LIC: La Ku'oko'a Hawai'i (Hawaiian Independence Day)

For those not in the know, the Hawaiian Independence Day occurred on November 28, 1843 when "Great Britain and France formally recognized Hawaiian Sovereignty by joint proclamation at the Court of London." Or so it says in the pamphlet they're handing out at the sign-in tent.

La Ku'oko'a Hawai'i was celebrated on Bachman Lawn today, hosted by the Hawaiian Language club, or Hui Aloha 'Aina Tuahine. While at the event, there were a number of booths set up, some for public outreach such as free health screenings and other booths to provide information on the actual Independence Day as well as the overthrow of the Queen of Hawaii. There was the usual music and food to welcome all those that arrived, although the actual speakers seemed to be late on arriving, although the whole event started a bit late. There was a welcoming chant, and prayer, and a earth-shattering event that followed...

(Warning: This may offend some people, all details below are given as a recounting of events)
Two young Hawaiian men lowered the flags flying over the University of Hawaii, removed the American flag, placed the Hawaiian flag at the top, and sent the Hawaiian flag up while folding the American flag. As this happened, the event have moved from prayer to singing the Hawaiian anthem, and the leader singing the Hawaiian anthem noticed the men changing the flag and asked us to turn to face the flagpole. While the men were changing the flags, Campus Security noticed what was happening and asked that the two men restore the American flag to the top of the flagpole, when they refused and a small argument seemed to break out between the lone officer and two men who eventually managed to fold up the American flag and present it to another officer that appeared on the scene. This second officer took it and with the help of the first and a couple of other officers that appeared later they took down the Hawaiian flag, replaced the American flag at the top, and put the Hawaiian flag below it. The current speaker at the ceremony reminded us this was not an independence/overthrow event, but rather an event to celebrate the original Hawaiian Independence Day of being recognized by Great Britain and France, although he commended the two men for giving a physical representation of what they felt in their hearts.

The event continued on after that, with speakers giving speeches in both English and Hawaiian and many attendees speaking in both Hawaiian and English. It was remarkable to see an event conducted mostly in Hawaiian led by students of the university when a few decades ago Hawaiian was still outlawed in schools. Everyone at the event seemed to be committed to preserving Hawaiian culture and language, or at least interested in one of them, and roughly one out of two people there could hold a conversation in Hawaiian, and most did. The event is still going on for a couple of hours if you can attend.