King David Kalakaua. Advertiser library photo

The Past is Prologue ...

1842 The United States recognizes the Kingdom of Hawai‘i as an independent government.

1848 The Great Mahele institutes a system of private property ownership and ends the king’s monopoly over land. The law divides Hawai‘i land among King Kamehameha III, his chiefs and foreigners. By 1850, foreigners hold virtually all privately owned land.

1887 American merchants seek to restrict King David Kalakaua’s power, imposing the so-called Bayonet Constitution. This reduces Kalakaua’s authority in favor of the cabinet and Legislature, and weakens the voting power of Hawaiians and Asians by instituting income or property ownership qualifications to vote.

1891 Kalakaua dies and is succeeded by his sister, Lili‘uokalani. She re-establishes a constitution granting more political power to the monarchy and to Native Hawaiians. American business leaders respond by forming the pro-business/pro-annexation "Committee of Safety."

1893 Lili‘uokalani resists formation of a provisional government, and U.S. troops land in Honolulu. She resigns to avoid bloodshed.

1898 President William McKinley signs a resolution annexing Hawai‘i, despite strong opposition from Native Hawaiians. Some 2 million acres of government and crown lands are ceded to the federal government.

1921 Congress passes the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, sets aside some 200,000 acres of ceded lands for the use of those with 50 percent or more Hawaiian blood.

1959 Hawai‘i is admitted as the 50th state on Aug. 21. The U.S. government transfers 1.8 million acres of ceded lands to the state, to be held in trust for public use, education, home and farm ownership, and the betterment of Native Hawaiians.

1975 The voyaging canoe Hokule‘a and master navigator Nainoa Thompson ignite a cultural renaissance with a resurgence of traditional navigation that helps rekindle Hawaiian culture and prove ancient Polynesians sailed with purpose as they migrated across the Pacific.

1977 James "Kimo" Mitchell and George Helm vanish while attempting to paddle from Maui to the island of Kaho‘olawe, which the military had used as a bombing target since 1941. For almost 20 years, beginning in the 1970s, the island symbolizes the reawakening of Hawaiian pride and culture as Native Hawaiians attempt to regain control of it.

1978 Hawai‘i voters ratify a constitutional amendment establishing the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. OHA administers state money and proceeds from ceded lands to help the state’s 200,000 residents of Hawaiian ancestry.

1986 John D. Waihe‘e becomes the first elected governor of Hawaiian ancestry.

1987 The sovereignty group Ka Lahui Hawai‘i is born when 250 delegates attend a constitutional convention on the Big Island. The group’s goal is to be recognized by Congress as a sovereign nation.

1990 The Legislature clarifies the ceded-lands entitlement law and sets up a system to negotiate back payments to Native Hawaiians.

1993 President Clinton signs a resolution acknowledging the illegal overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawai‘i.

1996 A majority of Native Hawaiians participating in a statewide vote favor holding an election of delegates to determine a form of sovereignty to recommend to all Hawaiians. In April, fourth-generation Big Island rancher Harold "Freddy" Rice files a federal lawsuit challenging the law that only Native Hawaiians may vote in Office of Hawaiian Affairs elections.

1998 More than 1,000 Hawaiians and supporters rally at the state Capitol to protest a bill that would transfer state control of Hawaiian lands and assets to a new Native Hawaiian Trust Corporation, which would replace OHA and the Department of Hawaiian Homelands.

1999 Hundreds of Native Hawaiians attend statewide federal reconciliation hearings designed to gather opinions on what should be done in the wake of the 1993 apology. Many call for restoration of the Hawaiian kingdom and federal recognition.

...To Events of 2000

Feb. 23 The U.S. Supreme Court rules on Rice vs. Cayetano, saying OHA’s Hawaiian-only elections violate the 15th Amendment’s ban on race-based voting restrictions. Cayetano threatens to remove trustees on grounds that they were elected in an unconstitutional process.

July 20 U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawai‘i, introduces a bill to protect federal funding of Hawaiian entitlements in the wake of the Rice decision and to clarify the political status of Native Hawaiians, setting them on a course to federal recognition.

July 25 13 Hawai‘i residents file a federal lawsuit to prevent chief election officer Dwayne Yoshina from stopping non-Hawaiians from filing candidacy papers to be OHA trustees.

Aug. 28 Senate Indian Affairs and House Resources committees begin Akaka bill hearings in Honolulu.

Aug. 29 Hawai‘i Supreme Court finds that elected OHA trustees can be removed on grounds they were elected in an unconstitutional vote.

Sept. 8 All nine OHA trustees resign to circumvent Cayetano’s ouster, and five whose seats were not up for election until 2002 file candidacy papers to serve out the remainder of their terms.

Sept. 11-16 Cayetano appoints an interim OHA board: Clayton Hee, Hannah Springer, Colette Machado, Dante Carpenter, Gladys Brandt, Ilei Beniamina, Nani Brandt, Nalani Olds and the first non-Hawaiian on the OHA board, Charles Ota.

Sept. 19 U.S. District Judge Helen Gillmor grants an injunction, allowing non-Hawaiians to run for OHA.

Oct. 2 Republican U.S. Senate candidate John Carroll files a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of OHA on grounds its money is spent on racially discriminatory purposes.

Oct. 3 Honolulu resident Patrick Barrett files a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Article 12 of the Hawai‘i Constitution, which established OHA, adopted the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act and provided for native gathering rights on private property.

Nov. 7 The first statewide OHA election open to voters of all ancestry brings in a new board made up of Hee, Machado, Ota, Haunani Apoliona, Donald Cataluna, Oswald Stender, John Waihe‘e IV and Linda Dela Cruz.

Nov. 13 The interim OHA board meets, but is asked by some trustees-elect to refrain from conducting business until a new board is certified.

Nov. 27 The swearing-in ceremony for new trustees is suspended when failed OHA candidate Kaui Amsterdam files a last-minute legal challenge to the non-Hawaiian vote.

Dec. 13 Akaka bill dies in the waning days of the 106th Congress. U.S. Sens. Daniel Akaka and Daniel Inouye pledge to resurrect the bill in the new session.

Dec. 20 OHA trustees are sworn in to office during a grand investiture ceremony at Kawaiaha‘o Church. As senior trustee, Clayton Hee calls on OHA to prepare for major changes in the new year.