About Statehood Hawaii

Shortly after the 2006 Admission Day controversy at 'Iolani Palace, Statehood Hawaii officially launched its website as an effort to engage the public with the various approaches of Hawaii's statehood. This was not only to include the diverse perspectives of the state and the sovereignty movement, but also aimed to encompass the ILWU and labor, the history of annexation and the domination of the Big 5, tourism and development, the 100th and 442nd, the Cold War, Hawaii's history of sugar, immigration and our territorial history in general.

Having initiated this independent project over a year before the founding of the 50th Anniversary of Hawai'i Statehood Commission, we had considered that this work might function as a policy project to engage the state, cultural centers, unions, and the sovereignty groups in a documented forum which could be archived as a 50th anniversary marker. When the state appropriated funding to put together a commission, Statehood Hawaii proposed its objectives at the first public meetings. Over time, it became clear that the state's plans for a parade and a celebration were going to give way to "cultural sensitivity" in a way that would engage the various perspectives outlined in our objectives.

In 2004, Arnie Saiki (project director of Statehood Hawaii) was hired as the lead historical researcher for the University of Hawaii's Academy for Creative Media documentary on Hawaii's statehood, "State of Aloha." As the researcher, he developed a set of general questions and guidelines which included: "Why is Hawaii a state? How did Hawaii become a state? What were the conditions that led to Statehood? And what are the benefits and disadvantages of statehood?

Later, applying this criteria to Statehood Hawaii, he added another guideline, What is the future of Hawaii's statehood?

'Imi Pono Projects continues to probe the future of Hawaii's statehood and present work that seeks to engage the wider community on these issues of Hawaii's national identity and justice.