including Poka Laenui, executive director of Hale Na'au Pono and longtime sovereignty activist; George Kahumoku Jr., who performed mele and oli dedicated to the queen from his collection E Lili'u; Puanani Burgess, the respected mediator, poet and storyteller; and N� H�k� Hanohano Award-winning musician Ku'uipo Kumukahi.

Laenui implored the crowd to adopt Queen Lili'uokalani's values of 'onipa'a (steadfastness) and pono (righteousness) and to "forgive and cleanse."

Echoing the words of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Laenui urged his listeners to practice forgiveness.

"Hatred never ceased by hatred. Hatred only ceases by love," said Laenui. "The Hawai'i of tomorrow will not prosper if we continue to carry this burden of hatred."

The past, he said, cannot be undone and so we must join together to lift the burden of what has happened in Hawai'i and address the issues we face together.

"That's why Lili'uokalani's teachings are so important," said Laenui.

"The point is, it's an energy that will change. It's an energy that heals," concluded Meyers. "What it does is, it focuses our energy. That's the important part. This is a beginning."

---------

As can be seen from the OHA newspaper article, there's a tremendous propaganda campaign underway to portray Liliuokalani as a poster girl for Hawaiian nonviolent resistance, comparing her with Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi. But nothing could be further from the truth. The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is a true hero not only for African-Americans but for all Americans, because he helped us to discover and implement a core value of our founding principles of unity and equality. By contrast, Lili'uokalani was a partisan champion for her own race, repeatedly using the phrase "my people" to refer to ethnic Hawaiians even though, as Queen of Hawaii, she should have used it to refer to all Hawaii's people. Mahatma Gandhi understood the spiritual principles which made non-violence successful as a political tool, whereas Lili'uokalani merely gave up without a fight as a shrewd political ploy to stall for time while hoping to get help from her friend Grover Cleveland. The activists treat her as the most important monarch in the Hawaiian Kingdom after Kamehameha The Great, even though she reigned for less than two years in a corrupt and ineffective government overthrown because of her greedy grab for greater power. They sing her songs to lull us to sleep while they work to rip the 50th star off Old Glory. They tout her as a paragon of forgiveness to make us feel remorseful as though we need to be forgiven and we're obligated to give back what we (never) stole.

In 1889 Liliuokalani backed a violent military coup against Kalakaua led by Robert Wilcox, which would have overthrown her brother Kalakaua and would have made herself reigning monarch. Seven men were killed, and part of the roof was blown off the Palace bungalow (a guesthouse and servants' quarters) by a hand grenade. Lili'uokalani gave Wilcox free use of one of her houses for the coup-plotters to hold their meetings. Wilcox was placed on trial but acquitted by an all-native jury, despite overwhelming evidence (think about O.J. Simpson). Crown Princess Lili'uokalani was an unindicted co-conspirator in treason and murder.

On January 17, 1893, the date of the Hawaiian revolution, everyone already knew the results of the U.S. Presidential election of November 8, 1892. Back then a newly elected President did not actually take office until early March. Outgoing President Harrison was a Republican, favorable to annexation of Hawaii. Incoming President Cleveland was an isolationist Democrat, opposed to annexation. Furthermore he was a personal friend of Liliuokalani, so she expected he would help her. That's why she claimed to be surrendering to the U.S. rather than to the Provisional Government that had actually won the revolution. Claiming to surrender to the U.S. was merely a shrewd political ploy by a savvy politician smart enough to know it's better to surrender to a far-away but powerful friend who will help to undo the surrender rather than to the closeup enemy who had actually defeated her. Her claim that she was surrendering to prevent a clash of military forces and loss of lives had nothing to do with the noble concept of nonviolent resistance. It was merely a convenient excuse for giving up without a fight, thereby avoiding an actual military defeat in combat, while delaying in hope of help from her friend, incoming President Cleveland.

In Summer and Fall of 1893 U.S. Minister Willis, the envoy of President Grover Cleveland, tried to put Liliuokalani back on the throne. He met with Lili'uokalani repeatedly during Summer and Fall and proposed to her that if she would agree to give amnesty to the revolutionaries who had overthrown her, then he (Willis) would take that offer of amnesty to the leaders of the revolutionary Provisional Government to ask them to step down and reinstate her as Queen. When Willis asked her whether she would agree to those terms, she refused and said she would behead them and confiscate their property. She made that refusal and threat of beheading on three separate occasions, as written in a daily logbook kept by Willis. So of course Willis could not propose such a scenario to the Provisional Government. At the last moment, in December 1893, when the ship carrying her message of refusal was ready to sail to America, she sent a note to say she would agree to Willis' idea; but it was too late. Her bloodthirstiness and demand for revenge had cost her the cooperation of Willis who wanted to help her regain the throne; and events in Washington between President Cleveland and the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs foreclosed any effort at mediation.

