HAWAIIAN INDIGENOUS PEOPLE DEMAND SOVEREIGNTY
By Chris Fry
Honolulu
On Dec. 18, more than 500 indigenous Hawaiians and their
supporters marched through the streets near the famed Waikiki
Beach in Honolulu. The marchers demanded Hawaiian sovereignty.
To further strengthen their voice, they disrupted traffic for
several hours. That same day, protesters held a rally near city
and state offices to condemn the 1893 U.S. armed takeover of the
Hawaiian Islands.
These actions came on the heels of the U.S. Congress's passage of
legislation that apologizes for the military takeover of the
Hawaiian nation in 1893. President Bill Clinton signed it into
law in December.
Although only a symbolic gesture, this forced apology does
reflect the strength of decades of struggle by the Hawaiian
people to take back the land stolen from them, and to assert
their national rights--which were taken at the point of U.S.
Marine bayonets.
There is no sign that Washington's concessions will make the many
Hawaiian sovereignty organizations back off their struggle to win
back their country.
COLONIALISM THEN AND NOW
For hundreds of years, Hawaiian people lived in a prosperous
primary commune. At the time of the first European contact by the
English Captain Cook in 1792--Cook was the boss of the infamous
Captain Bligh--there were between 800,000 and 1 million Hawaiians
living on the islands.
But with the onslaught of U.S. and European colonialism--through
its agents, land-grabbers and their missionary partners--
the indigenous peoples of the islands soon met the same fate
millions of Native people in the Americas did. By 1890, the
Hawaiian population was reduced to just 40,000.
The U.S. land owners in Hawaii called on the military to crush
the Hawaiian government. This conspiracy overthrew the Hawaiian
government.
Today, indigenous Hawaiians and other workers are trapped in a
deep capitalist recession. Sugar farms and processing plants are
closing and hotels are laying off workers. Yet high prices for
basic commodities continue.
The unemployment rate is relatively low in Hawaii, but the number
is deceiving. Many workers hold two or even three jobs in order
to survive. Many are homeless, camping at beaches and harassed by
the police.
Just seven companies and families own most of the valuable land
in Hawaii. It is these tycoons who are trying to keep poor and
working people quiet and poor.
And standing behind the filthy rich is the massive presence of
the U.S. military. Despite the so-called end of the Cold War,
Hawaii remains the chief military base in the Pacific and the
"command and control" center of the Pacific rim. Any U.S.
military campaign directed against north Korea, for example,
would be directed through Hawaii.
Both the Pentagon generals and the big multinational corporations
in Hawaii want to hold on to their profits and privileges. But
the Hawaiian masses are demonstrating that are willing to
struggle for what is rightfully theirs.
-30-
(Copyright Workers World Service: Permission to reprint granted
if source is cited. For more information contact Workers World,
55 West 17 St., New York, NY 10011; via e-mail: ww@blythe.org.)
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