Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 37, Number 7, 1 July 2020 — Hawai'i's History of Civic Engagement [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Hawai'i's History of Civic Engagement

By Puanani Fernandez-Akamine Participation in the political process ean feel futile. Outnumbered in our kulāiwi with too many lawmakers seemingly impervious to the issues that matter to our lāhui, some 'ōiwi have simply opted out of voting. Others, not unreasonably, question the legitimacy of the current polhieal system and have taken a poliheal stance against participation. While these perspectives are valid, failing to participate in the political process, including

voting, wastes a valuble tool in the toolkit that eaeh one of us has as a citizen, however marginalized we may feel. Civic engagement in the political life of the Kingdom was the norm for our kūpuna, from ali'i to maka'āinana. And so it must be for us today. An example is noted activist and renaissance man, Joseph Nāwahī, who was born in 1842. He was a lawyer, artist, orator, poliheal organizer and newspaper publisher. At the age of 30 Nāwahī was elected to the Kingdom Legislature representing Hilo. Nāwahī served nine consecutive terms in this position until the 1893 overthrow. At that point, he and his wife, Emma 'A'ima Nāwahī, a polhieal activist in her own right, founded the Hui Aloha 'Āina poliheal party (with both kāne and wāhine leagues) to oppose annexation to America and support Lili'uokalani. In December 1894 Joseph Nāwahī was arrested for treason by agents of the oligarchical "Republic of Hawai'i" established on July 4, 1894 to replace the short-lived "Provisional Governmenf ' formed after

the overthrow. Nāwahī was released from prison in the spring of 1895. Upon his release, he and Emma founded Ke Aloha Aina, an anti-annexationist newspaper whieh ran weekly through 1920. However, three months in O'ahu Prison had exposed Nāwahī to tuberculosis, and his heahh deteriorated. He passed in September 1896 at the age of 54.

Emma Nāwahī continued to be actively engaged in politics. In 1897 she, along with fellow members of Hui Aloha 'Āina, collected 21,269 signatures from citizens opposed to annexation (the Kū'ē Petitions). After Hawai'i was annexed by America in 1898, Nāwahī helped to organize the Hawai'i Democratic Party and during the 19 10s she was active in the women's suffrage movement. A contemporary of Joseph Nāwahī was Robert Wilcox, who also served in the Kingdom Legislature. Two years after members of the "Reform Party" forced Kalākaua to sign a

new constitution in 1887 whieh limited the power of the monarchy and restricted voting to those with ineome and property (dubbed the "Bayonet Constitution" because it was signed at gunpoint), Wilcox led an armed insurrection to restore the powers of the monarchy. However, after a brief battle, Wilcox surrendered. Then in 1895, Wilcox led a counter-revolution against the

Republic of Hawai'i to restore Lili'uokalani to power. The royalists were overwhelmed and the leaders arrested, including Wilcox, who was tried for treason and sentenced to death. His sentence was later reduced to 35 years in prison, then in 1898 Wilcox was pardoned. Undaunted, he became the Republic's first elected delegate to the U.S. Congress, serving one term until he was beaten by Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalaniana'ole in the 1902 eleehon. Wilcox passed away in 1903 after suffering a stroke at the age of 48.

Prince Kūhiō and his older brother, Prince David Kawānanakoa, were both involved in the 1895 revolution attempt, and, like Wilcox, were found guilty of treason, sentenced to death, but later pardoned. Following his release from prison, Kūhiō became active in politics. After winning the 1902 eleehon, he served as Hawai'i's representative to Congress until his passing in 1922. Despite the subversion of Hawai'i's constitutional monarchy, Kūhiō continued to fight within the new, imposed system for the betterment of the lāhui. Kūhiō's impact on the civic and political life of Hawai'i lives on. In addition to orchestrating the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1921, he created the county government system still in plaee today. He also founded the first Hawaiian Civic Club in 1918, because, according to the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs' website, Kūhiō was "anxious that his people know more about government and the community at large to carry on the tradition of civic responsibility that he felt was vital to the development of Hawai'i and its people for a better way of life."

If we are unhappy with what is happening in our pae 'āina, then it is our kuleana to try and make changes for this and future generations, as did our kūpuna. Civic engagement is our cultural and poliheal heritage, and one of the easiest and most effective ways to inhuenee change is by voting for the leaders who share our concerns and will best represent our interests.B

Nalional Guardsmen Watching the Battle of Kamoiliili from the tower of the Executive Building. - Photos: Courtesy

i J ijt Joseph NawahT

Emma 'A'ima NawahT

* Robert Wilcox

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