A documentary, with the indigenous Hawaiians,about the survival of their culture after the takeover of Hawaii by U.S. businessmen and military in 189orld are experienced. Rare interviews throughout the islands, 2005-2009, reveal their economic, cultural, and social future depends on the resurgence of indigenous rights, sovereignty, and access to their land. While bridging past knowledge with tools of the future, they reveal our own future depends on our connection with the natural world and responsible decisions for the care of the planet and the sustainability of all people.—Anonymous
This film is about the many social, economic, and ecological issues that have developed in Hawaii since the illegal takeover by the U.S. in 1893 when the last monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii, the gentle, educated Queen Liliuokalani, was ousted and imprisoned. Her book, Hawaii's Story was published in 1898, five years after the overthrow of the Kingdom. "In it, Liliuokalani gives her account of her upbringing, her ascension to the throne, the overthrow of her government by pro-American forces, her appeals to the United States of America to restore the Hawaiian monarchy, and her arrest and trial following an unsuccessful 1895 rebellion against the Republic of Hawaii."
Her appeals immediately after the Hawaiian Revolution were acted upon by her friend President Grover Cleveland, who demanded her reinstatement from the President of Hawaii, Sanford B. Dole following a confidential investigation and report by James Henderson Blount submitted July 17, 1893. Dole refused Cleveland's demands. Cleveland then referred the matter to Congress. Congress investigated further and produced the Morgan Report on February 26, 1894 which concluded that the U.S. had no role in the Hawaiian Revolution. Following the Morgan Report, the Turpie Resolution of May 31, 1894 ended any hope for further assistance in regaining her throne, and her further appeals for help were rebuffed by the Cleveland administration. In 1898, the same year the book was originally published, Hawaii was formally annexed by the United States of America.
