The U.S. Census recognized Pidgin, a language of the locals in Hawaii sharing some vocabulary with English, as an official language on Nov. 12 according to Metro, bringing Hawaii’s relationship with the contiguous U.S. into the spotlight.
Various Hawaiian groups, such as Kingdom of Hawaii, Nation of Ku and Kingdom of Atooi, over the past century have longed for a renewed establishment of the original Hawaiian Kingdom since the days of its annexation to the United States in 1893.
Whether legal or illegal, an act of war or an act of simply protecting American interests, an annexation, or overthrow will depend on perspective. But for brevity’s sake, there are generally three views.
Pro-Sovereignty
Those who believe Hawaii should be a sovereign country as it once was are few in number but vocal in their cause. Many believe the Kingdom of Hawaii exists today illegally occupied by the United States. Following the overthrow of the Kingdom in 1893, Queen Liliuokalani was imprisoned in her home, with the people held at bay by the U.S. military and local government overseen by white colonial businessmen. Since then, the practice of Hawaiian culture was discredited and the Hawaiian language was deterred from speech.
Pro-independence Hawaiians see the current state of affairs through the lens of experienced social ills. Ethnic Hawaiians constitute approximately 15 percent of the total population, have the highest incarceration rate in Hawai‘i with 1,615 per 100,000 people, a high rate of poor health and low median income according to Prisonpolicy.org and the U.S. Department of Education.
U.S. Advocates
However, most of Hawaii’s population who are non-Hawaiian by ethnicity remain content with the status quo of U.S. citizenship. The philosophical emphases on which the United States was established were equality, freedom of speech, liberty and justice have universal appeal.
The promotion of free public education, universal healthcare and a free-market system is incentive for many of Hawaii’s citizens to be content with the current situation. Viewing the United States as the chief world power with the greatest military and a host of opportunities for all citizens is enough motive to take little interest in past political setback occurring over a century ago.
Hybrid – “A Nation Within A Nation.”
The middle ground offers the creation of a Hawaiian government entity that would ultimately have to answer to the U.S. Department of Interior. This entity would be afforded land and resources to distribute, manage and govern within the confines or borders of the United States. In short, it is a solution of semi-autonomy.
An individual could be recognized as a designated class of ethnicity deemed Native Hawaiian, but would remain a U.S. Citizen. The Akaka Bill of 2000 was an attempt to seek federal recognition through the U.S. Congress, but was not able to garner legislative support.
The state of Hawai´i passed a similar bill called Kana´i´olowalu, which supports the existence of a government within the state. Currently, state and federal officials are seeking executive administrative rule through President Obama for federal recognition.
Though as a Christian and Native Hawaiian, I see it through the eyes of God’s providential will. Whatever happens, in this temporal setting, I do not believe it to have eternal repercussions.
No Perfect Solution
Yet, with these three views in mind, although I see the benefits of “a nation within a nation,” I lean towards the hybrid solution because it acts as a compromise and seeks to balance the needs of both parties.
However, there is still not one perfect solution to the problem. The hybrid solution, as far as it is currently considered by politicians, is not fleshed out enough to provide a practical solution yet. Because of this, I would ultimately continue to be content with the current situation until politicians more seriously develop alternative solutions.
