Native Hawaiians relived the most painful part of their history during a five-day period in 1993 that marked the 100th anniversary of the overthrow of Queen Lili'uokalani and the monarchy. They chose to name the centennial observance after the queen's motto, 'Onipa'a, which means steadfast in Hawaiian, and it was a watershed event.
From across the state, Hawaiians descended upon 'Iolani Palace by the thousands to remember their beloved queen and protest the loss of the kingdom to U.S. interests that had forced her to relinquish control.
They mourned the loss of their kingdom and called for its restoration. They also sought to educate those who had not understood the full history of what had happened a century earlier. The event was organized through the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and, with the involvement of numerous Hawaiian groups, became the most inclusive event in modern Hawaiian history.
The observance featured a five-act drama that re-created events in the overthrow and climaxed on the Jan. 17 anniversary. For three days, actors in period attire performed at or close to the sites of historical events.
Controversy erupted when Gov. John Waihee — the state's first governor of Hawaiian ancestry — ordered that the U.S. flag not be flown over state buildings in the Capitol-'Iolani Palace area during the pageant. The Hawaiian flag, however, was flown. Three members of Hawai'i's congressional delegation urged Waihee to reconsider, but he stood firm.
"We're not being disrespectful to the American flag, Waihee said at the time. "We're just not flying it."
The day before the anniversary, the sound of invading U.S. troops was re-created in the streets outside 'Iolani Palace. Afterward, the Royal Hawaiian Band duplicated a 100-year-old concert, and crowds swelled on the palace grounds, just as they had in 1893.
On the final day, a Sunday, an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 chanting people marched from Aloha Tower to the palace to symbolize a rebirth of Hawaiian culture. It was one of the largest gatherings of Hawaiians in modern times.
Typical of the marchers were the 150 people from Moloka'i. They wore green T-shirts with the Hawaiian word for sovereignty printed on the back: Ea.
"This is an awakening for us," said Moloka'i resident Dorothy Kong.
At the gates of 'Iolani Palace, chants left onlookers weeping.
The ceremony that day featured an open microphone and some Hawaiian leaders took a strident, bitter tone. One urged the crowd to abandon the aloha spirit image used for promoting tourism while another urged the U.S. military to leave Hawaiian lands.
Haunani-Kay Trask, then-director of the University of Hawai'i's Center for Hawaiian Studies, urged Hawaiians to "fight, fight, fight."
"We are not Americans," she said. "Say it in your heart. Say it in your sleep. We will never forget what the Americans have done to us. Never, never, never. The Americans, my people, are our enemies."
As darkness fell on the palace, with the crowd swelling to nearly 20,000, the words of Lili'uokalani were heard for a final time. In her dramatization of the queen's surrender, Leo Anderson Akana left the crowd silent and stunned.
"Hold fast to the pride and love you have for your country," she said. "Yes, your country. For your nation — 'onipa'a. Hold fast!"
