Comprehensive new book explores history and legal background of ceded lands in Hawai'i - Illustration: Courtesy of University of Hawai'i Press

Who owns Hawai'i Crown Lands?

Jon Van Dyke tackles big question on crown lands

By Liza Simon | OHA Public Affairs Specialist

Jon Van Dyke

Jon Van Dyke's new book, Who Owns the Crown Lands of Hawai'i? raises a question that is at the epicenter of historical injustices, which resonate strongly in present day Hawai'i. The book traces a complex sequence of events in Hawaiian land tenure: The 1846 Mahele divided Hawai'i land between the chiefs, commoners and the king. The latter, known as the crown lands, were maintained by successive monarchs and further divided into a sub-category of government lands. The illegal overthrow and 1898 annexation transformed the original crown land allotment — more than a quarter million acres, into a public trust of the United States. The trust was transferred to the new State of Hawai'i government in 1959. The Van Dyke book argues that crown lands were created for the benefit of the Hawaiian people and could be the legitimate core of an emerging Hawaiian nation. By serendipitous coincidence, Van Dyke's book has hit the shelves just as debate on the need for a new Native Hawaiian land base grows stronger. Jon Van Dyke, a professor of law at University of Hawai'i, took a moment with KWO to reflect on some of the themes of his comprehensive book, published in late 2007 after twelve years of research:

KWO: Your book implies that many unresolved issues with the crown lands start with misinterpretations of the division of land in the Great Mahele. Can you explain your view of this event?

JVD: King Kauikeaouli (Kamehameha III) believed that western powers wanted to claim sovereignty over Hawai'i (just as they were seizing other islands around the Pacific), but was persuaded that they would respect property rights if the lands were in the hands of private owners. He thus undertook the Mahele in 1846-48 to transfer lands to Native Hawaiians. He and all the ali'i had a strong sense of social responsibility about land use — malama 'āina. If they failed to manage the lands well, they could lose their status as ali'i. Their responsibilities tempered any tendency toward autocratic rule in the Hawaiian Kingdom. Although status was a necessary element in becoming a monarch, the crown did not pass automatically through primogeniture (to the oldest son) as in some European kingdoms. In fact, several later Hawaiian Kingdom transitions were decided through elections.

KWO: As much as you speak about cultural loss, so much of your book is focused on Hawaiians continuing the fight for land claims. How have these claims been kept alive in the face of so many challenges?

JVD: The Hawaiian culture has been resilient despite all the obstacles Hawaiians have faced. For Hawaiians, 'āina is not something that can be owned or bought and sold like a commodity. Like other native peoples, they have historically recognized shared property rights. In other contexts, decisions by U.S. and international courts have recognized community rights to land as legitimate and enforceable property rights.

KWO: In the long sequence of events that led to the reclassification of crown lands, can you cite major barriers to resolving issues of ownership?

JVD: After the illegal overthrow, the crown lands were combined with the government lands, and efforts were made to eliminate the special role of the crown lands and to distribute them. But the sugar plantations held long-term leases to most of the crown lands, so, in fact, most of the crown lands remained intact. During debate over the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act in 1921, Congress recognized that the crown lands were to be held in trust for the benefit of Native Hawaiian people and also recognized the special status of Hawaiians as indigenous peoples. Despite this, pressure from the sugar plantations led to the designation of Hawaiian Home Lands that were, for the most part, not agriculturally productive, with limited water sources, or, as some said, “not fit for a goat.” Therefore, Native Hawaiians continue to have a strong claim to a just land settlement.

KWO: What are some of the most persistent misconceptions about Hawaiian history that you hope this book will help to correct?

JVD: That the overthrow of the Hawaiian Monarchy was a benign event. The facts don't support this. U.S. military troops landed in Hawai'i. President Grover Cleveland later acknowledged that this landing was “an act of war.” And Queen Lil'uokalani petitioned the U.S. government to restore the Monarchy.

KWO: Underlying individual events, what were some of the broader circumstances of history that generally impacted the fate of land ownership in Hawai'i?

JVD: The unrelenting efforts of western settlers to acquire land, linked to the doctrine of Manifest Destiny. This coincided with a time when Hawaiians were suffering from the spread of epidemic diseases, introduced by westerners. So you had this perfect storm of western expansion and Hawaiian health problems that led to the Hawaiian culture being systematically crushed.

KWO: How does the issue of crown lands ownership today underscore larger issues of Native Hawaiian justice and civil rights?

JVD: We are in a time now when Hawaiians are looking to regain control of their own affairs. The crown lands have the potential to form the corpus of the land for the Native Hawaiian nation that could emerge as the result of the Akaka Bill. Hawaiians have been working at this diligently for more than 100 years.

KWO: Certain opponents of the Akaka Bill will likely find a lot in your book to argue with. Some make the claims that non-Hawaiians are marginalized by Hawaiian entitlement programs.What is your response?

JVD: Nobody is talking about taking away private property from anyone. The crown lands, for the most part, remain in public hands, and they have historically been seen as uniquely Hawaiian lands, because only Hawaiians could be monarchs, and the ali'i understood that they held their lands in trust for the maka'āinana (Hawaiian commoners). We have seen in other places that where land has been returned to native people, the entire society benefits. The Maori in New Zealand have received lands, resources, ships, fishing rights and factories through the Waitangi settlement process, and are now thriving in commerce. Everyone in Hawai'i will benefit when the members of our host culture thrive and have a place at the table when economic decisions affecting the islands are made.