July 31 marks Sovereignty Restoration Day for the Hawaiian Kingdom.
Also known as Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea, the holiday recognizes the day Kamehameha III restored the sovereignty of the Hawaiian Kingdom after a British officer illegally seized control of the government in the 1843 Paulet Affair.
To celebrate, Kamehameha proclaimed Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea the first national holiday of the Kingdom, and a Hawaiian flag was raised in Thomas Square.
The state motto, "Ua mau ke ea o ka ʻāina i ka pono," which translates to "The sovereignty of the Kingdom continues because we are righteous," is inscribed on a wall at the park.
Community groups held festivities at Thomas Square on Sunday. A highlight was the creation of a ti leaf lei. The goal was to create a 250-foot-long lei to represent the size of one of the Red Hill fuel tanks.
The effort was started months ago at a Joint Task Force open house following the contamination of the water aquifer.
Rebekah Garrison, a Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi community organizer and a member of the Shut Down Red Hill coalition, attended the festivities on Sunday. She said the ti leaf lei has become a symbol for clean water.
"It was really exciting because we surpassed our goal of 250 feet, and we're now approaching 400 feet," Garrison said.
In the future, Garrison hopes to display the lei at different art installations, including those on neighbor islands.
Attendees of the next Community Representation Initiative meeting are also considering wearing the lei as a visual reminder that they are opposed to any repurposing of the tanks.
This interview aired on The Conversation on July 31, 2023. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1. This interview was adapted for the web by Emily Tom.
