by Ken Conklin
SUMMARY
A webpage provides transcripts and in-depth analyses of three especially offensive racist TV commercials for OHA’s Kau Inoa project, featuring Lilikala Kame’eleihiwa, Vicky Holt Takamine, and Butch Helemano. A fourth “cutesy” commercial featuring youthful singer Raiatea Helm is also described. These commercials were broadcast repeatedly on all major and many minor TV stations throughout Hawaii during at least early to mid 2007.
by Ken Conklin
Ancient burial remains are sometimes found when new roads or buildings are under construction in Hawaii. Must the bones be left in place? If so, then multimillion dollar redesign might be necessary to avoid disturbing the bones, or the project might get cancelled because there would be no way to avoid disturbing them. Can the bones be moved out of the way to let the project go forward? Who decides, and on what criteria?
This essay is a philosophical inquiry into some of the historical, legal, and moral issues involved in deciding what to do when respect for ancient burials clashes with current economic desires and social needs.
Here are some conclusions.
by Ken Conklin
On July 14, 2007 the Honolulu newspapers reported that the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights has approved the nominations of 14 new members to its 17-member Hawaii State Advisory Committee. News reports and commentaries are compiled in references further down in this post.
by Ken Conklin
“We are in the playground. We are in the classroom. We are with you at work — and at play. We are in the neighborhood — and the community center. We are OHA. Although you may not see us in your everyday lives, OHA’s services, programs and advocacy impact you and your ‘ohana [family]. We are the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and we are here to serve you.”
Those are the words of a 30-second commercial broadcast hundreds of times on numerous TV stations during at least May, June, and July of 2007. In particular, it was on the KHNL TV News at 10 PM on Sunday July 8, 2007 approximately 6 minutes into the newscast. OHA refuses to disclose how much money it has spent over the years on TV, radio, and newspaper commercials like this, but it’s probably several million dollars.
By Ken Conklin
On Friday June 8, 2007 a group of ethnic Hawaiian organizations and individuals staged a protest against the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii in front of the building where its office is located. The event had the outward appearance of a 1960s-era street demonstration by “little people” using guerilla street-theatre tactics (prayer and folk songs) to protest at the headquarters of a powerful corporation or government agency.
But in fact it was a form of intimidation by a group of extremely wealthy and powerful race-based institutions complaining that a small local think-tank dares to challenge their “right” to exercise racial exclusion and their demand to expand their already-existing racial supremacy by establishing a race-based government.
Jun 10
On June 8th, 2007, a motley group of native Hawaiian supremacists, radical sovereignty activists, Kamehameha Schools representatives and unfortunately indoctrinated students made a protest at the Interstate Building at 1314 South King Street. They were protesting the civil rights activism and educational activities of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, making the bold and unfounded claim that, “The Grassroot Institute, both corporately and via its members and affiliates, is part of a reactionary movement to expropriate the collective inheritance of the indigneous peoples of Hawaii.”
They further went on to claim that the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii engaged in “the deplorable tradition of the jingoists”, while themselves stating with no hint of recognizing their own hyperbole that the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii “aims to dismantle women’s rights, minority rights, LGBT rights, ecological sustainability, international cooperation, and supports for working families.” It is surprising that they did not also blame the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii for global warming, hurricane Katrina, the war in Iraq, AIDS, cancer and the sexual abuse of parishioners by Catholic priests.
Abusing Hawaiian History: Hawaiians Knew Their History in 1959
by Erica Little and Todd Gaziano
Read at heritage.org
Feb 15
(Also covered in The Hawaii Reporter, 2/27/2007)
In the Valentine’s day edition of The Honolulu Advertiser this year, OHA took it upon itself to inform us with a slick advertisement on page A4 that we must define ourselves by race. Not content to use traditional ethnic terms like “oiwi” or “kanaka maoli”, they’ve decided that the only proper use of the word “Hawaiian” is to refer to a pre-1778 immigrants to the Hawaiian island chain.
Such a bald statement of abject racism cannot go unchallenged – Hawaii is a place, not a race, and all the immigrants to Hawaii, whether before 1778, during the Kingdom period, or as a part of the United States of America, have just claim to the distinction of being Hawaiian.
Their question was stated as “Who is Hawaiian?” Here are their answers, with corrections:
In recognition of the historic occasion of January 17th, 1893 and the Hawaiian Revolution which ended the monarchy of the Hawaiian Kingdom, I’d like to offer thanks to the heroes of that day. Although tensions during that time were high enough to entice the landing of peacekeepers from the U.S.S. Boston, no violence occurred the entire time, save the shooting of one police officer trying to stop a wagon of weapons for the Honolulu Rifles.
International Recognition of Republic of Hawaii Discredits Apology Resolution and Undermines Akaka Bill — See Photos and Analysis
Apr 12
Posted by Ken Conklin in Commentary, Uncategorized | Comments off
by Ken Conklin
Letters granting full diplomatic recognition to the Republic of Hawaii were personally signed by the rulers of 19 foreign nations in 1894, including Queen Victoria, President Grover Cleveland, and Tsar Alexander III of Russia. Photographs of letters from all 19 nations are available on a new webpage at
http://tinyurl.com/4wtwdz
The family of nations recognized the Republic as the legitimate government of Hawaii. That fact disproves the claims of Hawaiian sovereignty activists, discredits the apology resolution of 1993, undermines the Akaka bill, and confirms that the ceding of Hawaii’s public lands at annexation was done by a Hawaiian government fully recognized under international law. The historical significance of the fact that the Republic was internationally recognized, and its implications for statehood, Akaka bill, and ceded lands; are discussed at
http://tinyurl.com/2pxqgz
along with a detailed example of the Hawaiian sovereignty lie that the Republic was never recognized.