| 1778 |
Captain Cook lands at Waimea, Kaua`I (there is evidence that Captain Cook was not the first European to visit Hawaii, but his was the first major encounter that began the continued interaction between the cultures). |
| Apr 1810 |
Kamehameha unites the Hawaiian Archipelago under his rule (with the aid of Western weapons). |
| Mar 31, 1820 |
First American Calvinist Missionaries arrive. |
| 1826 |
America recognizes Hawaii's independence. |
| Oct 8, 1840 |
First Constitution enacted by Kauikeauoli, Kamehameha III. |
| 1843 |
British Navy seizes Hawaii for Great Britain, then restores the Kingdom five months later. |
| Nov 28, 1843 |
Great Britain and France recognize Hawaii's independence. |
| Mar 8, 1848 |
Mahele, land division - first private ownership of land. |
| Jun 1850 |
First foreign ownership of land. |
| Aug 20, 1864 |
New Constitution decreed by Lot Kapuaiwa, Kamehameha V, the king. |
| Dec 1882 |
`Iolani Palace completed. |
| Jul 7, 1887 |
"Bayonet Constitution" forced on King Kalakaua by the all-white Hawaiian League, stripping the power of the sovereign and Kanaka Maoli of their land rights. |
| Jul 1889 |
Robert Wilcox rebellion fails to overturn Bayonet Constitution. |
| Jan 1, 1891 - Jan 31, 1889 |
King Kalakaua dies in San Francisco. Lydia Kamaka`eha becomes Queen Lili`uokalani. |
| Jan 17, 1893 |
Queen Lili`uokalani deposed by conspiracy of American businessmen with support of United States Marines and diplomatic representative. "Provisional Government" established. |
| Dec 18, 1893 |
President Cleveland sends a message to Congress calling for the restoration of Queen Lili`uokalani as sovereign. |
| Jul 4, 1894 |
Republic of Hawaii declared. |
| Jan 1895 |
Unsuccessful attempt by Royalists to restore the Queen, Lili`uokalani and 200 others arrested and tried, Queen abdicates throne under duress. |
| Jul 7, 1898 |
President McKinley signs resolution to annex Hawaii. |
| 1900 |
Hawaii becomes territory of the United States through the Organic Act imposed on Hawaii. |
| 1921 |
Congress passes Hawaiian Homes Commission Act to provide approximately 200,000 acres of land for Kanaka Maoli settlement, in response to severely declining population and conditions of life. The project fails miserably because the due to the political po |
| 1945 |
Hawaii placed under Article 73 of the United Nations Charter as a Non-Self-Governing Territory, under the administering authority of the United States. |
| Aug 21, 1959 |
United States claims Hawaii as a state of the union after "plebiscite" vote is held, which does not offer the option of independence, as required by international law. |
| 1973 - 1977 |
The first native Hawaiian sovereignty movements appear. |
| 1978 |
Office of Hawaiian Affairs created by state Constitutional Convention. The office is a semi-autonomous state agency intended to provide services to Native Hawaiians and serve as a receptacle for any reparations won from either state or federal government |
| Jan 1990 |
Native Hawaiians protest the use of the island of Kahoolawe for target practice by the US Navy. The island has cultural and historical significance to Native Hawaiians. Note: The protests on this issue are more or less continuous until the Island is retu |
| Oct 22, 1990 |
President Bush halts the bombing of the island of Kahoolawe and sets up a commission to determine the future of the island. |
| 1991 |
Hui Na'auao, a coalition of Hawaiian groups is founded in order to educate people about sovereignty and self-determination but takes no position on what form that sovereignty should take. The group is founded under a grant from the Federal Administration |
| 1991 |
A state law is passed that prevents native Hawaiian litigators from receiving land as a consequence of a court victory. The law is passed after Native Hawaiians are granted standing to sue the government in federal and state courts. |
| Apr 5, 1992 |
The Los Angeles Times reports that Native Hawaiians want $10 billion in compensation for the past use of their lands by federal and local governments and for the overthrow of their queen. This is one of the first references to the native Hawaiian soverei |
| Jun 11, 1992 |
Thirty-two are arrested for trespassing when a group of Native Hawaiians march up the steps of Iolani Palace, now a museum, in a symbolic protest for autonomy. |
| 1993 |
Hawaiian Governor John Awihee forms the Hawaiian Sovereignty Advisory Commission and schedules a statewide plebiscite for November 1995 on the issue of sovereignty. |
| Jan 17, 1993 |
Ten to fifteen thousand participate in the largest rally to date of Native Hawaiians to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the US overthrow of Hawaii. The rally is organized by Ka Lahui, a pro sovereignty organization. Governor John Waihee, the state's |
