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ASSOCIATION OF HAWAIIAN CIVIC CLUBS

A RESOLUTION

No. 2017 – 49

SUPPORTING THE FRIENDS OF ‘IOLANI PALACE AND ITS EXCLUSIVE USE OF THE GROUNDS TO SUPPORT THE ONGOING MAINTENANCE AND PRESERVATION OF THIS SACRED AND CELEBRATED PLACE

WHEREAS, ‘Iolani Palace is a living restoration of a proud Hawaiian national identity, a registered National Historic Landmark and the only palace of official royal residence in the United States; and

WHEREAS, while the Palace itself is of great importance, the significance of the land around the Palace stretches back to antiquity when it is said to have served as a heiau poʻo kanaka with the associated name of Kaahaimauli; and

WHEREAS, heiau poʻo kanaka were considered the greatest class of ancient temples that were built between the shoreline and the mountain ranges, hosting rituals to increase the population, enhance public health, preserve peace, and ensure success in battle; and

WHEREAS, during the period from 1820 to 1840, the land surrounding the intersection of Punchbowl and King Streets attracted an impressive concentration of hale mua (chiefly compounds) displaying the social, political, and economic power of the owner to other chiefs and missionaries; and

WHEREAS, these houses, built from stone and wood, were Western in design and featured Euro-American and Asian furnishings, and belonged to prominent historical figures such as High Chief Kalanimoku, British missionary William Ellis, Queen Kaʻahumanu, and later High Chiefs Charles Kanaʻina and Kekāuluohi; and

WHEREAS, upon the deaths of King Kamehameha II and Queen Kamāmalu, whose bodies were brought back from London in 1825, Kalanimoku designated the area surrounding his residence as the Royal Cemetery complete with the construction of a new stone mausoleum; and

WHEREAS, from 1825 to 1865; the area surrounding the royal mausoleum, clearly delineated as a quadrangle, took on the name Pohukaina, and all reigning monarchs and their consorts as well as the great majority of the highest chiefs were laid to rest here; and

WHEREAS, O‘ahu Governor Mataio Kekūana‘ōa built a new wooden palace named Hanaialoia in 1845 for his daughter, Princess Victoria Kamāmalu, only to be taken as the new official royal residence by Kamehameha III when he moved the capital from Lahaina to Honolulu, thereby shifting the seat of political power to the western end of the archipelago and just outside of the old Pohukaina boundaries; and

WHEREAS, in 1863 Kamehameha V would formally change the name of Hanaialoia to ʻIolani Palace in honor of his predecessor and brother, Kamehameha IV; and

WHEREAS, after the construction of the new mausoleum in Nuʻuanu called Mauna ʻAla, King Kalākaua in the 1870s ordered that the former Royal Tomb site be raised as a mound in remembrance; and

WHEREAS, construction of the current ʻIolani Palace, with its cornerstone laid on December 31, 1879, with full Masonic rites, was completed in 1882 to better represent Hawaiʻi’s standing within the “Family of Nations” and allow the head of state to hold official functions and royal balls, receive dignitaries and luminaries from around the world, and conduct international diplomacy; and

WHEREAS, the entire enclosed grounds of the Palace complex became known as Pā Aliʻi during the reign of Kalākaua; and

WHEREAS, the Friends of ʻIolani Palace (“Friends”), via a lease with the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) – General Lease S-5504 commencing on July 1, 1995, and most recently extended on June 30, 2015, for a period of 20 years, has the kuleana of managing various premises including a historic monument and cultural site for the benefit of Native Hawaiians, the people of Hawaiʻi and the world; and

WHEREAS, the Friends does not receive any financial subsidy from the State of Hawaiʻi for operational support, and as such the development of cultural exhibits and events which educate people about the Hawaiian monarchy and instead must rely solely on ticket and shop sales, donations, and special events held on the Palace grounds; and

WHEREAS, under paragraph 55 of this lease (Admission fees; additional rents.) specifically states that with prior approval of the Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources, the Friends may generate revenue for “a commemorative, historic, or educational nature on the Palace Grounds, provided that all revenues are used for Palace projects, programs or operations;” and

WHEREAS, The Friends seeks support to uphold paragraph 55, thereby preventing other organizations and entities from conducting any revenue-generating activities for their own benefit or profit.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs at its 58th Annual Convention in Seattle, Washington, in the malama of ʻIkuwā and the rising of Māhealani, this 4th day of November 2017, supporting the Friends of ‘Iolani Palace and its exclusive use of the grounds to support the ongoing maintenance and preservation of this sacred and celebrated place; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs opposes any rule change or adoption by the Board of Land and Natural Resources and/or the Department of Land and Natural Resources that would allow for the issuing of a permit to another organization other than The Friends of ʻIolani Palace that includes commercial activity, selling directly to the general public, and any other generation of revenues; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs opposes any legislation seeking to allow commercial activity and direct-selling to the general public on the Palace grounds by any organization or entity that is not The Friends of ʻIolani Palace; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a certified copies of this resolution be transmitted to the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of the State of Hawaiʻi, the Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources and/or the Director of the Department of Land and Natural Resources, the President of the State Senate, the Speaker of the State House of Representatives, the Chair of the State Senate Committee on Hawaiian Affairs, the Chair of the State House Committee on Ocean, Marine Resources, and Hawaiian Affairs, the Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, the Mayors of each County, and the President, 1st Vice President, and Executive Director of The Friends of ʻIolani Palace.

The undersigned hereby certifies that the foregoing Resolution was duly adopted in the malama of ʻIkuwā and the rising of Māhealani on the 4th day of November 2017, at the 58th Annual Convention of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs in Seattle, Washington.

Annelle C. Amaral, President