Hawaiian Sovereignty

The movement for national sovereignty among persons of Hawaiian ancestry has burgeoned during the last several decades, with some seeking secession of the State of Hawai'i from the American Union. The movement's roots are multiple, among which figures prominently the overthrow of Queen Lili'uokalani in 1893 with the connivance of the armed forces of the United States, for which the U. S. Congress recently apologized. Some indigenous Hawaiians dismiss the annexation of Hawai'i and its subsequent statehood as having occurred without their independent choice. The Hawaiian sovereignty movement may be roughly divided into three categories: “Hawaiian Nation Separatists” supporting an independent Hawai'i nation; “Nation-within-a-Nation” advocates desiring a status comparable to that of American Indians; and those Hawaiians supporting the status quo but with redress in many forms. Steps are underway to hold constitutional convention of all Hawaiians to propose a native Hawaiian government. Whether the U.S. Congress can respond to the thrust of the movement within the constraints of the American federal system remains problematical. Copyright , Oxford University Press.