In 1895 Liliuokalani once again supported the use of violence in the attempted counterrevolution by Robert Wilcox. Guns and bombs were hidden in the flower bed at her home (Washington Place). She had already written letters of appointment for cabinet ministers and department heads in her anticipated new government. Historian Gavan Daws describes it this way (Gavan Daws, "Shoal of Time" Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 1974, pp. 282-283): "The grounds of her home at Washington Place were searched, and in the garden the searchers found what they were looking for -- a regular ammunition dump; twenty-one bombs, some of them made with coconut shells; more than thirty rifles; thirty-eight cartridge belts and about a thousand rounds of ammunition; and some pistols and swords." She said she knew nothing about it. Liar liar pants on fire! She was living in that house at the time the weapons were placed in the flower bed, and could not have missed seeing and hearing what was happening, and noticing that the yard had been dug up. We know she knew about the attempted counterrevolution also because she had already signed letters of appointment naming her new cabinet ministers to be installed as soon as Wilcox succeeded; the letters were found in her home and placed in evidence during her trial for misprision of treason.

Lili'uokalani was treated with great gentleness by the revolutionaries who overthrew her. Let's recall what happened in the Russian revolution the same year Lili'uokalani died, when the Bolshevik regime held the Tsar and his wife and children in a house for several months and finally massacred them all to prove to the people that there would be no going back. Let's recall the French revolution, when hundreds of royals were executed by guillotine in the public square during several weeks, while huge crowds of bloodthirsty citizens watched and cheered.

The gesture of granting forgiveness in the context of Hawaiian history is actually a political weapon. It's an assertion of moral superiority; an assertion that the forgiver is innocent while the recipient has done wrong and is in need of forgiveness and should give reparations. It's an implied threat that if apology and reparations are not forthcoming then there'll be hell to pay. To maintain peace and harmony in our multiracial society requires that, as Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia wrote in Adarand v. Pena, "there can be no such thing as either a creditor or a debtor race."

A brilliant essay by attorney Patrick Hanifin was published in the Hawaii Bar Journal, Vol. XVII, No. 2 (1982) entitled "Hawaiian Reparations: Nothing Lost, Nothing Owed."
https://www.angelfire.com/hi2/hawaiiansovereignty/hanifinreparations.html

It's ludicrous to think that the revolutionaries of 1893 were in need of forgiveness by the ex-queen, or that today's non-ethnic-Hawaiian citizens of Hawaii are in need of forgiveness by ethnic Hawaiians. There was nothing to forgive. A corrupt and ineffective monarchy was overthrown. The Provisional Government paid the ex-queen's Royal Guard to protect her against threats of assassination. Her private homes at Washington Place and elsewhere were not invaded; her property was not stolen or vandalized. Royalist newspapers were allowed to continue to publish in both Hawaiian and English, despite using their freedom of the press to make slanderous attacks against the leaders of the revolution in prose, poetry, music lyrics, and drawings.

This nonsense of portraying Lili'uokalani as a poster-girl for nonviolence has been going on for years. It's part of the victimhood mentality used by Hawaiian activists to solicit sympathy and lull the public with pretty flowers, sweet songs, and mystification.

For a collection of commentaries and letters to editor in 2006 and previous years regarding the comparison of Liliuokalani with Martin Luther King, see: "Dr. Martin Luther King Vs. Queen Lili'uokalani" at:
https://www.angelfire.com/hi2/hawaiiansovereignty/drkingqueenlil.html

On January 16, 2007 the East-West Center in Honolulu hosted a gala bash. The $12 ticket included a panel discussion and pupus (hors d'oeuvres). The purpose was to crown Hawaii's Queen Liliuokalani as a hero in the pantheon of non-violent resistance. The cover of a fancy brochure featured three photos: Queen Liliuokalani, Dr. Martin Luther King, and Mahatma Gandhi. The event was orchestrated by Hawaiian sovereignty zealots. Also participating were leftwing leaders of the Hawaii chapter of the NAACP, and "peace studies" activists. For details see
https://www.angelfire.com/planet/bigfiles40/MLK-Liliu.html

==============

Here is a news release from the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement on October 21, 2013:

---------

Kapolei, HI - 'He Lei, He Aloha, "A Lei of Love"', is celebrating the legacy of Queen Liliuokalani - her music, love of homeland and complete dedication to the people of Hawaii to honor the 100th Anniversary of the Hawaii State Public Library System. The community program, most recently at Kapolei and Waianae libraries, is one of several to be presented in public library branches throughout the state, and continues through February 2014.

