Lā Kūʻokoʻa, Celebrating the Independence Day of the Hawaiian Kingdom

Wednesday, November 27, 2024
3:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Gallery Lawns | Hawaiian Hall Complex
FREE with Registration

Pre-registration for this event has reached capacity. In-person registration will begin at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, November 27.

Join us in this celebration of Lā Kūʻokoʻa and the continuing kūʻokoʻa of the lāhui Hawaiʻi with a special presentation by Jonathan Kay Kamakawiwoʻole Osorio, PhD and Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio, PhD guided walkthroughs of Kū a Lanakila! with Sarah Kūāiwa, PhD, Bishop Museum Curator of Hawaiʻi and Pacific Cultural Resources, plus mele, mea ʻai provided by Hale Kealoha while supplies last, and more.

Lā Kūʻokoʻa is a Hawaiian Kingdom holiday that commemorates the independence of the Hawaiian Nation. Lā Kūʻokoʻa marks the date when the sovereignty of the Hawaiian Kingdom was formally recognized by England and France through the signing of the Anglo-French Proclamation and a verbal acknowledgment with the United States. This formal recognition was the result of the efforts of emissaries Timoteo Haʻalilio, Reverend William Richards, and Sir George Simpson who were appointed by King Kamehameha III to seek recognition of Hawaiian independence. The Hawaiian Kingdom celebrated Lā Kūʻokoʻa for the first time in 1843 on November 28 and celebrated the success of this mission annually.

Spotlight Programs

Kū a Lanakila! Expressions of Sovereignty, 1900-1920
Gallery Talks
3:30 pm & 4:30 pm
J. M. Long Gallery | Hawaiian Hall Complex

Join us in an exploration of Kū a Lanakila! Expressions of Sovereignty, 1900-1920 led by Sarah Kūāiwa, PhD, Curator of Hawaiʻi and Pacific Cultural Resources. Featuring a stunning array of mea kupuna, including ʻahu ʻula, lei hulu, banners, and political ephemera, the exhibit highlights how Kānaka engaged in public ceremony, competitive sports, and political activism to maintain a sense of kūʻokoʻa, reclaiming their identity and agency in a time of profound change.

Featured Presentation by Jonathan Kay Kamakawiwoʻole Osorio, PhD and Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio, PhD
5:30 p.m.
J. M. Long Gallery | Hawaiian Hall Complex

Dr. Jonathan Kay Kamakawiwoʻole Osorio and Dr. Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio, aloha ʻāina, educators, activists, community organizers, and artists will share their perspectives on Hawaiian Independence, both historically, and more importantly, as perpetuated in contemporary times.

Dr. Jonathan Kay Kamakawiwoʻole Osorio is Dean of Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge. Dr. Osorio received his PhD in History from the University of Hawaiʻi. At Kamakakūokalani, he has developed and taught classes in history, literature, law as culture, music as historical texts, and research methodologies for and from indigenous peoples. His recent publications include The Value of Hawaiʻi: Knowing the Past and Shaping the Future, which he co-edited and authored, and Dismembering Lāhui: A History of the Hawaiian Nation to 1887. He is also a composer and singer and has been a Hawaiian music recording artist since 1975.

Dr. Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio is a Kanaka Maoli aloha ʻāina educator, activist, and artist whose ʻohana has been living, working, and bettering Hawaiʻi since time immemorial. Jamaica’s kūpuna were aliʻi, makaʻāinana, activists, educators, firefighters, laborers, pastors, artists, composers, community organizers, social service providers, storytellers, and weavers and most importantly, committed members of their lāhui. Jamaica has emerged from this genealogy primed and ready to continue to take forward the charge of contributing to a Hawaiʻi whose future is decolonial, deoccupied, demilitarized, and bursting with possibility.