Lā Kūʻokoʻa

Lā Kūʻokoʻa is a kingdom holiday that was first celebrated in 1843 to commemorate Hawaiʻi’s sovereignty and independence. That was the year when the United States, Britain, and France officially recognized Hawaiian independence due to the efforts of the kingdom’s first diplomat Timoteo Haʻalilio and his associate Williiam Richards. Though Haʻalilio passed away on the return voyage to Hawaiʻi, they were successful in their mission, and the independence of Hawaiʻi was celebrated for the next five decades.

November 28th, Lā Kūʻokoʻa recognizes the signing of the Anglo-Franco proclamation recognizing Hawaiʻi’s independence.

Though the celebration fell out of much of the public consciousness after the overthrow and “annexation” of Hawaiʻi, recent years have brought renewed attention to the kingdom holiday. Lā Kūʻokoʻa is being celebrated again throughout Hawaiʻi nei, at schools, universities, and in different communities.

The restoration of Lā Kuʻokoʻa acknowledges the return of the historical truth of Hawaiʻi and diminishing of the indoctrination and false education of Hawaiʻi’s history that has been taught to our students through textbooks and names of Hawaiʻi’s public schools over the past century. The term, ”inculcate” is defined as “to cause something to be learned by someone by repeating it again and again.” This is another word for “indoctrination” that is defined as “the process of inculcating ideas, attitudes, cognitive strategies or a professional methodology. It is often distinguished from education by the fact that the indoctrinated person is expected not to question or critically examine the doctrine they have learned (see attached - 1906 Patriotic Exercise).