By Soulee Lester Kealohaonālani Stroud
From 1903 until his death in 1922, Prince Kūhiō served as a delegate of the Territory of Hawaiʻi to the U.S. Congress. A true statesman, he accomplished all of his advocacy without the ability to vote. Prince Kūhiō is well known for his forward political thinking, for example, advocating for suffrage and for giving women the right to vote.
Suffragist Hannah Kaaepa (1873-1918) was born in Hawaiʻi and emigrated to Utah, settling with other members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Iosepa, Tooele County, Utah, a community of Hawaiian and Polynesian Mormons that was established in 1889.
In February 1899, Kaaepa was part of the Utah delegation made up of prominent Utah suffragists that traveled to Washington, D.C., to participate in the third Triennial Congress of the National Council of Women. Kaaepa addressed the National Council and urged council members to use their influence to support Queen Liliʻuokalani in her efforts to secure suffrage for the women of Hawaiʻi.
Kaaepa died on Sept. 29, 1918, in Hilo, Hawaiʻi. Her last words included an expression of loyalty to the crown and to her faith: “Give my aloha to the Prince Kalanianaʻole, stand by him, stand by the church and stand by the flag.” (“Mrs. George Lowe, Failing Since Death of Queen, Passes On,” Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Oct. 1, 1918)
Nā Lei Makalapua – the Mainland Council Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs, includes 16 Hawaiian Civic Clubs in Alaska, California (4), Colorado, Illinois, Missouri, Nevada, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah (2), Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin.
With Nā Lei Makalapua membership approaching 1,000, we are the constituents of one-third of the House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate. This reach, working in harmony with Hawaiʻi’s Congressional Delegation, is a formidable advocacy consortium at the national level.
Nā Lei Makalapua collectively journeys to the Capitol and engages with its respective members of Congress to advocate for the lāhui. Like Hannah Kaaepa, our membership has, and will, continue to “protect and advance Kanaka Hawaiʻi rights holding the U.S. federal government and the State of Hawaiʻi trusts in fulfilling their responsibilities to all Kanaka Hawaiʻi.” (NLM Constitution Article II Section 1:c)
“E huliāmahi e nā Hawaiʻi a hoʻāʻo e ʻae like e like me ka mea hiki, I hiki ke loaʻa ka haʻina o ka pilikia nui, ʻo ia hoʻiki ola a ka lāhui.” (Hawaiians, join together in unity and try to agree so that the answer to a large problem, the life of the race, can be found.) – Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole Piʻikoi
To learn more about Hannah Kaaepa go to: utahwomenshistory.org/the-women/hannah-kaaepa.
Soulee Lester Kealohaonālani Stroud is a community organizer who served as president of Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs from 2011-2014.
