top of page

THEY VOTED NO.

 

The following people held to their original intent to advocate and uphold Pro-independence and Kingdom restoration by Opposing "Federal Recognition" at the Na'i Aupuni 'Aha. You can read their original candidate statements here. 

 

At right: Please watch Kau'i Trainer speaking out about "federal recognition."

Moanike'ala Akaka, 
Hawai'i Island
tomasbelsky@gmail.com

My name is Moanike’ala Akaka. A hand full of us started the Native Hawaiian Aloha Aina  Movement for justice for our people and ‘aina in 1970 in Kalama Valley on O’ahu.  That was the beginning in modern times of Kanaka Maoli, locals and our supporters, questioning the direction that these Islands were going in and wondering whether that direction was in the best interest of “we the people” and our Islands.

 

At that time, O’ahu was becoming more and more urbanized and our rural lifestyle and environment were being  threatened.  We knew also that there was an obligation owed to Native Hawaiians for the theft of our Hawaiian Nation when our Queen Lili’uokalani was overthrown and imprisoned.  

 

These past 45 years I have been active in every way possible as an advocate for our people and ‘aina.  I was a founding member of the  Protect Kaho’olawe Ohana that finally did stop the bombing of that sacred ‘aina; tragically we suffered the loss of George Helm and Kimo Mitchell in March, 1977.  Although  Kaho’olawe will become a part of our Hawaiian Nation once it is re-established,  we are owed  hundreds of thousands more acres of our ceded (seized) lands to be a part of our re-established Hawaiian Nation, not just a few parcels as is Kaka’ako.  

 

We closed down the Hilo Airport on Labor Day, 1978, because we were the “landlords come to collect the rent!”  As a result of this action $600,000,000 (600 million dollars) -- $30 million a year for twenty years has been paid to the Department of Hawaiian Homelands (a Federal program) for the past twenty years for use of the  Hilo, Waimea, and Moloka’i Airports. Included in this payment are  other DHHL lands that past Hawai’i governors, since the 30’s (even as a Territory) have grabbed at their whim; meanwhile 26,000 Native Hawaiians remain on the waiting list for this Reservation Land.  We should not have to risk our lives as we did at the Hilo Airport runway that Labor Day in ’78 in order to get the Justice our people deserve.

 

I was elected Trustee for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs from Hawai’i Island between 1984 --’96. When necessary, while advocating for our people and aina, there may have been conflict with some trustees’ priorities. I was there to serve our people and their needs -- this has always been, and will always be my purpose.  As Trustee I negotiated with the Waihe’e and Cayetano  administrations for the ceded land revenues OHA receives. Before these negotiations OHA was receiving 1.5% of the 20% owed us by the State between 1980 and 1990.  This increase from 1.5% to 20% of revenues generated from our ceded lands is a most significant increase and financial gain.  What about the rest owed??

 

This past April, I was one of the first to be arrested on sacred Mauna Awakea to halt further desecration by construction of the controversial Thirty Meter Telescope. This is on conservation zoned land – where one of the criteria is “least possible damage.”  How could a footprint the size of four football fields and 18 stories tall be considered “least possible damage?” I will remain forever a protector of our ‘Aina and Po’e.  

 

Though I see many flaws in the way this whole process and Na’i Aupuni has been set up, I believe this election is an opportunity for us Native Hawaiians to gain more Independence, transparency, and a vast improvement in the quality of our lives in this our Motherland. This is serious business — our best minds and experienced persons must be our elected delegates. In the name of Aloha ‘Aina, Malama Pono.  

 

Ua  Mau ke  Ea o ka ‘Aina  i ka Pono!

Keonipa'a Choy, 
Hawai'i Island
keonipaaloa@gmail.com
Phone: 808-339-1633
 

Aloha my name is Keonipaa Choy

 

Candidate for Hawaii Island. I am a Hawaiian Subject. As a kanaka maloko, my kuleana is to malama ka aina, protect the Dominion of the Realm of our Mahele Trust. No to nation building or self-anything. Yes to state building. This Con Con has to start with the correct factual history of our country Ko Hawai‘i Nei Pae‘Aina. Our Incorporated Archipelagic state has to have a legal basis for a pono and pa’a foundation. First by retaining all of our acquired rights. Starting from the 1839 Declaration of rights. The Hawaiian subjects acquired rights vest in the 1840 Constitution, which is the basis for the Organization of the Judiciary Department, Statute Laws Sec III (1847). Reorganized by Liliuokalani in 1892 Chapter LVII Section V. Our Hawaiian Archipelago, and Palmyra Archipelago were never obtained by the US, there is no treaty of annexation. Hawai’i is a belligerently occupied neutral independent state. The goal is Normalization of state to state (country to country) diplomatic relations, and Resumption of the Treaty of Friendship, Commerce, and Navigation. of Perpetual Peace and Amity(1850). The continuity of the Hawaiian Kingdom is ensured by protecting our subjects rights in the land, expressed on the LCAs and the Royal Patents.

