P_K_ LAENUI (Hayden F. Burgess) 86-649 Puuhulu Road Wai`anae, Hawaii 96792-2723 Tel: (808) 696-5157 Fax: (808) 696-7774 30 September 1992 Na Kupa O Hawaii: Aloha `_ina I am writing to you, not to bemoan the 100 years of national injustice at the hands of the government of the United States. I invite you to join me and others in moving on to a positive program of rebuilding our Hawaiian nation, to join with others who deem themselves citizens of Hawaii, to assure our national self-preservation. I invite you to bring Hawaiian independence to reality. This endeavor is recognized in international law as completely justified. Self-preservation is a pillar of natural law, of common law and of the laws of nations. It provides the philosophical underpinnings of self- determination, human rights and fundamental freedoms. It is among the most noble of acts a citizen can work toward. Indeed, self-preservation is a responsibility of citizens of any nation who find themselves in conditions as we find ourselves here in Hawaii. Permit me a short discussion on this matter. Self-determination is recognized in international law as a fundamental human right. All people have the right to self-determination. In exercising this right, people join into political associations culminating in a nation. This nation and its people form mutual expectations of protection and of providing economic, cultural, spiritual and social sustenance. Thus, the people and the nation which they form are mutually protected. Hawaii, prior to the invasion of the United States of America in 1893, was just such a nation, recognized by the international community as such. When this association between the nation and her citizens are trampled upon, when the national properties are plundered and the citizens deprived of their identity as members of this nation, what is the proper response? That nation has the right of defensive warfare and resistance in every possible form. There is no question about that right. But what of the obligation of citizens themselves to self- preservation? Especially in the case where the nationally constituted leadership such as a Queen or King, President or Prime Minister, are unable to provide a consistent national response, citizens must themselves resist. There is no choice. We, citizens of the nation of Hawaii, have been pushed and pulled into just such a situation. Our independent nation was invaded by the armed forces of the United States of America. As a result of that invasion, an American puppet government was established as the "Provisional Government of Hawaii." It renamed itself the "Republic of Hawaii" in 1894 which then "ceded" Hawaii to the United States of America in 1898. In 1900, the United States created the Territory of Hawaii through an "Organic Act" and in 1959, declared Hawaii a "State" of their union. The citizens of our Hawaiian nation was never consulted in any of these changes. Only through the use and threat of force had these actions been accomplished. After 100 years of appeal to the United States of America to cease its complicity in the denial of our national existence, the U.S. government not only ignores our plea, but seem intent on eradicating all vestiges of the Hawaiian nation. There is no prospect of the full measure of justice under the United States of America. We can wait no longer. We must stand fast to our rights as Hawaiian citizens and bring about our independence ourselves. E onipa`a kakou e na pua o Hawai`i. We commit ourselves to the rebuilding of our Hawaiian nation. In this commitment, we shall strive to disengage the United States' colonial hold over Hawaii. We shall bind together, openly or secretly, as citizens loyal to Hawaii, to this cause. Who are we? We are citizens of the sovereign, independent nation of Hawaii. We are not a club, non-profit organization, semi-autonomous entity of the United States government or its entity, the State of Hawaii. Neither are we a tribe or a nation within the United State's system of "indian affairs". We are not American citizens of the indigenous Hawaiian race. We are Hawaiian citizens for national liberation. Na Kupa O Hawaii We do not pretend to represent all Hawaiian citizens, nor do we pretend to be the Hawaiian nation. We are merely asserting our rights and responsibilities as citizens to national self-preservation. Others may and hopefully will be doing the same thing. We respect and support all such activities. In our small way, we hope to encourage such proceedings. We await with great expectation for the day when the nation will return to full bloom and all Hawaiians can join hands proudly and publicly, stretching beyond race, religion or geography, beyond organizational lines, beyond prejudices, under the rainbow of national unity. We are open to other citizens joining us. We are maintaining a system of enlisting fellow citizens. We recognize as eligible Hawaiian citizens any person who disavows or renounces citizenship in a foreign country which has presumed such person its citizen, for example, the United States of America, Japan, Canada, Australia, and who meets the following categories: a) Any person of the indigenous race of Hawaii; or b) Any person whose ancestry is traceable to a Hawaiian citizen prior to the U.S. invasion in 1893; or c) Any person born in Hawaii; or d) Any person who has lived in Hawaii for a