Sandra Reyes strolled across the empty grounds of 'Iolani Palace this week and fully understood why state officials are not marking 50 years of Hawai'i statehood today with any kind of celebration.

"I can see why they would be afraid," said Reyes, who lives in Makaha. "You have to understand the history of Hawai'i."

Some Native Hawaiian groups asked that 'Iolani Palace — the seat of Hawaiian royalty and the center of Hawai'i's statehood celebration 50 years ago — be draped in black today as a way to mark the continuing struggles of Native Hawaiians, said Kippen de Alba Chu, executive director of 'Iolani Palace and chairman of the Statehood Commission charged with commemorating 50 years of Island statehood.

Others wanted to celebrate statehood today with patriotic songs and pro-American demonstrations on the palace grounds that would certainly anger Hawaiians — as they did at an "Admission Day" celebration at 'Iolani Palace three years ago that deteriorated into threats and shouting matches.

"We did not want a full-blown celebration of statehood," de Alba Chu said. "We also did not want a full-blown call against statehood. We did want to find a balance."

The result is a disappointment for Australian tourists Kim Watson and Gail Goiser, who stood outside the palace gates this week taking pictures.

"I think that's a shame," Watson said. "It's sad."

Outside the palace grounds, the commission has helped organize educational walking tours of the sites of historic events in Island history, as well as a conference to discuss what Hawai'i could look like 50 years in the future.

Palace officials and state sheriff's deputies, however, are prepared for the possibility of protests around 'Iolani Palace today and — perhaps — yet another attempt to occupy the palace grounds, as groups have done in the past.

But the only official event scheduled today at 'Iolani Palace is not even considered part of Hawai'i's statehood commemoration.

Eighteen chanters each will offer an oli, or chant, intended as a gift to Queen Lili'uokalani, Hawai'i's last reigning monarch who was exiled to her palace bedroom following the 1893 overthrow of the Hawaiian kingdom.

"The event is completely separate from statehood," de Alba Chu emphasized. "It is a separate gift to the queen."

State Sen. Sam Slom, R-8th (Kahala, Hawai'i Kai), helped organize the 2006 pro-statehood demonstration at 'Iolani Palace and believes that the Statehood Commission should have marked 50 years of statehood by letting people peaceably assemble on the palace grounds and exercise their rights of free speech — no matter what position they have on statehood.

"We're not celebrating because we're afraid," Slom said. "Celebrating 50 years of being a state, to me, means giving the right of everyone in our community — protesters and others — to raise these issues and fully vet them publicly, knowing they are fully protected by the freest country in the world and the rights and guarantees that no one else in the world enjoys. To not openly celebrate does a disservice to the people before statehood and to all the people in the 50 years since statehood."

But Donald Cataluna, a trustee of the state Office of Hawaiian Affairs and a member of the Statehood Commission, fought against any statehood event at 'Iolani Palace, which he believes could have led to bloodshed and unwanted nationwide attention for Hawai'i.

At least 30 Hawaiian sovereignty groups represent 30,000 Native Hawaiians, Cataluna said.

"And many, many Hawaiians — many Hawaiians — would be very, very upset," Cataluna said. "It would not be a good idea to have an event at the site of the overthrow of their queen. It would be a horrible mess there. I had visions of blood spilling and I didn't want that."