 

My name is Michalann Rae K. Trainer. Everyone calls me Kau'i. My ʻohana hails from Ni'ihau, Kauaʻi, Maui, Molokai, Hawai'i Island, Utah and Arizona. I am 44 years old and live in Hilo. I am married (23 years) and we have four children. I earned a BA in Geology from Cornell University and a BA in Psychology and a MA in Counseling Psychology from the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo. I am a local singer and engage in many community service events. Also, I am currently developing a farm as I am a firm believer in the ʻāina as a healer and that as we develop and nurture our relationship with the ʻāina, we will heal ourselves and our communities.

 

My platform is simple. He aliʻi ka ʻāina, he kauā ke kanaka.The land is chief and I am its servant. My primary goal is to protect Hawaiian sacred sites from detrimental development and desecration. I believe in the ability of all people who truly love Hawai'i to assume leadership and responsibility of our own resources, to effectively seek solutions to our community problems and to celebrate our successes as sovereign Hawaiian nationals who love our country. I believe that the structure and framework of our existing laws as well as our Hawaiian Kingdom laws can be utilized to build a better, more transparent and responsive sovereign government that listens to its history, land and people and truly protects our interests and desires.

 

I believe that Na'i Aupuni is a flawed process and yet I also believe that every flaw is an opportunity. The Secretary of the Interior sent out an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking to "facilitate the reestablishment of a government to government relationship with the Native Hawaiian community, to more effectively implement the special political and trust relationship that Congress has established between that community and the United States." I look at the word, "reestablishment" to imply the restoration of the rightful government of the Hawaiian Islands. Reestablishment means to bring back what was previously established. I believe that Na'i Aupuni can offer up an opportunity to do this and that if ratified, will give us the standing and legitimacy we need to internationally pressure the United States into de-occupying our country.

 

I fully support other sovereignty groups in developing their own procedures to achieve the same ends and that as we all become better versed in the requirements and understanding of how to free our country, we will all be united. We will no longer be in need of special political and trust relations. We have had 122 years to prepare our people to govern themselves. We are more than ready.

 

I affirm the unrelinquished sovereignty of the Native Hawaiian people and Hawaiian Nationals and my intent to participate in the process of self-governance via Na'i Aupuni, in no way is to be interpreted as my support for federal recognition. As in the days of Queen Lili'uokalani, Hawaiian Nationals will come from all ethnicities. We will be able to determine for ourselves how to honor and respect the heritage of all people and to protect and manage our lands ourselves. Without the Jones Act and Federal US taxation, we will, as a free and independent nation, be able to reestablish treaties with other nations and reestablish our own trade laws that will benefit our people. We will regain control of our crownlands and institute better management practices. We would have the ability to turn Hawaiian Home Lands leases into private ownership if we wanted to. The United States would be better off financially without Hawai'i as a member of the union, especially if it is considering adding a half a million Hawaiians to the dole.

 

Morally, it is the pono choice as well. In order to promote real healing, we need to untangle the hihia of the past and correct those wrongs. Only then, can we achieve healing. And Hawai'i would finally be free.

 

If you are registered already, I humbly ask for your vote. There is no need to register if Na'i Aupuni is not what you see as an avenue to sovereignty. If a document that supports complete independence from the United States is successful, I will be advocating that it be put towards all Hawaiians for ratification, not just those who are registered. If such a document is unsuccessful, I will consult with the people of my island to determine the best strategy; either to step down as a delegate and remove my name from the role or to continue working within the system towards an eventual seat at the international table to gain international support and favor towards an eventual independent nation.

 

I do not see Na'i Aupuni as something that will achieve an answer right away, in fact, I believe that it will take much longer than the anticipated time line. However, I do see action and dialogue as a positive outcome and will serve as a greater force for sorely needed and expansive education about the options available and the strategies for achieving a united and free people.

