Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 10, Number 5, 1 May 1993 — Hoʻokuʻikahi (unite) in the spirit of Prince Kūhiō [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Hoʻokuʻikahi (unite) in the spirit of Prince Kūhiō

by Abraham Aiona Trustee, Maui In March we gathered to honor our ali'i, Jonah Kūhiō Kalaniana'ole, a pure-blooded Hawaiian, a member of a dimin-

ishing race. As a Hawaiian royal, it was natural and greatly to his credit that he devoted mueh serious thought and energy to the rehabilitation of the Hawaiian people, He worked with undying patience and perse-

verance, sometimes sacrificing himself for the betterment of the land and its people. He saw his people flocking to the

cities into crowded tenements (Kaka'ako, Kukui, Vineyard, 'A'ala streets), learning the vices of the white man whieh eontributed to the near-extinction of the Hawaiian race. In his effort to return Hawaiians

to the land, he used his position as Hawai'i's delegate to Congress to institute passage of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1920 — a measure to provide homesteads for native Hawaiians. Earnestly and passionately

he pleaded the cause of the Hawaiians and pressed for the recognition of their just demands. He envisioned

the rehabilitation of Hawaiians and giving to his people the opportunity to acquire small parcels of land in order to make themselves self-sufficient. On Jan. 7, 1922, only six months after he had succeeded in having the Hawaiian Homes commission Act enacted, Prince Kūhiō passed away. His death left a vacuum in leadership by Hawaiian politicians. No other individual enjoyed the respect and popular support that Prince Kūhiō commanded. We must ho'oku'ikahi (unite), and carry on. Our beloved prince never looked backward. He looked forward and moved forward. That is what he would want us to do. That is what Hawaiians must do. The prince never failed to

impress upon his people the importance of maintaining their race and of establishing a home of their own. His purpose was to perpetuate as long as possible the race of the Hawaiians. Kūhiō and his allies were bom under the Hawaiian monarchy, risked their lives to restore the monarchy in 1895 and served time at hard labor in the Republic of Hawai'i's prisons. They eontinued to maintain an adversarial and competitive relationship to the haole elite. The. new generation, however, had been educated in private and public schools under the Amenean system where they were trained to accept Western values. Thus, the passing of Kūhiō also marked the beginning of a new period of cooperation

and collaboration between partHawaiians and the haole elite during whieh the balance of politieal influence was tilted in favor of the haole elite. The centennial commemoration of the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1893 brought to light the effects of many years of Western attitudes. In addition, the observance led many Hawaiians to re-establish their dignity and pride in an era of great change. The right of sovereignty has become the vehicle for Hawaiians to be recognized as heirs to the land and to restore the right to self-governance and the right to be stewards of their own land.