On Wednesday, July 12th, 2023, guests gathered at Aliiolani Hale to examine the history of La Hoihoi Ea (Sovereignty Restoration Day) and screen Na Maka o ka Aina’s documentary footage in honor of the 30th Anniversary of Ka Hookolokolonui Kanaka Maoli — Peoples’ International Tribunal Hawaii. In the Hawaii Supreme Courtroom, Tribunal representatives reflected on the momentous hearing, when lawyers and judges from across the world, on behalf of the United Nations, convened in Hawaii in 1993 to litigate Hawaii’s independence.

Featured Panelists:

• Dr. Jonathan Osorio (Dean of Hawaiinuiakea School of Hawaiian Knowledge)
• Joan Lander (Filmmaker, Na Maka o ka Aina)
• Nalani Minton (Representative for Tribunal Komike; Director at Ike Ao Pono at the UH Manoa Nancy Atmospera Walch School of Nursing)
• Maivan Lam (legal scholar/educator)
• Kehaunani Abad (Kealaiwikuamoo Director, Kamehameha Schools)
• Mahealani Cypher (Hawaiian cultural practitioner; owner of Native Knowledge LLC)
• JoAnn Tsark (Hawaiian Public Health Educator)
• Moderated by Professor Troy Andrade (Executive Board, King Kamehameha V Judiciary History Center; Director of the Ulu Lehua Scholars Program, William S. Richardson School of Law)

RENT THE TRIBUNAL (1994) HERE: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/266275

Program presented in collaboration with: King Kamehameha V Judiciary History Center, Friends of the Judiciary History Center of Hawaii, La Hoihoi Ea Honolulu, Hawaii People’s Fund, and Purple Maia

La Hoihoi Ea (Sovereignty Restoration Day) was declared by the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1843 following the five-month occupation of the Kingdom by Great Britain. In 2022, the Hawaii State Legislature passed House Bill 2475, which Governor David Ige signed into law as Act 82, establishing July 31 as La Hoihoi Ea.