Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
through legal means. Another annexation attempt would be put forth in 1897, but
this too would be shot down due to a letter of protest from Queen Lili'uokalani (who
remained under house arrest), along with tens of thousands of Hawaiian signatures.
Finally, with the outbreak of the Spanish-American War in 1898, U.S. congressional
legislation decided that Hawai'i would be occupied by U.S. military forces as a stra-
tegic military base in the Pacific. Once the war was over, the occupiers remained,
and Hawai'i stayed a territory to the United States despite the end of the hostilities
(it would later become a state in 1959). Since Hawai'i was never formally annexed
by either treaty or war, however, the Hawaiian offices of government were conse-
quently never abolished, and when Queen Lili'uokalani died in 1917, the offices sat
vacant.
In 1993, President Bill Clinton signed the Apology Resolution which basically
said that the United States was sorry for overthrowing the Hawaiian monarchy, re-
cognizing that it had officially done so. It was at this time that sovereignty leaders
realized that even though the monarchy had ceased to exist with the death of Queen
Lili'uokalani, the Hawaiian framework of government established had never actu-
ally disappeared. Since the framework was still in place, it simply needed to be re-
instated with new officers, citizens, and elections.
Using the old electoral processes established in the 1864 constitution, elections
began being held in 1999 to once again establish a congress for a kingdom which
had never disappeared. Henry Noa was elected prime minister, there are now repres-
entatives to the congress from 24 districts across the state, and elections take place
among the Hawaiian Kingdom citizens. In order to become a citizen of the Hawaii-
an Kingdom, you must swear an oath of allegiance to the kingdom and renounce
your citizenship to the United States. As of July, 2011, there were 400 citizens in
the Hawaiian Kingdom, with 7,000 citizenship applications also being processed. In
addition to the elected offices, there are also a Department of Health and Depart-
ment of Transportation. There is a slight chance you might see a vehicle displaying
a Hawaiian Kingdom license plate on both the front and back of the car during your
time on the island.
Citizens of the Hawaiian Kingdom are quick to point out, however, that they are
not seceding from the United States, because the kingdom of Hawai'i was never
formally ceded in the first place. At no point did the offices and system of govern-
ment cease to exist, and after a 107-year vacancy the positions are being filled once
again. This reinstated government has been officially recognized in numerous inter-
national proceedings, most recently at the International Criminal Court in 2012. No
