Hawaiian Sovereignty

The movement for national sovereignty among persons of Hawaiianancestry has burgeoned during the last several decades, withsome seeking secession of the State of Hawai'i from the AmericanUnion. The movement's roots are multiple, among which figuresprominently the overthrow of Queen Lili'uokalani in 1893 withthe connivance of the armed forces of the United States, forwhich the U. S. Congress recently apologized. Some indigenousHawaiians dismiss the annexation of Hawai'i and its subsequentstatehood as having occurred without their independent choice.The Hawaiian sovereignty movement may be roughly divided intothree categories: "Hawaiian Nation Separatists" supporting anindependent Hawai'i nation; "Nation-within-a-Nation" advocatesdesiring a status comparable to that of American Indians; andthose Hawaiians supporting the status quo but with redress inmany forms. Steps are underway to hold constitutional conventionof all Hawaiians to propose a native Hawaiian government. Whetherthe U.S. Congress can respond to the thrust of the movementwithin the constraints of the American federal system remainsproblematical.