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Last reviewed · SEPTEMBER 10, 2026

Organizations & Institutions

Hawaiian sovereignty-related organizations and institutions.

Ten contemporary sovereignty-related organizations and institutions profiled in this archive. The set is not exhaustive, and it is not limited to sovereignty organizations: it includes the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, a State of Hawaiʻi agency, and Naʻi Aupuni, a nonprofit convener of a self-governance process. Inclusion is neither endorsement nor recognition of any claim an organization makes. Nothing here is scored or ranked, and the cards are ordered only by founding year or name — where the documentation behind two organizations differs, the difference is shown through the records themselves. Each card names the stated claim or role, the independent-corroboration status, and the mix of source classes cited; each profile presents ideology, leadership, treaty and court record drawn from documented records, each labeled with its source class (A–E) and verification status, with documented leadership history reported separately under Leadership & Institutional Accountability. Leadership conduct may affect institutional trust and accountability. It does not determine whether the historical Hawaiian Kingdom existed or resolve the legal question of state continuity. Readers are expected to draw their own conclusions. How organizations are selected and how sources are classified is set out on the About page.

Showing 10 of 10 profiled organizations and institutions

Office of Hawaiian Affairs

Elected Board · 1978

Sovereignty movementFederal Recognition
Stated claim or role

Pursues Native Hawaiian sovereignty as a right to be exercised through a federally-recognized governing entity; not itself a sovereign.

State agency of Hawaiʻi administering a public trust reported in audited financial statements; operates under state and federal law.

Independent-corroboration statusStrongly corroborated
Source mix (citations by class)

A 20 · B 0 · C 2 · D 0 · E 5 · Archive analysis 2

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Ka Lāhui Hawaiʻi

Mililani Trask (founding); General Assembly governance · 1987

Sovereignty movementFederal Recognition
Stated claim or role

Advanced the 'nation-within-a-nation' model — pursues Hawaiian sovereignty as a right to be exercised through a new Native Hawaiian governing entity.

Advanced the nation-within-a-nation model; original governing institutions not documented after the late 1990s; continuing advocacy and public-education activity published by the organization.

Independent-corroboration statusStrongly corroborated
Source mix (citations by class)

A 4 · B 0 · C 10 · D 9 · E 4 · Archive analysis 2

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Lawful Hawaiian Government

Henry Noa · 1993

Sovereign movementFull Independence
Stated claim or role

Seeks the reinstatement of the existing Hawaiian Kingdom government — frames the Kingdom as the sovereign, not a new entity to be built.

25+ years of reinstatement activism; courts have rejected legal standing.

Independent-corroboration statusPartially corroborated
Source mix (citations by class)

A 5 · B 0 · C 12 · D 1 · E 9 · Archive analysis 2

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Nation of Hawaiʻi

Dennis "Bumpy" Kanahele · 1994

Sovereign movementFull Independence
Stated claim or role

Asserts the Hawaiian nation continues to exist as a sovereign entity distinct from the United States; operates a puʻuhonua as its seat.

Grassroots cultural movement seated at Puʻuhonua o Waimānalo on land set aside by the State of Hawaiʻi in 1994.

Independent-corroboration statusCorroborated
Source mix (citations by class)

A 5 · B 0 · C 9 · D 6 · E 7 · Archive analysis 2

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Hawaiian Kingdom — Acting Council of Regency

Dr. Keanu Sai · 1996

Sovereign movementFull Independence
Stated claim or role

Asserts the Hawaiian Kingdom continues as a sovereign state under international law, presently under prolonged U.S. occupation.

Academic international-law framework; brought Larsen v. Hawaiian Kingdom before the Permanent Court of Arbitration.

Independent-corroboration statusCorroborated
Source mix (citations by class)

A 5 · B 0 · C 15 · D 3 · E 5 · Archive analysis 2

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Polynesian Kingdom of Atooi

Aliʻi Nui Aleka Aipoalani · 1999

Sovereign movementFull Independence
Stated claim or role

Asserts itself as an existing sovereign Polynesian kingdom with its own head of state, constitution, and foreign treaties.

The records reviewed include external agreements, international missions and UN-directed correspondence; the status and independent verification of those records are identified in the full profile.

Independent-corroboration statusCorroborated
Source mix (citations by class)

A 6 · B 2 · C 17 · D 1 · E 5

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Naʻi Aupuni

Board of Directors · 2015

Sovereignty movementFederal Recognition
Stated claim or role

Convened a self-governance ʻaha to draft a governing document for a future Native Hawaiian nation — exercising the right of sovereignty, not claiming to be the sovereign.

Convened a 2016 ʻaha to draft a governing document; halted by litigation.

Independent-corroboration statusStrongly corroborated
Source mix (citations by class)

A 13 · B 2 · C 5 · D 3 · E 5 · Archive analysis 2

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Akahi Nui

James Akahi · Founded n/a

Sovereign movementLineage
Stated claim or role

Self-described king of a restored Hawaiian Kingdom; the claim is not recognized by other organizations, the State of Hawaiʻi, or any government.

Asserts a claim as king of a restored Hawaiian Kingdom; no recognition located in the records reviewed.

Independent-corroboration statusPartially corroborated
Source mix (citations by class)

A 3 · B 0 · C 4 · D 5 · E 14 · Archive analysis 2

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Crown of Hawaii

Owana Salazar · Founded n/a

Sovereign movementLineage
Stated claim or role

Asserts a successor claim to the Hawaiian Crown by royal genealogy — frames itself as the rightful sovereign authority.

Royal-lineage claim; limited documented legal, diplomatic, or institutional activity.

Independent-corroboration statusPartially corroborated
Source mix (citations by class)

A 3 · B 0 · C 3 · D 7 · E 13 · Archive analysis 2

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Kamehameha Council

Council of Aliʻi · Founded n/a

Sovereign movementLineage
Stated claim or role

Lineage-based body claiming standing as a sovereign authority through descent from the Kamehameha line.

Lineage-based council; largely ceremonial and cultural activity.

Independent-corroboration statusPartially corroborated
Source mix (citations by class)

A 2 · B 0 · C 9 · D 3 · E 12 · Archive analysis 2

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