by Andrew Walden (Orig posted May 2, 2008)
The so-called “Hawaii Kingdom Government” (HKG) is the organization that took over the grounds of Iolani Palace Wednesday morning. According to its Web site, http://www.higovt.org, the group is headed by self appointed “Royal Majesty” Nalayne Mahealani Asing.
In a 2000 family court divorce proceeding, Asing’s former husband was awarded control of a Hawaiian Homelands lease in Kalawahine. Mrs. Asing appealed all the way to the Hawaii Supreme court. Was the seed planted when Mrs. Asing’s claims were rejected in a “summary disposition” by the Hawaii State Supreme Court on Nov. 22, 2004? Mrs. Asing does not respond to an emailed request for comment, but nine months after the Supreme Court rejected her appeal, the Hawaiian Kingdom Government was born. See: http://www.state.hi.us/jud/23673sdo.htm
At Iolani, several State Archive employees were ordered out of their offices by about 35 HKG activists, claiming to act under color of authority. Several HKG personnel blocked and chained the palace gates claiming to be “security guards.” One identified himself as “Minister of the Interior.” The employees were not allowed to take their personal vehicles. Palace Tours were cancelled as “Friends of the Palace” employees were kept from opening the palace and so-called “security guards” refused entry to non-Hawaiians.
State Sen. Will Espero (D-Ewa) reported: “I went to one of the entrances to go to the Iolani Palace grounds and was not allowed to proceed because I was not Hawaiian. Apparently, individuals with the Kingdom of Hawaii had taken over the state property. As Chairman of the Public Safety Committee, I was concerned that our law enforcement division -- the sheriffs and the Honolulu Police Department -- were not present … .”
Espero continued: “The DLNR controls the state property that is under siege, and the sheriff's office protects state property, yet as of noon it appears the state has done nothing to remove these individuals. I have placed calls to Laura Thielen, director of DLNR, and Sheriff John Lum, and am awaiting their response.”
Asing’s claim to the throne may come as a surprise to Campbell Estate heir Abigail Kawananakoa, the most direct living descendant of the last Hawaiian royal line. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_David_Kawananakoa
Asing claims her “Royal Government” is recognized by the state of Hawaii via the “apostille process.” “Apostille” is a document certification conducted by the Secretary of State serving as a super notary public required to authenticate documents for certain international transactions. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostille
Apparently her ability to receive a notary seal from the Liliha Branch of American Savings Bank and then have it “apostilled” at the lieutenant governor’s office on Aug. 30, 2005, made quite an impression on Asing. The group’s Web site displays several images of Asing proudly holding the notarized letter “recognizing” her so-called Kingdom Government. See: http://www.higovt.org/texts/06-01-13.htm
In a video posted on her Web site Asing explains how she became “recognized” by the (presumably illegitimate) state of Hawaii: “We actually tested this out first. So two of our guys, the Chief of Staff and the Royal Minister of Foreign Affairs … so the both of them went in. And when they got to the lieutenant governor’s office, they brought this in and automatically the girl … because they do hundreds of these like every day, every week. (We) walked in there, she said, “O you folks gonna be getting apostille?” Yeah. ‘OK.’”
Asing continues, “They have this koa box. A beautiful box about this high. And about this long. And when she opens it there’s this big kine of hammer. And she puts a gold seal. And boom it comes down. As soon as she’s done with that she’ll walk in the back and she’ll look for the Secretary of State and he’ll put his signature on top of that. When he does that, it’s over. It’s all over.
“This document is owned by the Hague. That’s United Nations. With one document we didn’t have to leave this land and we got three entities recognizing the Hawaiian Kingdom Government.”
This is the “recognition” for which 35 people risked arrest and prison when they took over the grounds of Iolani Palace. Asing apostille video: See: http://www.higovt.org/videos/Mahealani_4_high.mp4
The HKG Web site describes Asing speaking at a Dec. 16-18, 2005, Kupuna Council Conference sponsored by the Kahana Community Association and held at the Kahana Valley Ahupuaa State Park: “Her Royal Majesty Mahealani Asing, the Head of State of the Hawaiian Kingdom Government shared the news of the recognition of the Hawaiian Kingdom Government by the Secretary of State, and discussed plans of further action to expedite the process of transition.” See: http://www.higovt.org/texts/05-12-16.htm
According to the group’s Web site: “We have sent five (5) letters of introduction and met twice with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs to present our credentials to their Chief Administrator, Mr. Clyde Namuo, and to the OHA Trustees at their final board meeting in December 2005.”
This may account for Sen. Espero’s report that: “During discussions with two of the Kingdom of Hawaii guards, I was informed that the state had been notified that these actions were going to occur.”
