La Ku oko'a #2Day, on Sunday, November 26, 3 - 7 pm on the grounds of `IolaniPalace. Melvin Kalahiki, chair of the Living Nation, notes that "weare privileged to remember and commemorate the life and work ofTimoteo Ha`alilio, a national hero, and to highlight the relationshipof this Hawaiian Ali`i and Ambassador to His Majesty, King KamehamehaIII."The original celebration of Hawaii's independence took place duringthe Hawaiian Kingdom in 1843, after England and France recognizedHawaii as a member of the European family of nations, and as anindependent country equal to England, France, and the United States.The day continued to be an annual celebration from about 1844 to1895, and for some years afterward, unofficially.La Ku`oko`a marks the day, November 28, 1843, that the Ali`i TimoteoHa`alilio, sent as part of an envoy by King Kamehameha III, succeededin obtaining the signatures of the authorities of Great Britain andFrance on a treaty recognizing Hawai`i as a sovereign nation.Ha`alilio, with the missionary William Richards along as hissecretary, traveled through Mexico on foot and donkey to WashingtonD.C., where they met President John Tyler. Ha`alilio and Richards,armed with his agreement, then went on to Europe, to Belgium, Paris,and London, where the treaty was finally signed. They returned to theUnited States to cement U.S. agreement. On the journey home Ke Ali`iTimoteo Ha`alilio died, on December 3, 1844.The Treaty of Independence was a substantial achievement underinternational law, recognized by the government of the Kingdomthrough the official celebration of La Ku`oko`a. After the overthrowin 1893, the so-called Republic of Hawai`i government announced thatNovember 28, 1895-a Thursday-would no longer be celebrated as LaKu`oko`a. Instead, Thanksgiving would become the official nationalholiday. The po`e aloha `aina-the thousands of Kanaka Maoli opposedto the illegal haole government-were incensed. They ignored thegovernment's orders, and continued to hold celebrations of LaKu`oko`a. At those gatherings, they told the story of Ha`alilio'sjourney and significant achievement. James Kaulia of the Hui Aloha`Aina said that "the Kanaka Maoli recalled with gladness therestoration and perpetuation of the independence of Hawai`i, buttheir happiness was mixed with feelings of distress because the rightto independence had been snatched from their shoulders." He said,further, "Ke ku nei ke kanaka Hawaii me he kuewa la, aohe ona aina:The Hawaiian person stands as a homeless vagabond, one who has noland." The thieves of 1895-1896 not only deprived the Kanaka Maoliof a national holiday, they enacted laws that caused the loss of ourlanguage and the related loss of our own history. That process causedus to be deprived of even the memory of this national holiday.In our current process of de-occupying, we reject the occupier'sholiday, and resurrect La Ku'oko'a instead.As a result of the recognition of Hawaiian independence the HawaiianKingdom entered into treaties with the major nations of the world andestablished over ninety legations and consulates in multiple seaportsand cities. Celebrating our own holidays is one way to raiseconsciousness of a history that has been erased from the standardAmerican textbooks and from the local Hawaii school system.
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