Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 33, Number 2, 1 February 2016 — Smithsonian exhibit focuses on sovereignty [ARTICLE]

Smithsonian exhibit focuses on sovereignty

"E Mau Ke Ea: The Sovereign Hawaiian Nation," an exhibition explainina today's Hawaiian sover-

eignty movement, is on display through January 2017 at theSmithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. The exhibit covers the history of Hawai'i from the arrival of the

early Polynesian /flfl seafarers through the 1893 overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy. The chronological displays also include sections on the rise of the Hawaiian kingdom, the transition to a constitutional government and the Hawaiian Renaissance. Visitors should leave with an understanding of the internationally recognized sovereign status of the Kingdom of Hawai'i and the legal basis for the contemporary Hawaiian sovereignty movement.

In conjunction with the exhibit, the museum will also offer a public program on March 22 by Starr Kalāhiki called The Lili'u Project, whieh brings attention to the story, music and poetry of Queen Lili'uokalani.