Many state and county offices regularly receive “documents” from any of several dozen groups and individuals all claiming to be the Hawaiian Kingdom. If the offices give a response addressed to “Hawaiian Kingdom,” the sovereignty group then claims that as “recognition.” One group in Hilo claimed in 2007 to be “recognized” by the county of Hawaii after county Mayor Harry Kim sent them a response to their request for booth space at the Merry Monarch festival. The irony of seeking “recognition” from a government one claims to believe is illegitimate seems to escape everyone involved -- but there’s money to be made here and land to be grabbed.
Asing’s “Chief of Staff” is identified as Iokepa Duvall. A reverse directory search of the phone number used by Duvall on several news releases leads to a Honolulu landline with no address listed under the generic name “Pacific Justice.” The Web site lists “suite 3” at Iolani Palace -- 210 Iolani Ave -- as the HKG headquarters. Duvall’s phone number is disconnected.
Neither Duvall nor Asing are particularly prominent activists. A google search of "Nalayne Mahealani Asing" brings up only three links. “Iokepa Duvall” comes up only once.
The Friends of Iolani Palace reacted to the takeover with irritation and annoyance, explaining: "While we respect the freedom of Hawaiian groups to hold an opinion on the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom, we believe that blocking access to Iolani Palace is wrong and certainly detrimental to our mission to share the palace and its history with our residents, our keiki and our visitors.
"As a matter of historical record, we wish to point out that the original seat of government of the Hawaiian Kingdom was NOT Iolani Palace. The Palace was the royal RESIDENCE. Government activities were carried out in the original Courthouse (now demolished), then later in Aliiolani Hale."
Competing groups of Trustees assert power over the lives of Hawaiians through dependency-creating programs, grant-making power, and use of leasehold tenancy. These powers are used to direct and motivate Hawaiian activist groups. In an environment where personal liberty is circumscribed by Trustee power, perceived abuses or simply coming out on the wrong end of a dispute can shape subsequent action. Mrs. Asing’s divorce case may be an example.
But how is it that 35 people can be recruited to risk jail on such a flimsy basis? And why do similar groups emerge constantly all over the state. The answer goes to the heart of everything that is wrong with socialism, Hawaii-style.
Drug abuse and poor results from Hawaii State Department of Education (DoE) combine with the additional ignorance created by a constant stream of lies about Hawaii history in order to produce a ready-made supply of sovereignty activists. Some activists are petty criminals who have been in and out of the justice system for years. The existence of the sovereignty activists creates a key argument used by the Trustees in order to justify a tribal government created via the Akaka Bill. They are often rewarded/bought off by grants of leasehold interest in state land. This practice is common enough that an incentive is created.
Forgetting about any ulterior motive, some HKG demands point at the root problem. For instance an HKG statement explains: “… our goals, although many, focus around one theme, and that is to create government programs that will encourage and promote independence and high self-esteem, instead of dependence and low self-worth.” Asing’s goals include: “To provide a residential home (lease free) for every qualifying Kingdom Heir … .”
According to a statement issued in 2005 or early 2006, the HKG group opposes: “… foreign intervention on our people or our nation, such as the United States Government’s attempt to pass the Akaka Bill, SR -147.”
Other goals include: “… bring quality housing back within financial reach of our people by activating untapped land reserves, and to dramatically lower the cost of education and health care to all qualifying residents. Other goals include a global educational curriculum which embraces the cultural diversity of our people, the lowering of taxes, a boost to the economy by the intelligent use of Hawaii's resources, and higher levels of freedom through the empowerment of everyone to contribute directly to the shaping of government policy.”
It is not clear how the alleged goals of “diversity” or the “empowerment of everyone” are advanced by forcibly closing the grounds of Iolani to all non-Hawaiians. Other goals listed by Asing and Duvall’s group include: “lowering of taxes,” “higher levels of freedom” and “activating untapped land reserves” in order to “bring quality housing back within the reach of our people … .”
Lies, adult illiteracy, and bureaucratic domination over Hawaiian individuals are all factors designed to manipulate the public in order to place the Trustees of Kamehameha Schools and of OHA beyond the reach of State and Federal Law under a “sovereign” tribal authority they would then control.
Events such as the Iolani Palace takeover are a byproduct of the propaganda campaign, the ignorance, and the dependency created among Hawaiians by the Trustees and by the DoE. The result: some Hawaiians and non-Hawaiians confuse sovereignty with an Indian reservation and others confuse secession from the United States with “expanding freedom.”
Meanwhile, someone from the state is likely to give Mrs. Asing a leasehold somewhere to shut her up -- and by doing so create the incentive for the next person to come along and do it all over again.
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RELATED: http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.higovt.org
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