March 26 marks Prince Kūhiō Day in Hawaiʻi to celebrate the founder of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act. Prince Jonah Kūhiō also served nearly 20 years as Hawaiʻi's delegate to the U.S. Congress. But, before all of that, he spent a year in prison for fighting to restore the Hawaiian Kingdom government.
Hawaiʻi historian, archivist and writer Ron Williams Jr. said the story of Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole's arrest is often overshadowed by his accomplishments.
“It’s much easier to talk about Kūhiō and the Hawaiian Home Lands bill,” Williams Jr. said.
“But understanding that Kūhiō, that this brilliant patriot, kanaka ʻōiwi was arrested and put in prison for defending the independence of his nation as it was being stolen by the United States — that’s not a story that everyone wants to sit and talk about.”
But it’s a story Williams Jr. often tells within the context of the 1895 Kaua Kūloko, or Civil War. The battle between loyalists like Kūhiō and the newly established Republic of Hawaiʻi lasted a week and led to the arrests of more than 400 people loyal to the Queen.
“The Republic used this opportunity as a chance to try to break the back of the resistance of Native Hawaiians,” Williams Jr. said.
“And so they went out and started arresting the top Hawaiians around the island. They arrested lawyers, they arrested judges, and so forth. So Kūhiō was pulled in with those arrestees," he said.
Kūhiō was charged with treason and served a year at Oʻahu Prison. Upon his release, he realized the Hawaiian Kingdom had still not been restored.
“We have the seizure of power and Kūhiō finally gets frustrated, and actually leaves the country," Williams Jr. said.
Kūhiō returned to Hawaiʻi in 1901 and was not the only Native Hawaiian whose life was disrupted in this period.
“They lost their businesses, their homes, and they were still willing to push forward," said Melissa Kaʻonohi-Camit, a Kahuku resident.
Kaʻonohi-Camit is one of an estimated 250 plus individuals arrested at non-violent protests against developments in Kahuku, Maunakea, Haleakalā and Hunānāniho.
Her nonprofit the Lāhui Foundation is working with local attorneys to hold expungement clinics for arrestees who have run into problems because of their record. She said Kūhiō’s story is inspiring.
“We have this opportunity to clear our records to show people…like ʻEh, we’re still going to kūʻē and make sure that it is known that this is not okay,” Kaʻonohi-Camit said.
