ASSOCIATION OF HAWAIIAN CIVIC CLUBS
A RESOLUTION
No. 2019 -44
URGING THE DECLARATION OF THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER AS HAWAIIAN HISTORY MONTH
WHEREAS, in the month of September, Queen Liliʻuokalani’s birth, life, and legacy is remembered and celebrated in the Hawaiian community, including at churches and organizations, such as Kawaiahaʻo Church’s Aliʻi Sunday, Liliʻuokalani Trust Kīpuka (children centers), and Kamehameha Schools; and
WHEREAS, in September 2019, Aliʻiōlani Hale King Kamehameha V Judiciary History Center hosted a temporary exhibit on the Kingdom’s diplomacy with foreign countries, the Kingdom’s Constitutions, the effects of foreign introduced disease in Hawaiʻi and the history of laws pertaining to ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language); and
WHEREAS, in September 2019, the Pūkoʻa Kani ʻĀina ʻIke Hawai‘i Speaker Series at Punahou School hosted by the Hawaiʻi Ponoʻī Coalition, presented ʻIke Mōakaaka Revealing Native Agency in Unlikely Places: The 1894 Constitution of the Republic of Hawaiʻi, an illustrated presentation by historian and archivist Ronald Williams, Jr. PhD; and
WHEREAS, each year the International Day of Peace is observed around the world on 21 September, and the United Nations General Assembly has declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and people; and
WHEREAS, although Queen Liliʻuokalani was deposed as queen, charged with crimes, and imprisoned by the provisional government, she maintained a personal directive of peaceful resistance, believing in God, and entrusting that the political process would return the soveereignty of the Hawaiian Kingdom, and to this day, Liliʻu remains an enduring symbol of hope for her people; and
WHEREAS, in 2006, a small hui (group) of members from the Hawaiian community including Kumu J. Keola Lake, Aaron Mahi, Beau Bassett, Kahoʻonei Panoke, Meleanna Meyer, and Vicky Holt-Takamine, planned for and successfully presented the first large-scale birthday celebration honoring Queen Liliʻuokalani as a world leader and exemplar of peace, on the grounds of ʻIolani Palace; and
WHEREAS, in August 2007, a hui of Native Hawaiian organizations namely Alu Like, Inc., the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs, the Friends of ʻIolani Palace, ʻIlioʻulaokalani Coalition, Kamehameha Schools, Liliʻuokalani Trust, Nā Pua a Ke Aliʻi Pauahi, Native Hawaiian Bar Association, Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation, Office of Hawaiian Affairs, PAʻI Foundation, and University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies, came together as founding members of the Hawai‘i Ponoʻī Coalition; and
WHEREAS, the Hawaiʻi Ponoʻī Coalition was formed to educate those who live in and visit the islands about Hawaiʻi’s true history, the Native Hawaiian people, and the culture that makes Hawaiʻi a place like no other; and
WHEREAS, in September 2007, the Hawaiʻi Ponoʻī Coalition launched its first commemorative event, ʻOnipaʻa (Steadfast): A Birthday Celebration for Queen Liliʻuokalani, on the grounds of ʻIolani Palance, billed as “A Day of Learning and Recapturing the History of Hawaiʻi;” and
WHEREAS, the Hawaiʻi Ponoʻī Coalition has commemorated Queen Liliʻuokalani’s birthday on the grounds of ʻIolani Palace in September of every year since 2007 in its annual signature event, the ʻOnipaʻa Celebration, to honor Queen Liliʻuokalani as a leader of peace and justice, to appreciate our culture, and to educate the public on the true-history of Hawaiʻi; and
WHEREAS, the annual ʻOnipaʻa Celebration held in September is designed to bring together a diversity of Hawaiian organizations and cultural practitioners to share their organizational purposes and cultural practices; and
WHEREAS, the Hawaiʻi Ponoʻī Coalition has sponsored the Mai Poina trilogy of dramas; Mai Poina: The Overthrow, The Trial of the Queen: 1895 Military Tribunal, and The Annexation Debate, as a creative way of retelling Hawaiʻi’s true history; and
WHEREAS, Mai Poina: The Overthrow, living history walking tours on the grounds of ʻIolani Palace retracing four pivotal days leading up to and including the overthrow of the Hawaiian Monarchy are held for four days in September following the ʻOnipaʻa Celebration and have been since 2010; and
WHEREAS, although Prince Kūhiō Day is an offical State holiday to mark the birth of Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole – heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi, and Kamehameha Day is an official State holiday to honor Kamehameha I, there is no Hawai‘i State observance or holiday recognizing Queen Lili‘uokalani, Hawai‘i’s last ruling monarch; and
WHEREAS, designating September as Hawaiian History Month would be an appropriate way to honor Queen Lili‘uokalani and recognize the contributions of the Native Hawaiian community, while also providing community building, educational, and economic opportunities through the previously listed and other events.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs at its 60th Annual Convention in Lahaina, Maui, in the malama of Welehu and the rising of Lāʻau Pau, this 16th day of November 2019, urging the declaration of the month of September as Hawaiian History Month; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a certified copy of this resolution be transmitted to the Governor of the State of Hawai‘i, President of the State Senate, Speaker of the State House of Representatives, Chair of the State Senate subject matter committee on Hawaiian Affairs, Chair of the State House subject matter committee on Hawaiian Affairs, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and all County Mayors.
The undersigned hereby certifies that the foregoing Resolution was duly adopted in the malama of Welehu and the rising of Lāʻau Pau on the 16th day of November 2019, at the 60th Annual Convention of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs in Lahaina, Maui.
Hailama V. K. K. Farden, President
