[News] Italy gives recognition to the Hawaiian Kingdom Government

Sun May 18 11:04:46 EDT 2008

Friday, May 16, 2008

http://freehawaii.blogspot.com/

HAWAIIAN KINGDOM GOVERNMENT RECOGNIZED BY ITALY

Italy gave recognition to the Hawaiian Kingdom 
Government which is conducting business each weekday on `Iolani Palace grounds.

A letter addressed to Hawai`i Kingdom Government 
and stamped “Italian Consulate” reads -

“This office on behalf of the Italian Government 
in Hawai`i acknowledges that there was a prior 
treaty that was not between the United States nor 
the State of Hawai`i but between the Hawaiian 
Kingdom and the Italian government.

“We acknowledge and recognize that the Hawaiian 
Kingdom exists and is operating at 210 `Iolani 
Avenue in Honolulu, Hawai`i 96783.

We appreciate your visits to our office and 
appreciate the relationship that Italy has with 
the Hawaiian Kingdom and its currently operating government.”

Posted by The Koani Foundation at 
<http://freehawaii.blogspot.com/2008/05/hawaiian-kingdom-government-recognized.html>12:14 
AM 
<http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=5685265&postID=3112338469713677914> 

Labels: 
<http://freehawaii.blogspot.com/search/label/Hawaiian%20Kingdom%20Government%20Iolani%20Palace%20Italy%20Free%20Hawaii>Hawaiian 
Kingdom Government Iolani Palace Italy Free Hawaii

**************************************************************************

Native Hawaiian group: We're staying
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-05-15-hawaii_N.htm

By Dan Nakaso, USA TODAY
HONOLULU  Native Hawaiians claiming to be the 
"seat of government for the Hawaiian Kingdom" vow 
to indefinitely occupy the grounds of historic 
Iolani Palace in downtown Honolulu, as state 
officials consider possible penalties against them.

About 70 members of the organization known as the 
Hawaiian Kingdom Government chained the gates of 
the palace April 30 and barred non-Hawaiians from 
the palace grounds, a popular tourist attraction.

Though the palace quickly was reopened to the 
public, Hawaiian Kingdom Government members show no signs of leaving.

Mahealani Kahau, who calls herself head of state 
of the Hawaiian Kingdom Government, said the news 
media have misrepresented the organization as a 
Hawaiian "sovereignty group" or even "protesters."

"We're not protesting against anything," Kahau 
said. "We're not a sovereignty group. We are the 
seat of government for the Hawaiian Kingdom. We 
are here assuming and resuming the Hawaiian seat 
of government, and we are proceeding as the seat of government."

After the Hawaiian Kingdom Government unlocked 
the gates of the palace grounds, state officials 
issued Kahau a permit to occupy the palace lawn 
during the day, and the public is once again able 
to visit the palace. The application for the 
permit was signed by "Her Royal Majesty, Mahealani."

Laura H. Thielen, the head of Hawaii's Department 
of Land and Natural Resources, which has 
jurisdiction over the palace grounds, said 
attorneys are considering legal action against 
the Hawaiian Kingdom Government for chaining the 
palace gates and refusing access to non-Hawaiians.

Native Hawaiian groups have occupied Hawaiian 
beaches and other public places in the past in 
protest over perceived injustices to Hawaiian 
people, but rarely in such a high-profile location.

After Hawaii became a U.S. territory in 1898, 
Hawaiians were barred from speaking Hawaiian in 
school and condemned for dancing hula and 
following other cultural practices, said Jon Van 
Dyke, a law professor at the University of Hawaii 
who is a consultant to Hawaii's Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

Though Hawaiian culture now thrives in the school 
system  "Hawaiian studies" is a requirement for 
fourth-graders in public and some private schools 
 government-sanctioned entitlements continue to 
be slow in coming for many Hawaiians, Van Dyke said.

Congress issued an apology in 1993 acknowledging 
that the U.S. government illegally overthrew the 
Kingdom of Hawaii a century before.

Van Dyke said many Hawaiians are growing 
frustrated as they await passage of the Native 
Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act of 2007, 
commonly known here as the Akaka Bill, after its 
sponsor, Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii.

Akaka has proposed similar bills since 2000. The 
current bill would establish a process for Native 
Hawaiians to gain federal recognition, similar to 
what more than 500 Native American tribes have on the mainland, Van Dyke said.

The bill, passed by the House of Representatives, 
will be considered by the full Senate this year, 
said Regan Lachapelle, a spokeswoman for Senate 
Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

The Hawaiian Kingdom Government, which does not 
recognize U.S. or Hawaiian state authority, is 
one of the lesser-known organizations that claim 
to be the legitimate representatives of Native 
Hawaiians. Others include the Reinstated Hawaiian 
Government and the Independent and Sovereign National State of Hawaii.

The Hawaiian Kingdom Government has an office 
from which its leaders hold regular hours. 
According to the organization's website 
(www.higovt.org), its goals include quality 
housing for the Hawaiian people and more 
affordable education and health care for residents.

Honolulu officials' handling of the Iolani Palace 
situation has been both criticized and applauded.

H. William Burgess, a Honolulu attorney and 
member of the Hawaii Advisory Committee of the 
U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, called the 
actions by the Hawaiian Kingdom Government "outrageous."

"It harms the interest of the people of Hawaii 
when (government officials) sit there idly and 
allow thugs to take over an important treasure that all of us own," he said.

"There is an acknowledged wrong that needs to be 
resolved," Van Dyke countered. "Our local 
officials have always appreciated the frustration that Native Hawaiians have."

Kahau maintains that members of the Hawaiian 
Kingdom Government will return to the palace grounds each day indefinitely.

The permit, she said, "is just to satisfy them," 
she said, referring to the local government. "We 
are obeying the laws of the Hawaiian Kingdom."

Nakaso reports for The Honolulu Advertiser. 
Contributing: Gordon Y.K. Pang, The Honolulu Advertiser; Gannett News Service.

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