| Jun 29, 1993 |
Governor John Waihee announces that he wants Hawaiian lawmakers to seek federal recognition of a "Hawaiian nation" and proposes giving that nation the island of Kahoolawe. |
| Aug 24, 1993 |
A "trial" is held in which the US is charged for its abuse of Hawaiian rights over the past 100 years. |
| Oct 27, 1993 |
The US Senate passes Joint Resolution 19 (by a vote of 65-34) "To acknowledge the 100th anniversary of the January 17, 1893 overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii, and to offer an apology to Native Hawaiians on behalf of the United States for the overthrow o |
| Nov 15, 1993 |
The United States House of Representatives passes Joint Resolution 19 (by unanimous voice consent). |
| Nov 23, 1993 |
President Bill Clinton enacts Joint Resolution 19 as U.S. Public Law 103-150 (107 Stat. 1510-1514). In this resolution, the United States apologizes for the illegal overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii, recognizes the inherent sovereignty and right of self |
| Dec 28, 1993 |
Prof. Francis Boyle delivers legal testimony interpreting the implications of U.S. Public Law 103-150 for the restoration of the independent nation-state of Hawaii under international law. He argues that the resolution is an admission by the US governmen |
| Jan 16, 1994 |
The Proclamation Restoring the Independence of the Sovereign Nation State of Hawaii is read publicly at `Iolani Palace by the a coalition of pro-sovereignty groups to a crowd of about 400, empowering the `Aha Kupuna (Council of Elders) as the Provisional |
| Jan 17, 1994 |
A Public Notice appears in article on the front page of the Honolulu Advertiser, "Group Declares Hawaiian Independence". |
| Mar 4, 1994 |
Approximately 200 Kupuna gather at Ka`anapali, Maui, for the First Plenary Session of the Provisional Government. Na Kupuna enact Resolutions 94-001 through 94-006, establishing the foundation for the political development process leading to the convenin |
| Apr 1, 1994 |
Educational workshops and Preparatory Conventions are held on Hawaii, Moloka`i, Maui, O`ahu and Kaua`i to draft a Constitution. |
| May 7, 1994 |
The US Navy adds fuel to the pro sovereignty fire when it returns to Hawaii the small island of Kahoolawe, after an 18-year political battle. The island, used as a bombing target range for decades, is being held in trust as a possible site for a future s |
| Jun 1, 1994 |
About 200 Native Hawaiians occupy Makapuu Beach Park claiming they hold native rights to live on the land and proclaim themselves as an independent nation state. Some of the protestors have been there for over a year. 23 are eventually arrested for squat |
| Jun 2, 1994 |
Pu`uhonua Kanahele sends letter to President Clinton, notifying him of the claims and restoration process of the independent and sovereign Nation of Hawaii. |
| Sep 8, 1994 |
President Clinton sends letter to Pu`uhonua Kanahele, addressing him as the Head of State of Hawaii, giving what Hawaiian activists consider de facto recognition to the Nation of Hawaii. |
| Oct 6 - 9, 1994 |
The first Session of the Constitutional Convention is convened at Pu`uhonua O Waimanalo, a working organic document is ratified. |
| Nov 10 - 13, 1994 |
The second Session of the Constitutional Convention is convened, the organic document is further refined. |
| Jan 1995 |
By this point in time, the Ohana Council has issued 7,000 Independent Nation State of Hawaii (INSOH) driver's licenses. |
| Jan 12 - 15, 1995 |
The third Session of the Constitutional Convention is convened and the organic document finalized. |
| Jan 16, 1995 |
The Hawaiian Constitution is signed in public ceremony at `Iolani Palace on the anniversary of the arrest of Queen Lili`uokalani. Several hundred supporters of Hawaiian sovereignty gather in front of the palace including members of Ka Lahui Hawaii and Hu |
| Jun 1995 |
The Nation of Hawaii delivers "public notice" to federal and state judges accusing them of "war crimes" against the Hawaiian people. |
| Jul 1995 |
US Federal Agents clashed with Native Hawaiians who demanded access to what they believed was an ancient Hawaiian burial ground and religious site on Oahu. Several bones and a temple mound had been discovered as the private land was being prepared for de |
| Sep 29, 1995 |
Ada Deer, assistant secretary for Indian Affairs, criticized proposed Senate legislation that would prohibit the Legal Services Corp. from providing legal assistance to Indians, Indian tribes, Native Hawaiians or native Hawaiian organizations with respec |
| Nov 2, 1995 |