 

A few weeks ago, a discerning friend took me to Hōnaunau where I received a hōʻailona: only a storm with high surf can clean the pond scum out of the tide pools at Pu'uhonua 'O Hōnaunau. Storms are a part of our water cycle and they are necessary, as pond scum always collects by the seashore. I view Na'i Aupuni and the process of federal recognition as a storm that has the potential to remove the pond scum that we see in our situation! It will be scary and could cause damage, but the result is that we will be left with clean water.

 

It is my fervent desire that as human beings, the process of restoration will benefit all people who love Hawai'i and we will, in turn, protect Hawai'i! Aloha ʻĀina!

Moanike'ala Akaka's Account of Na'i Aupuni Aha

Reprinted from:

Island Voices Honolulu Star Advertiser         

March 24, 2016

 

Originally forty participants were to be elected to meet for two months to create a constitution.  Instead, 130 of us unelected participants met for one month. A paper constitution, was railroaded through the attendees in a few weeks.  This Aha was designed to make us an Indian Tribe, Federally recognized by the Department of the Interior.    The DOI rules, introduced months before the Aha, state that the Federal and State Governments have sovereign immunity and cannot be sued by Native Hawaiians. Nor can we obtain State or Federal land which is really our stolen Hawaiian Nation’s land--a Nation recognized since 1870 internationally by over 30 countries.  Is this what we want?  

 

We Aloha our  Native American Brothers and Sisters, and sympathize with their treatment as “wards of the state” by America.  These Natives have no control over their own destiny because treaties with America are repeatedly broken or ignored. They live at the whim of the Federal Government within a demeaning form of Federal Recognition.  In Islands-wide DOI hearings over 95% of Kanaka Maoli expressed “no desire to be under the DOI.”

 

This evolving Aha entity is supposed to replace the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.  Yet a sitting OHA trustee and many OHA staff, including attorneys and law students, were active Aha participants and strong promoters of Federal Recognition.  Makalehua members along with Kana’e Olowalu (appointed by Governor Abercrombie for the Hawaiian Roll) and others subsidized by OHA have a conflict of interest and should never have been a part of this Aha.  These groups gave birth to the Aha, nurtured it, and controlled the agenda throughout.  Consequently, the unelected Aha participants’  “constitution” was rammed through in a few weeks.  

 

Although there are some positive points in this document, it should not be ratified by our people in its current form.  We Kanaka Maoli need a constitution that is more pragmatic and visionary:   Section 5 Relating to Criminal Prosecution references -- defendant has to pay for his/her own lawyer. Translation:  Poor people arrested are guilty.  Knowing so many of our people are impoverished, our Hawaii Nation must provide independent public defender services to those who cannot afford them. How are these legal services to be paid for?:  The Hawaiian Nation should retrieve at least a half million acres of the 1.6 million acres of our Ceded (seized) lands the Department of Land and  Natural Resources now controls.  Some of that aina should be income producing to pay for desperately needed programs including legal fees for impoverished litigants.   A nation needs aina to exist-- more than just Kaho’olawe, as recently offered by the US Government. 

 

This constitution focuses on Restorative Justice principles and cultural values of Pu’uhonua, Malama and Ho’oponopono as alternatives to standard incarceration. Hilo’s E Ho’opakele  championed  by the late Kupuna Sam Kaleileiki, uses this alternative for victimless crimes only; not capitol crimes like murder and rape. 

 

Most importantly, a serious examination of the separation of powersbetween the Executive, Legislative and Judiciary branches of Government must be undertaken.

Also, traditional and cultural intellectual property rights are noted, but there is nothing to guarantee Individual intellectual property rights. 

 

Representation by population, land base and residency must be examined and modified -- a very complex issue.

 

My four and a half decades of experience on the front lines of Hawaiian activism and as an OHA trustee for 12 years, leads me to believe that the proposed constitution should be rejected. 

Currently it is a draft, needing modifications. The Na’i Aupuni Aha has, however, initiated the needed serious discussion. 

 

By Moanike’ala Akaka      

Hilo, 808 935-7981

 

Williamson B.C. Chang,
O'ahu
wbchang@hawaii.edu

Phone: 808-956-7136

 

PLEASE READ Professor Chang's Full Candidate Statement

 

From the Statement:

"I am opposed to using the ‘Aha to create a tribal governing entity that President Obama, by executive order, would recognize as a Native American Indian Tribe."

