People from across the state gathered at the Mauna‘ala Royal Mausoleum on Tuesday morning to participate in the annual Onipa‘a Peace March. This year’s march honored kupuna and students while also commemorating the overthrow of the Hawaiian kingdom on Jan. 17, 1893.
Hawaii island resident Patrice Kirk and her two children woke up at 4 a.m. to catch an early flight to Oahu to participate in the 1.7-mile march from the mausoleum to Iolani Palace.
Carrying three photos of her children’s great-grandmother and her family, Kirk said, “A lot of us recognize there’s a lot of healing to be done with all the Indigenous communities across the entire world.” She added, “We need to look at the past with a very open heart and mind to fix the problems we’re facing, and the kids are the ones that are gonna be the generation to do that, we hope.”
Three decades ago the 100th anniversary of the overthrow was observed in a multiday series of events that wrapped up with a march of about 10,000 people to Iolani Palace. That same year, the United States formally acknowledged and apologized for the overthrow by passing the Apology Bill.
In a news release issued this week, Hea‑ lani Sonoda-Pale, a member of one of the event’s sponsors, Ka Lahui Hawaii, which advocates for Native Hawaiian self-determination, said, “A small group of American businessmen overthrew a peaceful nation without provocation with the help and support of the United States military. … It’s never too late to return all that was stolen from the Kanaka Maoli people.”
Hundreds of participants in Tuesday’s event chanted and waved Hawaiian flags in a procession led by Kawaikapuokalani Hewett, a kumu hula, and one of the event’s co-sponsors, the Queen’s Court. Behind them were groups of students from 15 Oahu schools, followed by individual participants and groups.
Blaine Dutro, a Roosevelt High School teacher, accompanied about two dozen students from his culture class along the march route. He said having his students participate was a way to help them understand the importance of recognizing their Native Hawaiian roots.
“Especially for our younger generation, they may have not grown up with kupuna that were there,” Dutro said. “This is another way for them to experience and let them know that their kupuna are always with them … to make sure that there’s a connection between the people that have passed and the people that are currently here.”
Maui resident Noelani Ahia, who had taken part in previous Onipa‘a marches, said the annual event serves as an important reminder of the overthrow’s consequences — and that the Native Hawaiian people are continuing to stand strong together.
“We’re working together to restore what was lost and heal from what was lost, and the historical trauma from … the overthrow,” she said.
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Linsey Dower covers ethnic and cultural affairs and is a corps member of Report for America, a national service organization that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues and communities.
