Lā Kūʻokoʻa, Celebrating the Independence Day of the Hawaiian Kingdom

Lā Kūʻokoʻa, Celebrating the Independence Day of the Hawaiian Kingdom
Friday, November 28, 2025
Noon – 5:00 p.m.
Gallery Lawns | Hawaiian Hall Complex
FREE for Kamaʻāina with registration, includes Museum admission
Included in regular Museum admission rate for all others
Free for Bishop Museum Members

In partnership with Hui Aloha ʻĀina o Honolulu, Bishop Museum invites you to celebrate Lā Kūʻokoʻa – a historic holiday of the Hawaiian Kingdom – and the continuing kūʻokoʻa of the lāhui Hawaiʻi. Join us for conversations, mele, mea ʻai provided by Hale Kealoha and more.

Free admission for Kamaʻāina will be available for in-person registration only starting at 12:00 p.m. on Friday, November 28, 2025.

Lā Kūʻokoʻa, first celebrated on November 28, 1843, marks the formal recognition of the sovereignty of the Hawaiian Kingdom by England and France through the signing of the Anglo-French Proclamation, with verbal acknowledgment from the United States. This historic achievement was the result of the diplomatic efforts of three emissaries appointed by Kauikeaouli, King Kamehameha III: Timoteo Haʻalilio, Reverend William Richards, and Sir George Simpson. We gather to commemorate their historic mission and the enduring vision of an independent Hawaiʻi.

Featured Programs

1:30 p.m.
Mea ʻai from Hale Kealoha.
Gallery Lawn
Available while supplies last.

2:00 p.m.
From Classroom to Country: Advancing the Hawaiian National Project
Gallery Lawn Stage
A panel discussion featuring Kanaka scholars Kauʻi Sai-Dudoit, Kahele Dukelow and Nālani Balutski, moderated by Willy Kauai

3:00 p.m.
Live music with Hiʻikua
Gallery Lawn Stage

ʻOhana Activities
Gallery Lawns
12:00 noon – 4:00 p.m.

Kūkākūkā with Kū Ola
Started under the guidance of Kauka Kekuni Blaisdell, Kū Ola is committed to improving the health and well-being of Native Hawaiian kāne living in Hawai‘i. In partnership with the University of Hawai‘i Cancer Center, we holomua with community health kūkākūkā that enrich kāne experiences with health services and health choices.

E Kōnane Pū Kākou!
Much more than just a game, kōnane hones strategic and analytical skills applicable in times of both war and peace. Join kōnane enthusiasts to challenge your established strategies or learn the rules and techniques for the first time. Open to all levels of experience. Fun for the whole ʻohana!

Kauʻi Sai-Dudoit is the Programs Director of Awaiaulu, where she has helped guide major projects since 2011. Formerly Director of the Hawaiian newspaper project Hoʻolaupaʻi, she now leads He Aupuni Palapala to digitize and safeguard Hawaiian-language newspapers while protecting the originals. She has built Kīpapa Educator Resources, an online educators’ platform that delivers curated bilingual Hawaiian primary sources to classrooms across Hawaiʻi. A life-long student of Hawaiian history, Kauʻi is dedicated to preserving and sharing Hawaiʻi’s stories in ways that inspire learning, connection, and identity.

Kahele Dukelow, University of Hawaiʻi Community Colleges Interim Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, started her career in education as an elementary and middle school teacher at nā Kula Kaiapuni o Pāʻia, Waiau, and Ānuenue and spent the last 20 years teaching Hawaiian Studies and language at the University of Hawai’i Maui College (UHMC). Kahele is the Chairperson of the ʻAha Kauleo, the Statewide Council of Kula Kaiapuni (Hawaiian language schools) and the Maui representative on the State of Hawai‘i Board of Education. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Hawaiian Studies and a Master’s degree in Education the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.

Nālani Balutski, PhD, was raised in Kahaluʻu and is a graduate of the Kamehameha Schools Kapālama. In 2008 she joined Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge’s Native Hawaiian Student Services at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa as member of the Kōkua A Puni grant. Since then she has become instrumental in the creation and implementation of a number of NHSSʻ federal grants. She is currently the Research & Assessment Specialist for Hawaiʻinuiākea. In this role, she designs and implements critical original research on Native Hawaiian higher educational access and success.

Willy Daniel Kaipo Kauai holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa. He was born on the Island of Maui in the rural town of Kula. Currently, he serves as the Director of Native Hawaiian Student Services at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and is also an instructor of Ethnic Studies, Hawaiian Studies, and Political Science. His teaching and research interest focus on the politics of race in Hawaiʻi and its historical and contemporary intersections with law.

In a culture that honors the legacies of the past, the Nā Hōkū Hanohano award-winning Hawaiian trio Hiʻikua pays homage to their roots while creating a unique and progressive sound that leaves their mark in contemporary Hawaiian music. Comprised of Kalehua Krug, Blake Leoiki-Haili, and Kamuela Kimokeo, Hiʻikua perpetuates the literal meaning of their name, “to carry on one’s back.” They accept this responsibility with each mele, speaking of their history, enjoying each moment of expression, and sharing a message that will find its way into the future.

Ka ʻAhahui Hawaiʻi Aloha ‘Āina, the Hawaiian Patriotic League, is a grassroots community-driven organization committed to preserving Hawaiian independence and heritage. Reconstituted in 2016, the League was formed to follow in the footsteps of the original Hui Aloha ʻĀina of 1893, the Hawaiian political organization that successfully halted the annexation of Hawaii by the United States through the famous Kūʻē Petitions.

Hui Aloha ʻĀina o Honolulu Members are politically committed residents of the island of Oʻahu who help to develop programs to grow the movement for a de-occupied, demilitarized and liberated Hawaiʻi. Members engage in developing branch programming as well as participate in the governance structure of the Honolulu branch and the pae ʻāina-wide Hui Aloha ʻĀina.

“E Hoʻomau i ke Kūpaʻa no ke Aloha i ka ʻĀina.” (Continue to be steadfast in your love for the country) – founder Hon. Iosepa K. Nawahī to the lāhui before his passing on September 14, 1896