Hawaii marks 50 years of statehood with conference
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• Photo gallery: Protesting Hawaii's 50th Anniversary
• Photo gallery: Hawaii's economic future discussed
• Photo gallery: A peaceful day at Iolani Palace
By Michael Tsai and Will Hoover
Advertiser Staff Writers
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Though chided on various fronts for its carefully defined mission to commemorate rather than celebrate yesterday's 50th anniversary of Hawai'i statehood, the state's New Horizons For the Next 50 Years conference at the Hawai'i Convention Center succeeded at least in capturing the range of complex and conflicted ideas about where Hawai'i has been and where it is headed.
The event was the de facto centerpiece of yesterday's mostly subdued statehood anniversary observances.
In Washington, President Obama signed a proclamation marking the milestone. The proclamation read, in part, "The aloha spirit of Hawai'i offers hope and opportunity for all Americans."
In Iraq, several Hawai'i-affiliated military units hosted lu'au events in observance of the anniversary.
While Hawai'i's initial acceptance into the union in 1959, and later the 25th anniversary of statehood in 1984, were marked with patriotic pageantry and celebration, yesterday's official anniversary observances were decidedly low-key, an acknowledgement of the differing opinions regarding statehood that have evolved with the rise of the Hawaiian sovereignty movement and allegations that statehood was achieved in violation of United Nations provisions in force in 1959 for non-self-governing territories.
In fact, the most passionate observance of Statehood Day came from Hawaiian activists.
Outside the convention center, some Native Hawaiians took to the street in a loud though peaceful protest of the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy in 1893, which led to the annexation and eventual statehood.
The marchers carted a 12-foot effigy of Uncle Sam with a bloody nose and dollar-sign eyes from Ala Moana Park to the Shige Yamada "Gift of Water" statue at the front of the convention center. There they chanted, shouted anti-America slogans, and cut the 50th star from a U.S. flag and set it afire.
The group, collectively known as the Hawaiian Independence Action Alliance, represented numerous Native Hawaiian factions with widely varying political viewpoints.
Meanwhile, things remained quiet at 'Iolani Palace, where no statehood anniversary events were planned. State Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement officers as well as palace security personnel and Honolulu police were stationed around the grounds to make sure things remained peaceful.
NEW HORIZONS
Breanne Naone, 18, came to the New Horizons conference with her father, Harold.
Naone, who had friends involved in the demonstration outside, said she was divided in her feelings about statehood.
"A lot of positive things happened because of statehood," she said. "It's because of statehood that I can go to college. But like everything, statehood has its downfalls, too."
In all, more than 2,100 people attended the daylong conference, which began with a chant and hula by Tihati Productions, a prayer by kahu Kurt Kekuna, and renditions of the national anthem, by Arshielle Calatrava, and "Hawai'i Pono'i," by Danny Kaleikini.
A standing-room-only crowd was on hand for opening remarks by Gov. Linda Lingle and keynote addresses from 2008 Olympic gold medalist Bryan Clay, former U.S. Department of Energy deputy secretary Andy Karsner and pollster John Zogby.
Clay recalled watching Carl Lewis' dominant performance in the 1988 Olympics from his home in Palolo Valley.
He said the image of the victorious Lewis wrapped in the American flag provided the inspiration for what would become a 20-year quest for his own Olympic glory.
The process of attaining his goal, Clay said, crystallized a deceptively simple formula for success that he suggested could be applied to Hawai'i's collective goals over the next half-century: Have a plan, have a good team and work together.
For Clay, who said he heard his share of head-scratching characterizations of Hawai'i during his travels, commitment to such an approach could help dispel the lingering perception of Hawai'i as "a beautiful, international far-off vacation spot where people may or may not live in grass shacks."
Karsner used his time to promote the state's Clean Energy Initiative, which he said would help Hawai'i "break the corrosive cycle of inaction and overreaction" to its energy challenges.
According to Karsner, Hawai'i is uniquely situated to serve as a model of green energy use for the rest of the country.
"America can't be healthier, America can't be more secure, America can't be safer and more prosperous without Hawai'i being more green," he said.
Zogby, founder and president of Zogby International, closed the morning session with themes from his 2008 book "The Way We'll Be: The Zogby Report on the Transformation of the American Dream," and results from Zogby International's recent Hawai'i statehood poll.
The online poll was conducted Aug. 4 and 5. More than 500 adult Hawai'i residents participated; the margin of error for the results was 4.5 percent.
In one question, respondents were asked to define Hawai'i in one word. While several used words like "aloha," "paradise" and "beautiful" to describe the state, the leading definition was "expensive," which was submitted by 33 people.
Asked to define Hawai'i's future in one word, respondents most frequently used words like "uncertain" (27), "concerned" (17), "crowded" (16) and "limited" (12).
Other findings:
SEEKING PERSPECTIVE
In the morning plenary session, writer and filmmaker Tom Coffman provided the most comprehensive historical background of contemporary Hawai'i, acknowledging both the positive effect statehood had on ensuring social, political and economic opportunities for Hawai'i citizens and the challenge of confronting "the deeply hurtful hidden aspects of history."
In discussing the pending Akaka bill, Coffman concluded: "The state of Hawai'i in its current configuration may be temporal but Hawai'i is timeless."
Lynn Okuna, 55, of Hilo said the conference was a good way to mark the statehood anniversary, given the current state of the economy.
"It would seem strange to have a big celebration while people are losing their jobs or out of work," Okuna said. "Instead of a big 'ta-da,' this is something positive that will make people think about where we're going to go and how we can learn from our mistakes."
From mid-morning to late afternoon, attendees scattered to a variety of workshops addressing everything from military partnerships and public education to media and the labor movement.
And while the breadth of the discussions seemed at times unmanageably large, the answers proffered by their designated panels of experts tended to adhere to the same conclusions: To succeed in the future, Hawai'i needs a better educational system, better infrastructure, more investment, more cooperation, more long-term planning, and more commitment to sustainability.
By design, many of the panels were composed of younger professionals whose futures are directly linked to the long-term prospects of their chosen area of expertise.
As moderator Howard Dicus, a baby boomer, noted, the panelists chosen for the "Hawai'i's Tourism Future" workshop were all "young enough to be my children."
The tourism workshop panel touched on several key considerations for the industry, including the integration of green initiatives for practical and ethical purposes, the need to balance tourist desires and resident concerns, and the challenge of adapting to the demands of emerging tourist markets.
CHALLENGES
Meanwhile, hundreds of current and retired military personnel packed the workshop on "Military Partnerships: Part of Our Ohana," which featured U.S. Pacific Command commander Adm. Timothy Keating and Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki, a retired Army general.
In his remarks, Shinseki addressed new efforts to help the estimated 131,000 homeless veterans in the United States.
Shinseki said $3.2 billion in federal funds will be directed toward homelessness, 85 percent of which will go toward improving mental health and treating substance abuse.
"Homelessness is the last visible step in a downward spiral," Shinseki said. "To address homelessness, you have to address education, health care, substance abuse and other issues."
The conference also featured a live video teleconference with U.S. troops in Iraq and the unveiling of the new Hawai'i statehood stamp by Lingle and U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka.
While hundreds later lined up to buy sheets of the commemorative stamp, activity was noticeably slower at the adjoining job fair, where recruiters and human resource representatives from several local and national companies sat idly waiting for prospective applicants through much of the morning.
