Hawaiian Patriotic Societies in the Lāhui: From Lost Art to Potential Renaissance

Na Keokani Kipona Marciel, Loea Lula Hoʻomalu

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​​​ʻO nā hana o nā hālāwai a pau o ka Hui a me ka ʻAha Hoʻokō e alakaʻi ʻia nō ia e nā rula o nā anaina maikaʻi, a me nā rula maʻa mau o nā ʻAhaʻōlelo.

—Ka Hui Hawaiʻi Aloha ʻĀina.
(4 Malaki 1893). Kumukānāwai (Paukū 8, Helu 3).
Honolulu, Oʻahu, Ko Hawaiʻi Pae ʻĀina

​​​All proceedings of meetings of the League and of the Executive Council shall be governed by the usual decorum and rules of Parliamentary Usage.

—Hawaiian Patriotic League.
(4 March 1893). Constitution (Article 8, Section 3).
​Honolulu, Oʻahu, Hawaiian Islands

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​The Hawaiian patriotic societies of the 19th century succeeded in defeating annexation. The relative absence of such deliberative assemblies in the Lāhui today constitutes the status quo. Will the status quo be sufficient to deoccupy Ko Hawai‘i Pae ‘Āina?

For a group to be a deliberative assembly, it must adhere to the generally accepted practices of democratic organizational procedure. In other words, parliamentary law. Democratic meeting procedures (rules of order) are the difference between a group and an organization; or between an affiliation of groups and an association of organizations.

To be organized permanently as a deliberative assembly (i.e., a democratic organization), a group must adopt governing documents, enroll members, elect officers, hold regular meetings, authorize a board of directors, and appoint committees where necessary. Each meeting is conducted by a presiding officer following an agreed-upon order of business, with the secretary present to keep a legal record of the proceedings.

Above all, the organization must expedite the orderly transaction of decisions during properly called meetings with a quorum present, while simultaneously protecting the rights of all members in the process. This provides for the general will of the membership to be expressed as official acts of the organization.

Resolutions adopted by a deliberative assembly constitute mandates that can be used for diplomatic action. This is a higher form of synergy compared to testimony provided at a public hearing, or discussion held by a panel of guest speakers—hallmarks of the status quo in the contemporary Lāhui. Furthermore, the mandate (synergy) of a resolution can be amplified if adopted by a convention of delegates elected by the local chapters of an association.

Deliberative assemblies may have become a lost art in our modern Lāhui, but therein lies the potential for a renaissance of the Hawaiian patriotic societies that our ancestors utilized to defeat annexation. What other way would it be possible for us to produce the sequel, which would be the deoccupation of Ko Hawai‘i Pae ‘Āina?

If labor unions and political parties could succeed without adhering to parliamentary law, they wouldn't be organized as deliberative assemblies. Why should we as the Lāhui be any less organized than a labor union or a political party, in order to bring about the justice that we deserve?

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​​​​ʻO nā hālāwai a pau a ka Hui a me ke Kōmite Hoʻoponopono, e alakaʻi ʻia nō ia e nā rula o nā anaina maikaʻi a me nā rula maʻa mau o nā ʻAhaʻōlelo.

—​Ka Hui Hawaiʻi Aloha ʻĀina a Hoʻomau Kūʻokoʻa a nā Lede.
(27 Malaki 1893). Kumukānāwai (Paukū 7, Helu 3).
​Honolulu, Oʻahu, Ko Hawaiʻi Pae ʻĀina

​​All proceedings of meetings of the Association and of the Managing Committee shall be governed by the usual quorum and rules of similar associations.

—Ladies Hawaiian Patriotic Association.
(27 March 1893). Constitution (Article 7, Section 3).
​Honolulu, Oʻahu, Hawaiian Islands

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​Kānāwai Hoʻomalu: Is Parliamentary Law a Blind Spot in the Modern Lāhui?

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