Yup. That's what a story in the Library of Congress calls the ali'i who brought the 'aina together. Kamehameha is lumped together with Buffalo Bill Cody, Merriwether Lewis & William Clark, Harry Houdini, John Philip Sousa and others.
Boy did the historians get that wrong! The kanaka maoli should lodge an official protest with the Library of Congress about the gross misrepresentation of King Kamehameha has an American. He was Hawaiian. Period.
Kamehameha was born and died well before Hawai'i was annexed by the United States in 1898. From that point forward, anyone born in Hawai'i was considered an American; not before.
Here's a portion of an editorial that appears in this month's edition of the Northwest Hawai'i Times, which is distributed around the state for local expats who live in the area:
"For Hawai'i's people, June is the month to celebrate King Kamehameha. Those of us from the islands whether or not we are native Hawaiian, know all about this great man. From the time we were children, we have made lei to decorate his statues, learned songs to remember his accomplishments and every June 11th, celebrate him with parades and other festivities. There are schools, highways, hotels and even a drive-in on O'ahu named for him! All of us from his home island of Hawai'i are surrounded by Kamehameha's history, from the Naha stone in front of the Hawai'i County Library in Hilo that reminds us of his strength, to heiau on the Kohala and Kona side of the island that show us his resolve.
So when I stumbled onto the Library of Congress website that listed King Kamehameha as "An Amazing American", I sat straight up. Kamehameha an American! While everyone born in Hawai'i since 1898 has American citizenship, I had never in my life thought of King Kamehameha as..an American.
I took the time to read over the website, and the more I read, the more I noticed the gaps and negative connotations in the story of this famous Hawaiian as presented by the Library of Congress. As I dwelled on "America's Story of Amazing Americans", I became uncomfortable, not only because of its historical inaccuracies, but because of the political implications....
"go to the website to see what the Library of Congress as written about King Kamehameha for young people with web access from all around the world....
"My reaction to America's Story has nothing to do with the Akaka bill or Hawaiian sovereignty; it is, instead, about misrepresentation and not telling the whole story. Does anyone think Queen Lili'uokalani thought of herself as American? So why the King? While I would never presume to speak for Kamehameha, my guess is that he would not have considered himself anything other than Hawaiian....
"Do me a favor. Go to the Library of Congress website (www.americaslibrary.gov) and read for yourself about King Kamehameha, "An Amazing American." Then tell me what you think...
--Rochelle delaCruz, Editor, Northwest Hawai'i Times (rochdelacruz@msn.com)
Boy did the historians get that wrong! The kanaka maoli should lodge an official protest with the Library of Congress about the gross misrepresentation of King Kamehameha has an American. He was Hawaiian. Period.
Kamehameha was born and died well before Hawai'i was annexed by the United States in 1898. From that point forward, anyone born in Hawai'i was considered an American; not before.
Here's a portion of an editorial that appears in this month's edition of the Northwest Hawai'i Times, which is distributed around the state for local expats who live in the area:
"For Hawai'i's people, June is the month to celebrate King Kamehameha. Those of us from the islands whether or not we are native Hawaiian, know all about this great man. From the time we were children, we have made lei to decorate his statues, learned songs to remember his accomplishments and every June 11th, celebrate him with parades and other festivities. There are schools, highways, hotels and even a drive-in on O'ahu named for him! All of us from his home island of Hawai'i are surrounded by Kamehameha's history, from the Naha stone in front of the Hawai'i County Library in Hilo that reminds us of his strength, to heiau on the Kohala and Kona side of the island that show us his resolve.
So when I stumbled onto the Library of Congress website that listed King Kamehameha as "An Amazing American", I sat straight up. Kamehameha an American! While everyone born in Hawai'i since 1898 has American citizenship, I had never in my life thought of King Kamehameha as..an American.
I took the time to read over the website, and the more I read, the more I noticed the gaps and negative connotations in the story of this famous Hawaiian as presented by the Library of Congress. As I dwelled on "America's Story of Amazing Americans", I became uncomfortable, not only because of its historical inaccuracies, but because of the political implications....
"go to the website to see what the Library of Congress as written about King Kamehameha for young people with web access from all around the world....
"My reaction to America's Story has nothing to do with the Akaka bill or Hawaiian sovereignty; it is, instead, about misrepresentation and not telling the whole story. Does anyone think Queen Lili'uokalani thought of herself as American? So why the King? While I would never presume to speak for Kamehameha, my guess is that he would not have considered himself anything other than Hawaiian....
"Do me a favor. Go to the Library of Congress website (www.americaslibrary.gov) and read for yourself about King Kamehameha, "An Amazing American." Then tell me what you think...
--Rochelle delaCruz, Editor, Northwest Hawai'i Times (rochdelacruz@msn.com)
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