Today (November 28, 2019) may be coming to a close here, but I want to talk about Lā Kūʻokoʻa, or Hawaiian Independence Day.
This year, Lā Kūʻokoʻa falls on America’s “Thanksgiving,” a day that holds a lot of trauma for Indigenous people across the continent. Many have decided to rename and repurpose Thanksgiving to be a National Day of Mourning, first recognized in 1970. Allen Salway, a Diné, Oglala Lakota, Tohono O’odham activist wrote a powerful piece of National Day of Mourning for Paper Magazine.
Something that you may not know is that Hawaiʻi was an Internationally recognized Nation that was illegally annexed by the United States. I won’t go into details here, there is plenty of information on the internet if you look up “Hawaiian Kingdom Overthrow.” It is way too traumatizing to constantly educate others about. Instead, I would like to write about how the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi became a recognized nation.
Lā Kūʻokoʻa recognizes the day Timoteo Haʻalilio received the signatures from France, Britain, and the United States that declared Hawaiʻi to be a sovereign, independent nation.
Timoteo Haʻalilio traveled through Mexico on foot and donkey along with his missionary assistant, William Richards, to Washington, D.C. to meet with President John Tyler. President Tyler agreed with Timoteo Haʻalilio’s treaty, allowing him and Richards to travel to Europe. They visited Belgium, Paris, and London, where the treaty was signed. Timoteo Haʻalilio returned to Washington, D.C. to reaffirm the United State’s agreement to the treaty.
Unfortunately, Timoteo Haʻalilio died on the final leg of the journey back home to his beloved Hawaiʻi on December 3rd, 1844. He was only 36 years old. Lā Kūʻokoʻa was a nation-wide holiday in the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi, and is still celebrated today by Kanaka Maoli determined to keep our Kingdom alive.
Mahalo pau ʻole to Timoteo Haʻalilio who brought the Pae ʻĀina independence.