Pictured above: Maile Meyer of Native Books/ Na Mea Hawai'i and Puuhonua Society is pictured with a representative of the Kapolei Public Library. The free 45-minute program included community readings from the Queen's autobiography Hawaii's Story by Hawaii's Queen, a 7-minute film vignette inspired by the Queen, and a sing-along of some of the Queen's music. "The program was interactive, educational and inspiring," shared Michelle Kauhane, President of the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement.

Following the screening of the film sketch from the upcoming feature length film, Ku'u Aina Aloha, Beloved land, Beloved Country, by filmmaker Meleanna Aluli Meyer, participants shared their manao in a brief talk story session. Mixed emotions ranging from being "pissed off" to feeling hopeful, emerged from the community participants.

The program provides participants with an opportunity to learn and understand more about Hawaiian history and the legacies of Queen Liliuokalani. "It was a powerful experience to hear and learn first-hand from the perspective of the Queen by sharing aloud her own words", shared one participant.

Pictured above: A choir sings songs composed by Queen Liliuokalani between readings.

The program ended with a question to participants asking if there is anything the group felt called or compelled to do. "In response to the closing was compelled to share this information with others as I was deeply moved by attending the session," shared Kauhane. "This program allows us as a community to discuss our history, embrace its realities and contribute to the healing process necessary for us to move forward as one. I highly recommend and encourage folks to attend a 45-minute session if you can."

He Lei, He Aloha is a program sponsored by the Hawaii State Public Library System, Queen Liliuokalani Trust, Native Books/Na Mea Hawaii, Hawaiian Airlines, the King Kamehameha V Judiciary History Center, Alexander & Baldwin Inc., the Iolani Guild of the Episcopal Church of Hawaii and the Puuhonua Society.

CNHA is a national network of Native Hawaiian Organizations, providing assistance in accessing capital and technical resources, and is a policy voice on issues important to Native Hawaiian communities. Its mission is to enhance the cultural, economic, political, and community development of Native Hawaiians. For more information about CNHA please contact us at 808.596.8155, toll-free at 1.800.709.2642, by e-mail at
info@hawaiiancouncil.org, or at www.hawaiiancouncil.org.

------------

13 years ago a very similar program was presented in branch libraries throughout Hawaii. At that time the solo performer was singer Nalani Olds, who wore a costume similar to what Lili'uokalani might have worn, and perhaps imagined herself to be "channeling" the Queen. When Olds was finished with her tour around Hawaii, she then toured the mainland. Here are two news reports about it. Incidentally, Nalani Olds, like the Meyer sisters, said that she is a great-granddaughter of "a friend and companion of the Queen." Perhaps the same A'ima Nawahi that the Meyer sisters are descended from? Note that the news report says readers should phone "Native Books" for further information -- the same "Native Books" owned then and now by Maile Meyer! Like any other cult, it's "all in the family."

http://archives.starbulletin.com/2000/02/01/features/story4.html
Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Tuesday, February 1, 2000

Queen's musical legacy thrives through He Po'ai Aloha

Nalani Olds, an entertainer in Hawaii for 46 years, has been researching the music of Lydia Lili'uokalani since the early 1970s.

As a member of the first class of docents trained at Iolani Palace, the music of King Kalakaua and Queen Lili'uokalani was her area of expertise. It's one she came to naturally.

"It's been something that's been dear to my heart my entire life," she said.

Olds, who was raised largely by her grandmother, grew up with a grounding in tradition and stories of the monarchy passed down from her great-grandmother, who had been a friend and companion of the queen. "When I was with (my grandmother) we did Hawaiian things, we spoke Hawaiian and such," she said. After her grandmother died, she said there literally seemed to be no one to talk to, until the 1970s and the Hawaiian renaissance.

The publication of "The Queen's Songbook" seems to have inspired another renaissance, this time in interest in the life and work of Lili'uokalani.

That interest has set the stage for a three month program being offered by the Hawaii State Public Library System and Native Books and Beautiful Things.

From now until the end of April, Olds will travel the state presenting "He Po'ai Aloha, Encircled With Love: The Musical Legacy of Her Majesty Queen Lili'uokalani." The 45-minute program portrays the queen's life, her music and her leadership.

"(The audience) can expect to have a touch of Hawaiian history and maybe a glimpse of the queen herself, though I say that with humility because I don't think anybody can ever really know the queen," said Olds.

The program is free and will be offered at public libraries statewide. Sponsors include Outrigger Hotels & Resorts, Budget Rent A Car, Hawaiian Airlines, Alexander & Baldwin and Hui Hanai.

