
Queen Liliʻuokalani
January 17, 2025 is the 132nd anniversary of the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi government, an egregious injustice that the nation of Kānaka, the lāhui, continues to endure with steadfast love for culture, community, and place. Achieving justice and restoring pono in Hawaiʻi is a multi-generational and intergenerational journey, requiring us to sustain our study and practice of ʻike Hawaiʻi. I ka wā ma mua, ka wā ma hope—the future is found in the past.
During this time, we reflect on the strategies employed by the treasonous perpetrators of the coup d’état against the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi and our mō‘ī wahine, Queen Liliʻuokalani. The leaders of the overthrow were a group of predominantly wealthy, U.S.-born citizens of the Kingdom who called themselves “The Committee of Safety.” They succeeded in part by seeding fear locally and in the United States. They falsely claimed that Hawaiian leadership was creating unsafe conditions for businesses, residents, and others. In truth, the Queen was unwavering in her commitment to peace, as well as her love and service to her nation. She did all she could to protect the physical safety of everyone in her Kingdom while resisting and objecting to the dispossession of her sovereignty. Her example of ʻonipaʻa commitment to pono, centered in aloha, remains the standard by which her lāhui operates today.
Today, some kūpuna in our lāhui are only one generation removed from those events, while some of our ʻōpio represent the 6th and 7th generations since that time. Across the nation and within our ʻohana, we remember. We continue to oppose injustice. We continue to challenge false narratives that label our persistence and commitment to culture, nationhood, and governance as dangerous. We remain steadfast in our insistence on restoring pono—peacefully and with aloha—grateful to our mō‘ī aliʻi and kūpuna who guide us always.
This film by Kanaeokana is a wonderful resource for learning more.
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