Welo Ka Hae Hawaiʻi – Celebrating Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea

Thursday, July 31, 2025
Flagpole Lawn | Gallery Lawns | Hawaiian Hall Complex
5:00pm – 9:00pm
FREE with registration

Bishop Museum celebrates Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea, Sovereignty Restoration Day.

Established on July 31, 1843, by Kauikeaouli, King Kamehameha III, Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea became one of the first national holidays of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Marking the return of political power to the government of King Kamehameha III after the British temporarily seized control of Hawai‘i in 1843, Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea was celebrated with great pride throughout the 19th century. Celebrations included large community gatherings and formal affairs hosted by the King himself. In the words of Kamehameha III, who proclaimed on this day, “Ua mau ke ea o ka ʻāina i ka pono” (The life [sovereignty] of the land is perpetuated in righteousness).

Join us for an evening of mele, conversations, activities and more in observance of this national holiday of the Hawaiian Kingdom.

Featured Programs

5:00 pm
Flagpole Lawn near Bernice Street Entrance
Flag Raising Ceremony
Flag Raising Ceremony w/ Imai Winchester and the Hawaii Civil War Roundtable’s Spencer’s Invincibles

5:30 pm 
Gallery Lawn
Mea ʻai from Hale Kealoha.
While supplies last.

6:00 pm
Gallery Lawn Stage
Panel Discussion
Ea Continues: New Histories from Early-Nineteenth Century Hawaiʻi
featuring Makanani Salā, PhD., Noah Dolim, PhD. and Bishop Museum Curator for Hawaiʻi and Pacific Cultural Resources, Sarah Kuaiwa, PhD.

Often times referred to as the “lost years”, Hawaiʻi’s early territory years have been historically understudied as a period of Native Hawaiian community organizing and activation. Join us as Drs. Makanani Salā and Noah Dolim share new on the experiences of Native Hawaiian peoples during this tumultuous period.

7:15 pm
Gallery Lawn Stage
Live music with Hōlei

5:30 pm – 8:00 pm
Gallery Lawn
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!

Featured Exhibits
Kū a Lanakila! Expressions of Sovereignty, 1900-1920.
J.M. Long Gallery | Hawaiian Hall Complex
Experience the interweaving of political and cultural life during the aftermath of the 1893 illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdon depicted in Kū a Lanakila! Expressions of Sovereignty, 1900-1920. Showcasing rarely seen items from Bishop Museum’s Ethnology and Library & Archives collections, this exhibit bridges the gap between the Hawaiian Kingdom and early territorial periods, revealing the resilience and adaptability of Kanaka ʻŌiwi. 1900-1920 were critical years when Kanaka ʻŌiwi and citizens of Hawaiʻi from diverse backgrounds advocated to maintain social and political influence under American governance. This was accomplished through extensive community organizing expressed in ceremonies, civic engagement, government elections and competitive sports.

Aʻa, the beloved 40-foot koa racing canoe commissioned by Ke Aliʻi Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole, stands as a central mea kupuna of Kū a Lanakila!, and as a rallying point for our community to examine, reflect upon and discuss this pivotal period in the history of Hawaiʻi, bringing to light issues that remain relevant today.

Wayfinders: He Waʻa He Moku, He Moku He Waʻa
J. Watumull Planetarium Lobby
Wayfinders celebrates the resurgence of traditional Hawaiian wayfinding, a vital cultural practice that connects the people of Hawaiʻi with the stars, sea, and their voyaging canoes. This immersive exhibit highlights the growing community of voyaging canoes and their crews, reflecting on the environmental and cultural stewardship that guides future generations of navigators.

Noah Hanohano Dolim is an Assistant Professor in the History Department at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. He primarily focuses on nineteenth-century Hawai‘i, emphasizing the histories, experiences, and lifeways of Kanaka ‘Ōiwi. Noah’s current project centers on elite Hawaiian women’s political leadership outside of formal government institutions and their creation of sovereignties beyond the nation state between the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. His research attends to the intersections of gender, race, settler colonialism, and imperialism. In addition to working with Hawaiian language sources, he frequently engages with visual and material culture.

Noah earned his PhD from the University of California, Irvine; MA from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa; BA from the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo, and an AA from Hawai‘i Community College. Noah was raised in Kunia on the island of O‘ahu, and has ancestral ties to Puna an Hilo, Hawai‘i Island.

Dr. C. Makanani Salā is the Chief Operations Officer of Gravitas Pasifika, LLC, based in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. She holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in Hawaiian Studies from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and a doctoral degree in History from the University of California, Irvine. Salā also holds the traditional Hula practitioner titles of Hoʻopaʻa ʻŪniki ʻAilolo and Kumu Hula ʻŪniki ʻAilolo.

In addition to working as a cultural consultant on numerous local, national, and international creative and research projects, Salā has spent more than a decade in higher education working in the fields of Hawaiian Studies, History, Music, and Medical Humanities. Makanani resides in Honolulu with her husband, Aaron, and their three children.