HE PO'AI ALOHA
Bullet What: "Encircled With Love: The Musical Legacy of Her Majesty Queen Lili'uokalani"
Bullet When and Where: 6:30 p.m. today, Liliha Public Library, 6:30 p.m. tomorrow, Kalihi-Palama Public Library; 10 a.m. Saturday, Aiea Public Library; and at other libraries statewide through April 24.
Bullet Call: Native Books and Beautiful Things at 845-8949 for times and locations.

http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2001/May/07/il/il06a.html
Honolulu Advertiser, Monday, May 7, 2001

Isle entertainer returns

Isle singer Nalani Olds has just returned from a Mainland tour presenting "He Po'ai Aloha," the program that celebrates the music and life of Queen Lili'uokalani. The program toured libraries in Hawai'i a year ago.

Olds, who also served as interim trustee with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Thursday gave a performance at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. She also joined musician and scholar Jon Osorio there in addressing audiences about the overthrow of the monarchy.

Performances followed Saturday and Sunday in New York at the Museum of Natural History.

-----------

I, Ken Conklin, attended the performance at Kaneohe branch library on Sunday October 6. About 25 people (performers and audience) sat in the small but sturdy children's chairs in the area where Moms bring their kids for weekly readings of children's fairy tales. Chief organizer of the statewide program, Meleanna Meyer was present and performed; her sister Maile Meyer assisted; the all-politics-all-the-time sovereignty activist Lynette Cruz attended and made a history-twisting comment asserting that there were 38,000 signatures on the 1887 anti-annexation petition when in fact there were only about 21,000 (she added up signatures from two petitions, only one of which focused on opposing annexation while the other one demanded restoration of the monarchy). The readings from the ex-queen's book were preprinted on sheets handed out to audience members, who, when called upon, dutifully stuck to the script they were given, somewhat like responsive readings from scripture during a church service. If I had known ahead of time about the responsive readings, I would have taken along the following two quotes and substituted them for whatever script I might have been handed. The activists are outraged and deny the accuracy of these quotes whenever they hear them, because if Lili'uokalani could "get over it and move on" then why can't the activists follow her lead? Oh, how kolohe and maha'oi it would have been to read these during the "church service":

(a) Senator George Hoar (R, MA) was Lili'uokalani's friend who helped her fight against the Treaty of Annexation in 1897 and officially accepted the anti-annexation petition on behalf of the Senate. He wrote in his autobiography published in 1903: "As their Queen has lately declared: 'The best thing for them that could have happened was to belong to the United States.'" "Autobiography of Seventy Years" by George Frisbie Hoar (C. Scribner's Sons, 1903). To find that quote from Liliuokalani, look for "Lili'uokalani" in the index to Hoar's book. Hoar's book is not easy to get hold of. However, another book by a reputable historian, William Russ, also contains the quote as having been taken by Russ from Hoar's book. See: William Adam Russ, "The Hawaiian Republic" (1894-98) (Associated University Press, London and Toronto 1992). On page 331, Russ quotes Senator Hoar as quoting those words of Liliuokalani. Russ took his quote directly from Senator Hoar's own autobiography.

(b) Lili'uokalani's diary for Sunday, September 2, 1900, personally viewed in the state archives and quote confirmed by historian and Bishop Museum archivist DeSoto Brown: "How sad and yet I gave my consent to have the old Royal Hawaiian Band who are now the Government U.S. band come and serenade me on this the occasion of my 62nd birthday. My consent is the healing over of ill will of all great differences caused by the overthrow of my throne and the deprivation of my people of their rights. Tho' for a moment it cost me a pang of pain for my people -- it was only momentary, for the present has a hope for the future for my people. 10 a.m. Went out to Kahala with Mr & Mrs Mana [?] and children. Mr & Mrs Auld, Kaipo, Myra Aimoku Kalahiki. Wakeki Paoakalani J. Aea Mahiai Robinson."

------------------

http://www.staradvertiser.com/travelpremium/20131222__Libraries_host_tribute_to_isles_beloved_queen.html?id=236857091
Honolulu Star-Advertiser, December 22, 2013

Libraries host tribute to isles' beloved queen

By Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi

THE QUEEN inspires me daily. To me, she is a model of grace, forgiveness, compassion and loyalty to her people � not just Hawaiians but everyone in her kingdom who respected the values and traditions of the Hawaiians. I am a royalist; I hold dual citizenship in my heart."

Maile Meyer, owner and founder of Native Books/Na Mea Hawai�i in Ward Warehouse, speaks passionately about Queen Liliuokalani, Hawaii's last reigning monarch. Meyer's great aunt, Emma Nawahi, was one of the queen's ladies-in-waiting, so she has special interest in the events that led to the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy in 1893 and the annexation of the islands to the United States five years later.

