Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 31, Number 1, 1 January 2014 — Convention discussion incomplete [ARTICLE]

Convention discussion incomplete

Two passages grabbed my interest in your article "Interior Secretary Sally Jewell addresses Native Hawaiian Convention" ('Okakopa 2013). (1) U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell said, "The Obama administration strongly supported legislation that established federal recognition of a government-to-government (relationship) between the United States and the Native Hawaiian community." (2) U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz said, "a govern-ment-to-government relationship is overdue, but we do not have the votes." These folks and the United States need to be reminded that Hawaiian sovereignty was never extinguished. Two annexation treaties submitted by Presidents Benjamin Harrison and William McKinley failed, while two domestic documents, namely, the 1898 Newlands Joint Resolution and the 1900 Qrganic Act, did not. However, domestic documents cannot extinguish any country's sovereignty! More importantly, Hawai'i signed a Treaty of Sovereignty with the U.S., Great Britain, France and Belgium in 1842-1843, whieh allowed Hawai'i to be recognized as sovereign and independent worldwide. Furthermore, the U.S. implemented the Tyler Doctrine in December 1842 as an extension of the Monroe Doctrine to declare to the rest of the world to leave Hawai'i alone or incur the wrath of the U.S. Finally, the U.S. signed a Treaty of Friendship in 1849 with Hawai'i, guaranteeing the integrity of the Hawaiian monarchy. All of this information seemed missing from the issues raised at the 12th annual Native Hawaiian Convention. Wayne Hinano Brumaghim Hawaiian Studies graduate student, Hniversity of Hawai'i-Mānoa Mililani, Hawai'i

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