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GUEST: Kehaulani Kauanui, Associate Professor at Wesleyan University, specializing in the contemporary Hawaiian Sovereignty Movement

Last week, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the state government of Hawaii announced a multi-million compensation deal on ceded lands. More than 200 acres of territory once belonging to the Kingdom of Hawaii are set to be transferred from the state government to the state agency of the OHA. Still needing approval from the Legislature, the deal would give the OHA a one-time cash payment of 13 million dollars in addition to commercial and industrial properties valued at 187 million dollars. The current 15.1 million in annual revenues collected by the agency would continue unabated. Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle and OHA Chairwoman Huanani Apoliona jointly described the deal as “reasonable, fair and long overdue.” However, some lawmakers feel that the deal will not be well received among the majority of indigenous Hawaiian communities. On the other hand, critics from the right fear that a precedent has been established for future lawsuits over Hawaiian lands. The settlement failed in addressing overthrow claims. In 1893, The United States overthrew the legal and internationally recognized Kingdom of Hawaii, and imposed a puppet regime it later annexed the territory from.