Meyer came up with the idea for He Lei, He Aloha (This is a lei of love), a tribute to Queen Liliuokalani, when she heard that an expanded edition of the queen's autobiography, "Hawai�i's Story by Hawai�i's Queen" (see sidebar) was going to be released this year. Coincidentally, 2013 also marks the 100th anniversary of the Hawaii State Library in downtown Honolulu, so the library system was the perfect partner for the program.

"He Lei, He Aloha was supported by many people, including state Librarian Richard Burns; Susan Nakata, section head of the Library Development Services Section; and Nola Nahulu, choral director of Kawaiaha�o Church," Meyer said. "The trustees of the Queen Lili�uokalani Trust helped underwrite the cost of producing programs and resource guides. Like everything Hawaiian, it was a kakou (we, inclusive) thing."

Twenty-eight of the 50 public libraries statewide agreed to host He Lei, Hei Aloha. The Oahu libraries' presentations were held in September and October; the neighbor island libraries' presentations are scheduled for January and February.

The free 45-minute tribute program includes music, songs, readings from "Hawai�i's Story by Hawai�i's Queen" and a seven-minute vignette from "Ku�u �Aina Aloha" ("Beloved Land, Beloved Country"), a film based on letters exchanged between the queen and Nawahi. Meyer's sister, Meleanna, an artist and art educator, is the producer of the film and the narrator for He Lei, He Aloha.

"The letters were about what was happening in the kingdom politically," Meyer said. "The two women were trying to get through that desperate time through companionship and aloha. Meleanna and I are doing whatever we can to have the queen remembered for what she was trying to continue: the nature and presence of kanaka maoli, Hawaiians."

He Lei, He Aloha wraps up with a discussion moderated by members of the �Iolani Guild, an auxiliary of the Episcopal Diocese of Hawai�i. Queen Liliuokalani was baptized at the church's St. Andrew's Cathedral on May 18, 1896, and served as president of the Guild until she died in 1917.

Audience participation is a key component of the program. "Community members do the readings," Meyer said. "Many people get misty-eyed as they listen to the queen's powerful, heartfelt words. They feel her confusion and sadness, as well as hope and continuity. During the program, many attendees have said they have felt the presence of the queen. She was a prolific composer, and Aunty Nola leads us in singing her songs, including �Aloha �Oe,' which has become one of Hawaii's anthems."

In fact, some of the most stirring moments of He Lei, He Aloha come when a room full of strangers sing the queen's songs. "To hear many voices combine as one is beautiful, inspirational," Meyer said. "There is something to be learned from that. The queen wanted her people to be unified. How can we in Hawaii work together to address important issues? How can we sing well together?"

Autobiography's reissue includes original writing

First published in January 1898, "Hawai'i's Story by Hawai'i's Queen" is the only autobiography written by a Hawaiian monarch. The recently released expanded edition of the book includes the complete original text with misspellings and typographical errors corrected. Annotations by historian David Forbes identify people the queen refers to and explain inconsistencies.

Most of the photographs in the original book are included in the new edition, along with additional images from the collections of the queen, members of her family, Bishop Museum, the Hawaii State Archives, the Hawaiian Historical Society and the Queen's Medical Center. Maps, drawings and the genealogy of Kepookalani, Liliuokalani's great-grandfather, written in her hand, also complement the text.

The original book was 410 pages and measured 5.5 inches by 8 inches. The expanded version, including an index, is 6 inches by 9 inches and 496 pages. It was published by Hui Hanai, an auxiliary to the Queen Lili'uokalani Children's Center, which the queen established in 1909 "for the benefit of orphan and other destitute children in the Hawaiian Islands."

IN THE introduction of the new edition, Forbes says the objective of Queen Liliu-okalani's book "was not to be a bittersweet life story of a deposed monarch, but rather to build a case against ... American intervention into Hawaiian politics and to present a plea to Americans in general, and to members of the U.S. Congress in particular, to consider the retention of Hawaiian sovereignty, rather than proceeding with the annexation of the islands by the United States."

Forbes describes how the first edition's Boston publisher, Lee and Shepard, deleted portions of the manuscript that were deemed too inflammatory to print. His introduction includes some of those sections.

Hawaii was annexed to the United States on Aug. 12, 1898, less than a year after "Hawai'i's Story by Hawai'i's Queen" was released. Although it did not help Hawaii retain independence as the queen had hoped, it has, according to Forbes, "achieved the status of a classic, a much beloved account of Hawaiian history."