minimum of five years and who meets certain naturalization requirements. Upon such citizens identifying themselves and taking the necessary steps of assurance, we shall inscribe their names in books of citizenship, maintained not for public view, but to be held in confidence by members appointed among our numbers to undertake that task. Such identification by a citizen need not be done publicly but may be made in the privacy of our company or in a method to be specified later. We will be maintaining three separate books. The first will be of Hawaiian citizens who do not object to having others know of their political loyalty to Hawaii. This book will not be open to the purview of the general public but may be available for fellow citizens to review or for other organizational purposes. A second "book" will be of Hawaiian citizens who are not yet ready to have their political loyalty known to others aside from myself or one of our members whom they may select. This second book will not be a single book but each person enlisting Hawaiian citizens will maintain their own book for only their eyes. In this way, we will be able to protect those who are not yet ready, for whatever reason they may have, to have their loyalty to Hawaii exposed to others. The third book will be of citizens of other countries who support us in this liberation work. They may be residents of Hawaii or elsewhere. This book would be available for review by others unless those foreign citizens request their identity not be disclosed. In this journey for Hawaiian independence, several areas of work shall be undertaken and more will be accomplished as human and economic resources become available. The initial areas in which work needs to be done are: A. EMBLEMS OF HAWAIIAN CITIZENSHIP i. Hawaiian Birth Certificates ii. Hawaiian Passports iii. Hawaiian Identification Cards iv. Revival of the Hawaiian Pledge of Allegiance v. Declaration Renouncing Foreign Citizenship vi. Requirements for naturalization B. DRAFTING PROPOSALS TO UPDATE HAWAII'S CONSTITUTION i. Review Hawaii's constitutional history ii. Consider denouncement of the Bayonet Constitution iii. Study of Lili`uokalani's Constitution of 1893 iv. Proposals for modernizing Hawaii's Constitution v. Method of reaching consensus on a new constitution C. LIST ACTS OF COURAGE IN SUPPORTING HAWAIIAN NATIONHOOD i. Avoid foreign pledges of allegiance ii. Refusing service in foreign military iii. Use of the Hawaiian language in daily life iv. Naming children Hawaiian names v. Stop filing returns or paying taxes to foreign gov't vi. Adopt usage of Hawaiian names D. POLITICAL PROGRAMS WITHIN U.S. AND HAWAII STATE i. Laws providing for the Hawaiian space in Hawaii during the transitional period of bringing about Hawaii's independence: - protecting Hawaiian citizens from prosecution for redirecting their "tax obligations" to their Hawaiian nation, - creating comity with a Hawaiian judicial regime in exercise of civil and criminal disputes, - avenues for participation of Hawaiian citizens in the electoral process of all State of Hawaii elections, - recognition and respect of Hawaiian emblems of citizenship, ii. Resolutions calling for: - inscribing Hawaii upon the list of non-self governing territories to be decolonized under United Nations supervision, - a peaceful program to restore the Hawaiian nation to its full stature as a sovereign, independent nation, - an acknowledgement of the United States' complicity in the overthrow and occupation of Hawaii, E. INTERNATIONAL INITIATIVE (after numbers build) i. Obtain formal status with international organizations, eg. United Nations and its specialized agencies, South Pacific Forum and Commission, etc. ii. Call for international oversight to Hawaii's decolonization process, iii. Join in the signing of treaties and conventions and begin to operate as a nation, E. AREAS OF STUDY FOR NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT i. Hawaii's economic viability as an independent nation, ii. Hawaii's political structure to secure appropriate assurance of indigenous peoples rights and other basic human rights of all Hawaiian citizens, iii. Hawaii under the gun: - survival without U.S. military presence, iv. Hawaii's environment: - call for new paradigms, v. Hawaii's international posture: - relating to others and how others see us, As you are reading this letter, some of our members are already discussing these matters. Our organizational meetings are not open to the public. Those who are not in accord with the fundamental principle of the reemergence of the sovereign and independent nation of Hawaii and who are not willing to exercise their eligibility of Hawaiian citizenship would not be appropriate participants at these meetings. However, workshops and other general meetings of the nature to inform the public of our work will be open to all. If you are in accord with the contents of this letter and wish to inscribe your name, either as a citizen of Hawaii or as a supporter of this movement for liberation, please review the accompanying verification/confidential information form. I will contact you on completing the Hawaiian Citizenship Declaration after which you name will be inscribed as appropriate. Should you know of any other person who may be eligible and desire to join us, please pass this information along. Aloha a hui hou, P_K_ LAENUI