In 1893, Hawaii's last monarch, beloved Queen Liliokalani, was illegally overthrown by American business owners and US Marines-without the knowledge or approval of the federal government in Washington. Attempts to undo this wrong failed, and the sovereignty of the Hawaiian nation ended. Native Hawaiians have not forgotten. In the last thirty years their work to save and revive their disappearing culture and language has produced a renaissance of arts, ancient practices, archeological and anthropological research, and use of the language.

But what about the Hawaiian nation? In recent years, some Native Hawaiians have begun talking publicly about reasserting their political rights, creating a political structure that would perpetuate Hawaiian culture and provide support for Native Hawaiians' education, health, and housing needs. In a 1996 plebiscite, Native Hawaiians voted 3:1 to elect delegates to a convention where they could begin the discussion.

What would sovereignty look like? A legislative body? Would Hawaii set up a system like Alaska has for its native people? Are Native Hawaiian reservations a possibility? Would it consist of an alliance of the existing institutions like the Kamehameha Schools and the Department of Hawaiian Homelands? Or could the state actually break off from the US? No one knows, and many are threatened by the idea of sovereignty. Could non-Hawaiians lose their property? Who would gain power?

1998 Fellow Dona Hanaike's APAWLI project was to work with the organization Ha Hawaii to find candidates to run for the delegate positions, to educate Native Hawaiians about sovereignty, and to actually hold the election on January 17, 1999. It was a huge, controversial task.

"We had to set up a statewide network with captains, train over 500 volunteers, and set up more than 70 polling centers-with very little money. We wanted to reach as many Native Hawaiians as possible, so we got the vote to our housebound kapuna (elders), to prisoners, and even to those on the Mainland." To increase participation, registration at the polls was allowed. The election went well, and 85 delegates were elected.

There was a dark side to the process, however. The Native Hawaiian community divided over the elections, and some high-profile Hawaiians came out against the elections. This may be the reason for a disappointing 10% voter turnout.

Dona explains, "We don't have consensus among our leaders. And to many Native Hawaiians, the idea of sovereignty is too theoretical. They can't picture how it could affect their daily lives. We need to make it real to the silent majority."

The next step? "The delegates are trying to organize and bond. They're paying their own way to come to pre-convention meetings, and they'll go back to their districts and try to educate their constituents. This is going to be a long process, but that's okay. We don't have the money yet, but we hope to have the convention sometime within the next year," Dona says. "Some of the institutions that are already in place are starting to integrate their services for the benefit of the Hawaiian people. That's encouraging."