The $34.95 book is available at Native Books/Na Mea Hawai'i in Ward Warehouse (596-8885). For more information on ordering, call 597-8967 or email info@nativebookshawaii.com.

IF YOU GO �
HE LEI, HE ALOHA

Following is the He Lei, He Aloha schedule for Hawaii island. The program will be presented on Maui, Molokai, Lanai and Kauai between Jan. 22 and Feb. 6 and will wrap up on Feb. 13 at the Hawaii State Library. He Lei, He Aloha is suitable for those ages 12 and older. For more information visit www.libraries-hawaii.org.

Jan. 9 Pahala Public and School Library, 11:30 a.m.
Keaau Public and School Library, 6:30 p.m.

Jan. 10 Naalehu Public Library, 1 p.m.

Jan. 11 Kealakekua Public Library, 10:30 a.m.
Kailua-Kona Public Library, 3 p.m.

Jan. 13 North Kohala Public Library, 6:30 p.m.

Jan. 15 Thelma Parker Memorial Public and School Library, 6 p.m.

Jan. 16 Honokaa Public Library, 5:30 p.m.

Jan. 17 Laupahoehoe Public & School Library, 1:15 p.m.

Jan. 18
Hilo Public Library, 11 a.m.

===============

A colorful flier can be downloaded at
http://www.hawaiiponoi.info/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Mai-Poina-Trial-Tours-2013.pdf

The flier says

October 17 � 20 and 24 � 27
The King Kamehameha V Judiciary
History Center in historic Ali'i�lani Hale
(Makai of 'Iolani Palace)

The program consists of a living history performance of the 1895 trial of Queen Lili'uokalani for misprision of treason, followed by a discussion of the current implications of this event led by noted Hawaiian scholars and community leaders. All participants will receive a viewer's guide that supplies a historical timeline, essays by Hawai'i history and legal scholars, primary sources in Hawaiian with translations, and archival photographs from the period.

Thursday through Saturday, October 17th, 18th, and 19th at 7:00 p.m.

Thursday through Saturday, October 24th, 25th, and 26th at 7:00 p.m.

Sunday, October 20th and 27th at 2:00 p.m.

Admission is free, but seating is limited in the Courtroom.

Reservations recommended. Reserve a space online at www.hawaiiponoi.info after Monday, September 9th, or for further information, call 534-8880.

Interestingly, a somewhat different flyer available directly on the home page at
http://www.hawaiiponoi.info/
says

"The program consists of a living history performance of the 1895 trial of Queen Lili'uokalani for misprision of treason, preceded by chants about the Queen from the period performed by Hawaiian mea oli [chanters] under the direction of Manu Ka'iama, and followed by a discussion of the current implications of this event led by noted Hawaiian scholars and community leaders. All participants will receive a viewer's guide that supplies a historical timeline, essays by Hawai'i history and legal scholars, primary sources in Hawaiian with translations, and archival photographs from the period."

Two notable differences are: (1) The inclusion of chanters adds an element of ancient religion or mysticism that makes this event not merely an academic event about biography or history, but also an emotional event rousing patriotism for the Hawaiian Kingdom. (2) Manu Ka'iama, identified as the director of the chanters, has a long history of Hawaiian independence activism. For several years she has been co-host of the "First Friday" public access TV program sitting next to Mililani Trask in the seat previously occupied by the infamous Haunani-Kay Trask. Manu Ka'iama holds the rank of Instructor in Accounting at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She previously ran a federally funded program at the Business School that provided millions of dollars exclusively for ethnic Hawaiian university graduates and graduate students to pursue research and writing projects, or to travel to attend professional meetings, to advance their careers in business, academia, or as community organizers. When federal funding was eventually withdrawn, Kamehameha Schools took on the funding for it; but currently Kamehameha has also withdrawn funding. Manu Ka'iama is the wife of Dexter Ka'iama, an attorney who works closely with Keanu Sai and Kale Gumapac to manage the Laulima real estate effort to grab money from title insurance companies during mortgage foreclosure proceedings by claiming that land titles are invalid following the overthrow of the monarchy. Dexter Ka'iama, acting as Attorney General of Keanu Sai's version of the Kingdom of Hawaii, has also filed complaints with the International Criminal Court alleging war crimes against Hawaii judges and prosecutors who enforce evictions of homeowners following mortgage foreclosures.

