Kalaupapa: A Collective Memory

Chapter 21. We, Your Nation of People, Will Survive: Queen Liliuokalani and the Hawaiian Kingdom

237 21 We,Your Nation of People,­Will Survive Queen Liliuokalani and the Hawaiian Kingdom about two weeks after Queen Liliuokalani ascended the throne in January 1891, she wrote to Rudolph Meyer asking that Mrs. Keohohiwa Miau be allowed to come to Honolulu. Mrs. Miau was a mea kokua for her husband, Judge Miau, who had been sent to Kalaupapa in 1889. The queen told Meyer that she wished to confer with Mrs. Miau about many important matters relating to her late brother the king and herself. Mrs. Miau, described by Meyer as an old woman, was granted permission to go to Honolulu, accompanied by her “servant.”1 On April 27, 1891, Queen Liliuokalani traveled to Kalaupapa, the first stop on her first tour of the Islands as queen and her third visit to the settlement. Like virtually every other person in the Hawaiian Kingdom, Queen Liliuokalani had lost people close to her because of the isolation policies. There was Kapoli Kamakau, Lydia Nathaniel, Thomas Nathaniel, Judge Miau, and his wife. It is likely she also knew William Clark, whose daughter Charlotte was apparently her seamstress and dressmaker.2 There were undoubtedly many more. The queen was accompanied to Kalaupapa by several dignitaries, including her minister of foreign affairs, Samuel Parker, who was an heir to the Parker Ranch and also the son-in-law of Jonathan Napela. Leprosy was not a disease of “others” to Native Queen Liliuokalani. Courtesy of Hawai‘i State Archives. He Lei He Aloha No Liliulani A Garland of Flowers, a Greeting for Liliulani D. Kahoeka Baldwin Home, May 12, 1897. Published in Ke Aloha Aina, May 22, 1897. Kawika Kahoeka arrived at Kalaupapa on October 11, 1895, at the age of twenty and died on January 30, 1901. translation by carol l. silva. There Liliu o Loloku Lani is In the beautiful, thick greenery of California, Lovingly caressed perhaps by a bank of clouds With a cool breeze, clear and crisp as moonlight upon a quiet scene. The realms above have seen, the world below has heard For Liliulani alone is this crown. Where there is love, there is but one heart For the native soil together with its nation of people, The islands are bound in common accord, Equally upholding rights inherent in the land, And your Kingdom is both managed and firmly- placed From Hawaii Island to the taproot of Lehua. All of us, country men and women, are overjoyed for Intent and want have been accomplished. The nation’s people have a constant, unending desire,­ And the thought unites us in strong affection. I dearly love my Queen, And my nation of people who are tireless in spirit, Clusters of clouds on the horizon bear witness as Sovereignty is perpetuated in righteousness. The news is heard in all parts of the city, About Liliu, the Queen, on her travels home. Aia o Liliu o Loloku Lani, I ka uluwehi nani a o Kaleponi, Hooheno ana paha me Kaopua, Me ka hau konane i ka malie. Ua ike ao luna lohe a o lalo, No Liliuokalani ke kalaunu, Hookahi puuwai no ke aloha, No ka aina hoi me ka lahui, Ua hui lokahi na mokupuni, Kau like i ka pono o ka aina, Kaohi ia a paa ko aupuni, Mai Hawaii a ka mole o Lehua, Hauoli kakou e ka lahui, Ua ko ka manao me ka iini, He iini pau ole ko ka lahui, Lokahi ka manao me ke aloha, He aloha wau la i kuu Moi, Me kuu lahui pauaho ole, Ua hoike mai ka pae opua, Ua mau e ke Ea la i ka pono, Ua ku’i e ka lono puni ke kaona, No Liliu ke Kuini a hoea mai, Na ka Adimarala e hii mai ana, Ma ka eheu nani la o ka moana, O ka ua haaheo i ka ilikai, Ko kahiko ia e Liliulani, It is the Admiral who bears her forth On the comely wings of the deep sea. The lofty rain on the surface of the ocean Is but a heavenly adornment for Liliulani. Majestically sails the ship, Eagle, Gliding over the swelling billow. This being an emblem to me of flag and Crown, Gliding forward on the surface of the sea. It shall reveal all of its loveliness for The garland of victory is proudly worn. The thought has just lightened into a hope, That we, your nation of people...