Famous are the flowers

“Kaulana na pua a o Hawaii…”

The song rings out through the halls in front of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. When a man emerges from the office foyer to attempt to quiet the singers, the crowd grows denser and louder. Inside, the Trustees of OHA deliberate over how to handle the breach of etiquette by CEO Kamanaopono Crabbe through his letter to Secretary of State Kerry questioning the legality of the State of Hawaii and thus, the legality of OHA’s efforts to mediate the creation of a new Hawaiian Governing Entity.

And what could be a more appropriate song? While originally written in 1893 by Eleanor Kekoaohiwaikalani Wright Prendergast to protest the attempted, and eventual, indoctrination of the Royal Hawaiian Band into the Provisional Government, the song almost perfectly narrates current events.

“Aole ae kau i ka pulima/Ma luna o ka pepa o ka enemi…”

“No one will fix a signature/To the paper of the enemy…”

Problems with the supposed nation building began with Kanaiolowalu, an action committee formed by Hawaii State Law to recognize a Hawaiian Governing Entity after several iterations of the Akaka Bill, to create a national recognition of a Native Hawaiian Governing Entity, failed. Kanaiolowalu sought to create a registry of Native Hawaiians to vote for delegates that would decide what this new Hawaiian Governing Entity would look like. Almost immediately, Kanaiolowalu met pushback from the Hawaiian community. There were concerns over how legitimate a governing entity created by the State of Hawaii would have in negotiations with other governments, namely the United States. Would this Hawaiian entity be seen as compliance with the 1893 Overthrow? There was further outrage when it was announced that names from other Hawaiian Rolls, such as Kau Inoa and Kamehameha Schools, would be added to the registry without direct consent. Kanaiolowalu closed its roll on May 1st with 125,000 names registered.

“Hoohui aina kuai hewa/I ka pono sivila ao ke kanaka…”

“With its sin of annexation/And sale of native civil rights…”

In May, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs announced that it would mediate the nation building process. In researching its due diligence, the office of CEO Crabbe investigated the arguments put forth by Dr. Keanu Sai and Law Professor Williamson Chang that the State of Hawaii does not legally exist, due to a lack of an annexation treaty between the United States and the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1898. Crabbe issued a letter to Secretary of State Kerry to clarify the legal status of the State of Hawaii, and OHA by extension. The following day, the OHA’s Trustees sent a letter rescinding Crabbe’s to the State Department.

Immediately, a petition called “He Manao Pono” was launched to back Crabbe’s action. In a week, over 2500 signatures were gathered from “moku o Keawe”, “Hono ao Piilani”, “Kauai o Mano” and “ ke one Kakuhihewa.” Trustees Dan Ahuna and Carmen Hulu Lindsey wrote letters to Chair Machado to remove their names from the rescind letter.

“Aole makou ae minamina/I ka puu kala o ke aupuni…”

“We do not value/The government’s sums of money…”

Trustee Peter Apo is the latest trustee to speak out, commenting that OHA should back out of the nation building process and focus on its fiduciary duties at outlined by the State Constitution. “What good would it be,” Apo questions in a now deleted blog post, “to have a nation if our people are broke, homeless, uneducated and disabled and our most revered Hawaiian institutions struggle to survive?” We should simply focus on giving Hawaiians more financial security, not nationhood. This runs concurrent with comments made by Trustee Oz Stender earlier this year.

What the Board of Trustees has not considered is that Crabbe’s dealings have done what State sponsored actions like Aha Hawaii, Kau Inoa, and Kanaiolowalu have failed to achieve: uniting Independence minded Hawaiians in a common cause while making headlines in all local media outlets.

Perhaps we should alter the last stanza:

“Ma hope makou o Manaopono/A loaa e ka pono o ka aina/Haina ia mai ana ka puana/Ka poe i aloha i ka aina”