Hawaii sovereignty

Hawaii sovereignty issues have re-emerged in the wake of the Akaka Bill which would extinguish various rights retained by Hawaiian native people and recognize them as "Native American". Unlike most US states Hawaii has a history of independence, and was a separate country prior to becoming a US possession (at the turn of the 19th to 20th century) and then a state (in 1959). Its rights do not derive from a grant given them as a conquered people, but as a sovereign people who negotiated their relationship with the US without a war. Accordingly the reduction in status is seen as a political move by some to head off any potential sovereignty moves by any Hawaiian native groups.

See also: Quebec sovereignty, Puerto Rico sovereignty, Alaska sovereignty

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