Differing Movements

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Depicted here is the Hawaiian Sovereignty Flag

image borrowed from: http://www.bigisland-bigisland.com/images/hawaiian-sovereignty-one-of-the-original-hawaiian-flags-the-red-yellow-and-green-hawaiian-flag-42424.jpg

Some activist groups like the Institute for the Advancement of Hawaiian Affairs lead by Poka Laenui (Hayden Burgess) and Ka Pakaukau lead by Kekuni Blaisdell seek to have complete Hawaiian independence from America with their own government [2].  These groups are leaders in the extreme view that the only way the great injustice suffered in the 1800s can be “corrected” is by allowing Hawaii to reestablish their former sovereign nation.

On the other side of the spectrum, there are groups such as Ka Lahui Hawaii lead by Haunani-Kay Trask.  These groups still want to maintain their US citizenship, but do want some sort of justice in the form of “suing the US for reparations and an official apology[2].”  Ka Lahui Hawaii was established in 1987 and is working on forming their own sovereign Hawaiian nation while still remaining US citizens.  Currently there are 8,000 citizens of Ka Lahui Hawaii who all share the same view of sovereignty as defined by their website:

The five elements of sovereignty are:

• A strong and Abiding Faith in the Akua;
• A people with a common culture;
• A land base;
• A govermnent structure;
• An economic base.

Sovereignty is the ability of a people who share a common culture, religion, language, value system and land base, to exercise control over their lands and lives, independent of other nations. Self-sufficiency is the goal of nationhood. Self-sufficiency means the people are able to be self-supporting, capable of feeding, clothing and sheltering themselves. It means that they are the motive force for their own farming and pastoral projects. [11]