The Hawaiian Sovereignty Movement

Abstract

Hawaiian Islands distributes in a very important strategic location in the Polynesian Region. After encountering the navigators from Europe in 17th century, Hawaii Islands developed into a Constitutional monarchy country recognized in the international society. Even though the Hawaiian Kingdom was overthrown with the help of U.S. military force in 1893, and annexed as a state in 1959, the claim for restoring the Hawaiian sovereignty has never been stopped. The discourse of Hawaiian sovereignty movement goes beyond the discourse of indigenous rights, and provides insights for rethinking the relations between state and indigenous people. This article reviews the history of Hawaiian Kingdom, its relations with the Western countries, and the process of annexation. Furthermore, it describes the important events of Hawaiian sovereignty movement, its transition and current situation. This article also examines the influences of Hawaiian movement, its relevance to the decolonization process in the Pacific, and the inspiration it gives to understand the state/indigenous people relations. In the end, tit elaborates the lesson Taiwan indigenous peoples can learn from the Hawaiian experience.