Hawai‘i: An American State or A State Under American Occupation—A Lecture By Keanu Sai

UPDATE: This talk will now take place at 1PM (not 4PM, as indicated in the printed calendar).

Presented by the Asian/Pacific/American Studies Program in the Department of Social & Cultural Analysis, NYU

In the 19th century, the Hawaiian Kingdom, as a recognized independent and sovereign State, maintained over 90 legations (embassies) and consulates throughout the world, which included a Hawaiian embassy in Washington, D.C., and consulates in the cities of New York, San Francisco, Philadelphia, San Diego, Boston, Portland, Port Townsend, and Seattle. During the Spanish-American War, the United States unilaterally annexed the Hawaiian Islands and, in 1959, the US Congress admitted the State of Hawai‘i into the federal union. Keanu Sai (University of Hawai‘i, Windward Community College; Ua Mau Ke Ea-Sovereignty Endures: An Overview of the Political and Legal History of the Hawaiian Islands) provides a counter-narrative, offering compelling evidence to argue that Hawai‘i is not an American State, but rather continues, since the Spanish-American War, to be under an illegal and prolonged occupation.

Co-sponsored by the Asian/Pacific/American Institute at NYU and Native Studies Forum.