July 4, 2023
On the day celebrating the American colonies’ separation from Great Britain, Hawaii is relatively quiet in contrast to the continental United States, where fireworks light up neighborhoods across the country.
In Hawaii, July 4 is not a joyous occasion for some residents. This is because July 4 is also the day a group of businessmen self-declared the Islands to be the Republic of Hawaii in 1894, before imprisoning Queen Liliuokalani. Later, July 4, 1960, was chosen as the day the 50th star was added to the U.S. flag.
“July 4th is a painful reminder of the aloha aina warriors who are no longer with us, and a disgrace to our ancestors and the descendants of Hawaiian nationals who fought to resist american occupation,” John Garcia, minister of foreign affairs and second vice president for the independently formed government Nation of Hawaii, told SFGATE in an email.
Since the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1893, Hawaiian entities, like the Nation of Hawaii, continue to fight to restore control of Hawaii. Hawaiians do not all agree on the current status of the nation, the process of how it should be restored or whether it should be at all.
“We’re not fighting for sovereignty, you know, we’re already a sovereign and independent state since the 19th century. We’re just occupied. We need to bring compliance to international law and the law of occupation in order for the occupation to come to an end,” Keanu Sai, a University of Hawaii faculty member and political scientist who specializes in Hawaiian constitutionalism and international relations, told SFGATE.
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