----------

A beautifully produced booklet handed out to people attending the theatrical performance in Ali'iolani Hale has 23 inside pages not counting front and back covers. It is not yet available on the internet, but sooner or later will probably become available at
http://www.hawaiiponoi.info

Manu Ka'iama wrote an essay about the Hawaiian language chant newly composed by Keao NeSmith, entitled "E Ka Pueo Kau, Ka Pueo Kia'i Po"

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Melody Kapilialoha MacKenzie wrote an essay "The Trial of Queen Lili'uokalani" noting that "The arrests, trials, and imprisonment of the Royalists effectively suppressed all armed efforts to restore the constitutional monarchy. Nevertheless, Native Hawaiians persisted in their opposition to annexation to the United States, and expressed their loyalty to the Queen through rallies, meetings, petitions, newspapers, songs, and publications." What she does not mention is that the Dole government was extraordinarily gentle in its treatment of the ex-queen by comparison with the way royals were treated after the Russian and French revolutions. The quote from MacKenzie shows that even after the violent counterrevolution, the Dole government permitted freedom of the press, publication of all manner of nasty slander against the government, and public meetings which could have produced further anti-government agitation.

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Davianna Pomaika'i McGregor wrote an essay "Honoring Kanaka 'Oiwi Nationalists" including a list of names, jail sentences, and fines for those who were convicted. Hawaiian activists often twist history by exaggerating the suffering of natives, leaving out important historical facts, or telling outright falsehoods. It takes a major effort, or good luck, to set the record straight.

In her essay McGregor wrote "Despite the representation to the Queen that her abdication would lead to the release of all who had been arrested, those with long prison sentences were incarcerated and subjected to hard labor until July 17, 1898, when all of the convicted nationalists were pardoned and had their civil rights restored." That statement is false.

The booklet "Trial of a Queen: 1895 Military Tribunal" published in 1995 by the Judiciary History Center, including essays by Jon Van Dyke, Jon Osorio, Esther Mo'okini, and others, has at the end a table listing the names of all the prisoners, and the number of years they were sentenced to prison, and their fines; and at the end of that list, on the final page of the booklet, is this sentence: "Note: By November 28, 1895 only eight persons were still imprisoned. BY JANUARY 1, 1896 THE FINAL EIGHT, INCLUDING WILCOX, GULICK, SEWARD AND BOWLER, WERE PAROLED." [emphasis mine]. The 1995 Van Dyke booklet is actually cited in the list of references in the new booklet, so McGregor must have been aware of it.

The Hawaiian Gazette of July 18, 1898 says "On the afternoon of this Monday, July 18, 1898, the Council of State held session in the Office of the House of Representatives in the Executive Office, and as a result of this meeting, the "Political Prisoners" of the 1895 rebellion [haunaele] were fully pardoned. ... Here is the list of those fully pardoned on this day, although they received a partial pardon earlier...."

So the truth is that all the prisoners were paroled (i.e., released from prison) before the end of the year when they had first been imprisoned (1895) with the final 8 being released on December 31, 1895. The men released on parole received a final, full pardon and restoration of civil rights on July 18, 1898, probably in anticipation of the annexation to the U.S. which took place a month later.

In modern times it has not been unusual for prisoners of war to be held in deplorable conditions at hard labor for many years. Everyone knows that U.S. Senator John McCain was a prisoner of war in the "Hanoi Hilton" for 7 years where he was beaten and tortured along with other American POWs. In the case of the Hawaiian natives in the Wilcox counterrevolution, most of the prisoners were held for only a few months, all were held for less than a year, and none were beaten or tortured. Yet today's Hawaiian activists try to stir up anti-Caucasian hatred and sympathy for men who could have been shot for treason by making it look like they were kept in prison nearly three years longer than the extremely short term of less than a year for which they were actually kept.

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Leilani Basham wrote an essay entitled "Mele Lahui: Aloha 'Aina as Foundation for Military Action." Basham reprints the lyrics for an 1895 song by J.K. Kamali entitled "Ke Aloha Aina Paa Mau Loa" [diacritical marks were not used back then] which means love for the land [i.e., patriotism] firmly established now and forever. Basham ends by saying "In his concluding verse, Kamali again expresses the endurance of aloha 'aina, dedicating his mele to "Ke aloha aina paa mau loa." He assures the audience of his time (and ours!) that aloha 'aina will be forever firm, solid, secure. It cannot be shaken no matter the challenges faced -- whether the overthrow of our Kingdom, an unsuccessful military restoration of that Kingdom, or even the passing of a hundred plus years as we continue to seek the pono of our land, people, and sovereignty -- Ke Aloha 'Aina Pa'a Mau Loa!

Wow! What a stirring call to 'onipa'a -- perseverence! What a bitter repudiation of the fact that today we are Americans! Indeed, this essay can be seen as a call to action -- an assertion that today's ethnic Hawaiians have the same right to take violent military action to re-establish Hawaiian independence as the action their ancestors took in 1895.