President Clinton signed into law the Hawaiian Home Lands Recovery Act, which established a way of compensating Native Hawaiians for land originally assigned under the 1921 Hawaiian Homes Commission Act but illegally confiscated by the United States duri |
| Jan 18, 1996 |
Following a months-long dispute regarding the nonpayment of a Hawaiian Home Lands mortgage by a Hawaiian activist who accused the agency of faulty construction of his home built on confiscated Hawaiian land, Hilbert Kahale Smith destroyed his home and hi |
| May 21 - Jun 1, 1996 |
Activists Kaleo Patterson and Ku'umeaaloha Gomes conducted a four-city speaking tour on the US mainland to raise awareness of the Hawaiian sovereignty issue and to encourage other religious and human rights groups to promote Hawaiian self-determination. |
| Jul 15 - Aug 15, 1996 |
Native Hawaiians across the United States cast ballots in a Hawaiian sovereignty referendum. The question was a simple yes or no "Should the Hawaiian people elect delegates to propose a native Hawaiian government?" The Hawaiian state government had organ |
| Aug 30, 1996 |
The results of the Native Hawaiian Ballot were sealed until U.S. district judge David Ezra could rule on a number of lawsuits pending against the initiative, charging that the state had no right to be involved with the sovereignty movement and that the r |
| Sep 11, 1996 |
Hawaiian officials released the result of the Native Hawaiian Ballot: 22,294 voted in favor of electing delegates to propose a Hawaiian government and 8,129 voted against it. (Agence France Presse 9/11/96) |
| Nov 1996 |
A federal advisory board sided with Native Hawaiians in a lawsuit to reclaim a 170-year old Hawaiian spear rest from a Providence, Rhode Island museum. The Hawaiians had sued for the spear rest under the 1990 Native American Graves Protection and Repatri |
| Feb 1997 |
Native Hawaiian sat in the Hawaiian capitol and beat ceremonial drums in a successful 23 hour protest against proposed regulations that would have infringed upon Hawaiians' rights to enter undeveloped private lands in search of ceremonial plants. (Christ |
| Mar 11, 1997 |
The House of Representatives extended inheritance rights to grandchildren of Hawaiian home lands leaseholders, provided the descendants were at least one quarter native Hawaiian. (Gannett News Service 3/11/97) |
| Mar 20, 1997 |
The Los Angeles Times reported on Perfect Title, an organization run by Native Hawaiians that performed title searches on Hawaiian properties for a fee. These searches, according to the article, always resulted in a discovery that the land in question ha |
| Dec 23, 1997 |
The Washington Post reported that the number of people identifying themselves as having Hawaiian blood, and the number of people learning or speaking the Hawaiian language, were increasing, in part due to a greater awareness of programs which benefit onl |
| Jun 22, 1998 |
A U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that a Hawaiian agency did not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution when it allowed only Native Hawaiians with "not less than one-half part of the blood of the races inhabiting the Hawaiian Islands previou |
| Jul 14, 1998 |
Native Hawaiian U.S. Senator Daniel Akaka announced his intention to create a U.S. Advisory Committee on Indigenous Rights within the Department of State, which would employ the heads of various native tribes to advise the government on issues of concern |
| Aug 7 - 8, 1998 |
Over 200 hundred Native Hawaiians, from the islands and across the U.S., held a demonstration in front of the U.S. Capitol to protest the 100th anniversary of the annexation of Hawaii. The marchers brought cultural artifacts and a copy of a 100-year-old |
| Aug 12, 1998 |
Native Hawaiians mark the 100th anniversary of the territory's annexation by playing "Hawai'i Pono'I" - the Hawaiian national anthem - and raising the Hawaiian state flag over the Iolani Palace, where Sanford Dole had announced US control over the island |
| Jan 17, 1999 |
Native Hawaiians across the United States voted for 85 delegates to attend a Hawaiian sovereignty convention to determine what action, if any, to take to pursue the goal of Hawaiian sovereignty. (New York Newsday 1/16/99) |
| Mar 22, 1999 |
The Supreme Court agreed to hear the case of a Caucasian whose family had lived on Hawaii for almost 200 years, who felt that the Hawaiians-only voting for the board of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs discriminated based on race. (See June 22, 1998 for de |
| Sep 20, 1999 |
A series of public hearings on the major Hawaiian islands began. The meetings, led by representatives from the U.S. Departments of Justice and the Interior, were to focus on the "native" status of people and on land trust abuse issues. (Washington Times |