 

"...Two powerful forces, the only forces more powerful than the United States itself, define the “path” for the ‘Aha: the search for the truth and the application of international law."

 

Also read: Darkness Over Hawai'i - The Annexation Myth...

 

Videos with Professor Chang.

"50th State Fraud," Voices of Truth.

"The Ongoing Fight for Justice in Hawai'i," Think Tech Hawai'i (with Dr. Keanu Sai).

Mary Alice Ka'iulani Milham,
O'ahu
maryalicekaiulani@gmail.com

https://www.facebook.com/mamilham

Blog Post: To Be or Not To Be

 

Why I am seeking election as a Delegate for Hawaiian Independence

 

American-style capitalism has failed our islands in the only measure that ultimately matters; the sustainability of our islands’ finite and fragile natural resources.

 

Because our natural resources exist in interdependent ecosystems, only system-wide control, through full independence, will provide the protections necessary to ensure they will be here for future generations to thrive in these islands.

 

Half-measures, such as the proposed nation-within-a-nation, would at best provide a limited land base that would remain vulnerable to irreparable damage caused by decisions made by the State of Hawaiʻi and U.S. government.

 

As a lifelong environmentalist, journalist and Independence activist, I’m committed to restoring Independent Hawaiian government, based on Kanaka Maoli values of mālama ʻāina and aloha, with citizenship for all descendants of Hawaiian Kingdom subjects regardless of race.

 

A panel of international law scholars, at the OHA-sponsored Kāmau a Ea V meeting last year, recommended restoring Hawaiian Independence using best practices culled from the numerous former colonies who have emerged as independent nations. History is upon us. Our time has come. We must seize the day!

Raul Nohea Goodness,
Continental U.S.
raul.nohea.goodness@hekii.net
 

From Na'i Aupuni Statement:

 

Aloha kākou. I am Raul Nohea Goodness, and i ask to be your delegate from outside Hawaii. My concern is for Hawaiian Unity. The divisive elements before us today are Act 195, Kanaʻiolowalu, and the US Dept. of Interior rules for Federal Recognition as a government within a government entity. -Kanaʻiolowalu and Naʻi Aupuni exclude and alienate many Hawaiians from participating. To be legitimate, we need the full independent lāhui. -Practically, it is a bad idea to rush to US Federal Recognition. I see no benefit over the current Federal law regarding Native Hawaiians, and we risk surrender of claims since the overthrow. -If those goals cannot be met, i will vote against creating a constitution. I am only entering this process because of my concerns for Hawaiian unity, and we, like all others, demand full prior informed consent. So many of us have lived years on the mainland, and we find ourselves the malahini—in America! Our true roots are in Hawaiian culture, so we need to support the independent spirit, those asserting kuleana rights, and practitioners. 

Carol Lee Kamekona,
Maui
hynmahi@yahoo.com

Aloha mai i ko kākou,

 

My dad's Ohana hails from Kohala and my momʻs from Puna/Kalapana on the beautiful Isle of Moku o Keawe. Born at Hilo Hospital, we lived in Keaukaha Homestead prior to moving to Oʻahu for dad's job. In 1965, we relocated again due to dad's job but this time to the mainland, specifically the San Francisco Bay Area.

After graduating from Immaculate Conception High School, I joined the US Navy. Had a family and retired from the US Naval Reserves.

 

I worked for Trans World Airlines/American Airlines,Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and Bradley Pacific Aviation.

 

My platform is such:

 

Hawaiian history was not taught in school, therefore like many, I did not have a clear understanding of our ordeal as a Lahui. Well, quite contraire now! I have done my research and know the mo’oleleo of the Overthrow of our Queen. My kupuna have signed their name on the Ku’e Petition of 1897.

 

There are some who believe that this process is going against our Kupuna who signed the Ku’e. Or that we are selling ourselves to the enemy. I believe wholeheartedly that my Kupuna are

standing by me in my decision to endeavor this journey. That I have their approval because my intentions are pure, unselfish and unwavering.

 

Our Lahui is currently being infiltrated through many different angles. I seek a path of acknowledgement for our Lahui that we WILL be provided ALL rights, benefits and reparations due us from the time of the Overthrow of 1893. Some may say this is unrealistic. I believe in KE AKUA and that in HIS way and time, WE WILL PREVAIL!!!!

bottom of page