What Basham does not realize is that she has also provided evidence that the Dole government, both the revolutionary Provisional Government and the Republic) was extremely tolerant of dissent and outright sedition. The song she celebrates was openly published and circulated in 1895, not long after the attempted counterrevolution was crushed. Indeed, her first sentence ater the song lyrics is: "This is one of over three-hundred mele lahui (nationalistic/racialist songs) published in Hawaiian language newspapers and books following the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1893 through to the illegal annexation of Hawai'i by the U.S. in 1898."

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In a followup essay entitled "Hawaiian Language Resources", Leilani Basham begins with a section entitled "Censorship of the Press" in which she says "There were several pro-Hawaiian newspapers in print when the counter-revolution began on January 6, 1895. [Thus demonstrating that the Provisional Government did not impose censorship] The Republic of Hawai'i, however, immediately established martial law and suspended publication of these newspapers from January 7, 1895 through March 11, 1895." Well of course the government proclaims martial law for a period after defeating an attempted counterrevolution. And of course the government shuts down publication of inflammatory seditious newspapers which might inflame further anti-government rioting or military action. The amazing thing is how very short was the period of martial law and newspaper censorship, and how very generous was the Dole government for allowing those very nasty newspapers to resume their hostile publications. Basham then goes on to provide four more pages of photos, Hawaiian language newspaper articles, and English translations of them, proving how silly was her complaint about censorship of the press!

Anyone publishing such anti-government sedition in Communist Russia, Communist China, Communist Cuba, etc. would be tortured and then executed by firing squad without a blindfold! And please, Leilani Basham, don't be saying that the Hawaiians got away with it because the stupid haoles couldn't read Hawaiian. President Sanford B. Dole was fluent in Hawaiian, having grown up in Koloa playing with Hawaiian kids and having served as pro bono attorney helping Hawaiians. Many other government officials were also fluent in Hawaiian. They tolerated poisonous writing because they were kind and generous men, respectful of civil rights and freedom of the press. Your bitterness and hatred are duly noted, along with your desire to inflame others.

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The final essay is by Jonathan Osorio, entitled "Reflections on Mana -- The Queen in 1885." Osorio portrays Lili'uokalani as a noble, virtuous, patriotic Queen devoted to nonviolence while fully aware of the risks to herself and her nation when she surrendered without a fight in hopes the U.S. would rescue her. He portrays the Provisional Government and Republic, and especially the tribunal that tried her, as "tawdry and trivial", yearning for "nothing more than to crush her spirit and make her acknowledge that they were her masters." Osorio says hundreds of thousands of ethnic Hawaiians today revere Lili'uokalani for her mana [spiritual power, strength, dignity] "while the names Smith, Wilder, Thurston and Kinney are recited with disdain by Kanaka, if they are spoken at all."

Well, Mr. Osorio, at least one member of your rogues' gallery was regarded very highly by Lili'uokalani later in her life, and by other "Kanaka" as well. I guess you're not such a terrific historian after all, eh? William O. Smith did indeed help overthrow the Queen. He served as Attorney General of the Provisional Government and Republic throughout their existence; and he was a partner in a law firm with two of your other rogues Lorrin A. Thurston and William Ansel Kinney. However, his expertise in law and management also earned him appointment as a Bishop Estate founding trustee from 1884 to 1886 and again from 1897 to 1929. He also served as a trustee of the Lunalilo Trust, and as a founding trustee of ... wait for it ... the Lili'uokalani Children's Trust appointed by Lili'uokalani herself in 1909! He served as Lili'uokalani's lawyer in 1915, defending her Trust against an attack from Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalaniana'ole. Osorio would like to rewrite history to make W. O. Smith a non-person. But Osorio's hero Lili'uokalani "got over it" (the overthrow) and came to respect and trust Mr. Smith in the 20th Century, even if Osorio remains stuck in the 19th Century at January 17, 1893.

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The inside back cover of the booklet displays the "Queen's Prayer" written in March 1895 while she was imprisoned in Iolani Palace, in which she praises the glory of God, bemoans her sorrow as a prisoner, and asks forgiveness. It's ambiguous whom she is asking God to forgive. Everyone assumes she's asking God to forgive those who overthrew her, as presumably she herself has forgiven them (perhaps as Jesus on the cross asked God to "forgive them for they know not what they do"). Even today, jailbirds "find God" in hopes for parole. But it would be more appropriate if she was actually seeking forgiveness for herself for having been such a bad Queen, and for her bitter anger in Fall 1893 when she repeatedly threatened to behead the revolutionaries, and for her sponsorship and conspiracy in the violence of 1889 and 1895 when men were killed on her behalf in the Wilcox rebellion and the Wilcox attempted counterrevolution.

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