Hawaii: A Voice for Sovereignty
Jun 01, 2009 | IMDB 9
84 min Watch NowDocumentary
The goal of Hawaii, a Voice for Sovereignty is to raise awareness of the issues that threaten the Hawaiians ancient and once-environmentally-sustainable culture. It is an epic documentary about Hawaiian spirituality and the peoples close connection to the land. It focuses on the complicated social, economic and ecological issues that have arisen in Hawaii since the overthrow of Queen Liliuokalani by the United States in 1893. For Hawaiians, sovereignty is the legal, political and moral right to live on and care for the land; build and grow a sustainable economy; protect natural resources; practice spiritual and cultural traditions; honor their ancestral past; and care for family and community. The film is in the voice of native Hawaiian people who address the issues they continue to face in their long struggle to regain sovereignty over their rights and the native lands lost after the U.S. businessmen and military overthrew the Kingdom of Hawaii.
MOVIE COMMENTS
SIMILAR MOVIES
Ka Ho‘ina: Going Home
Poisoning Paradise
Out of State
Kapu Aloha 101: Ke Kula o Maunakea
Pidgin: The Voice of Hawai'i
Holo Mai Pele
Waterman
IZ
The Sand Island Story
Nihi
The Ninth Island
Like a Mighty Wave
Mauna Kea: Temple Under Siege
This Is the Way We Rise
Kekaiulu Hula Studio
The Ride
Act of War: The Overthrow of the Hawaiian Nation
KAPU: Sacred Hawaiian Burials
Kahuku: Survival of a Plantation Town
American Aloha: Hula Beyond Hawai'i
SIMILAR MOVIES
Ka Ho‘ina: Going Home
IMDB 7 | Nov , 2014
Ka Hoʻina documents members of Hui Mālama I Nā Kūpuna O Hawaiʻi Nei's final repatriation of over 140 sets of iwi kupuna and provides an intimate look into the legacy forged by these committed and passionate few, ensuring that Hawaiians will mālama or care for kupuna for generations to come.Poisoning Paradise
IMDB 7 | Jun , 2017
Journey to the seemingly idyllic world of Native Hawaiians, whose communities are surrounded by experimental test sites for genetically engineered seed corn and pesticides sprayed upwind of their homes, schools, hospitals, and shorelines.Out of State
IMDB 5.8 | Nov , 2017
Out of State is the unlikely story of native Hawaiians men discovering their native culture as prisoners in the desert of Arizona, 3,000 miles, and across the ocean, from their island home.Kapu Aloha 101: Ke Kula o Maunakea
IMDB 7 | Jul , 2015
Documenting the Kapu Aloha movement, as they take a stand to defend Mauna Kea in the wake of the Thirty Meter Telescope protests.Pidgin: The Voice of Hawai'i
IMDB 6 | Oct , 2009
What if you are made to feel ashamed when you speak your "mother tongue" or ridiculed because of your accent? "Pidgin: The Voice of Hawai'i" addresses these questions through its lively examination of Pidgin - the language spoken by over half of Hawai'i's people.Holo Mai Pele
IMDB 9 | Oct , 2001
This is the story of the Fire Goddess Pele and the dynamics of her relationship with her sister Hi’iaka. Six years ago, the renowned dance company Halau 'O Kekuhi began the ambitious undertaking of assembling and recreating the legend for modern audiences, translating it to the contemporary stage by combining the traditions of Hawaiian chant and hula with innovative elements of Western theater.Waterman
IMDB 8 | Apr , 2022
Five-time Olympic medalist and Native Hawaiian Duke Paoa Kahinu Mokoe Hulikohola Kahanamoku shattered records and brought surfing to the world while overcoming a lifetime of personal challenges. Waterman explores his journey and legacy as a legendary swimmer, trailblazer, and the undisputed father of modern-day surfing, following the sport’s first-time inclusion in this year’s Summer Olympics – a fitting tribute to his work promoting the sport around the globe.IZ
IMDB 0 | Dec , 2025
The unknown story behind the Native Hawaiian singer whose cover medley "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World" is known around the world.The Sand Island Story
IMDB 0 | Jan , 1981
This short documentary chronicles a four-month period between 1979 and 1980 when residents of Hawaii's Sand Island "squatter" community attempted to resist eviction from the Honolulu shoreline - resulting in displacement, arrests, and the destruction of a community.Nihi
IMDB 0 | May , 2003
Nihi is a film biography of Titus Kinimaka, one of the last remaining professional big-wave riders of pure Hawaiian descent. As a boy, he won surf contests against those twice his age; by his teens, he was recognized as one of the best surfers to have ever hit the waves. In 1996 at age 41, Titus was named Waterman of the Year by the Hawaiian Lifeguard Association for outstanding rescues as a lifeguard. He has spent over twenty years spreading aloha spirit, traveling the world as an ambassador for surfing and Hawaiian cultureThe Ninth Island
IMDB 0 | Dec , 2025
"The Ninth Island" tells the story of Hawaii’s indigenous population and its struggles to stay connected to its ancestral home.Like a Mighty Wave
IMDB 9 | Dec , 2019
On Wednesday, July 17th 2019, a heavily armed police force arrested 36 Native Hawaiian kūpuna peacefully protecting Maunakea from desecration. The actions from that day sparked an international outcry and brought new life to the ongoing movement for Native Hawaiians’ rights for self-determination.Mauna Kea: Temple Under Siege
IMDB 0 | Dec , 2005
Although the mountain volcano Mauna Kea last erupted around 4,000 years ago, it is still hot today, the center of a burning controversy over whether its summit should be used for astronomical observatories or preserved as a cultural landscape sacred to the Hawaiian people. For five years the documentary production team Nā Maka o ka 'Āina ("the eyes of the land") captured on video the seasonal moods of Mauna Kea's unique 14,000-foot summit, the richly varied ecosystems that extend from sea level to alpine zone, the legends and stories that reveal the mountain's geologic and cultural history, and the political turbulence surrounding the efforts to protect the most significant temple in the islands: the mountain itself.This Is the Way We Rise
IMDB 8 | Jan , 2021
An exploration into the creative process, following Native Hawaiian slam poet Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio, as her art is reinvigorated by her calling to protect sacred sites atop Maunakea, Hawai`i.Kekaiulu Hula Studio
IMDB 10 | Nov , 2022
Kekaiulu Hula Studio follows the Proclaimed Hula Halau of the same name, showcasing their twist on what the real reason for hula is and what life as a dancer in the halau is really like. Something previously unseen in the public eye.The Ride
IMDB 5.9 | Nov , 2003
When cocky, young surfing champion David Monroe wipes out on a big wave, he slips back in time to 1911 Hawaii. Washing up on Waikiki beach, he discovers the true spirit of surfing when he is befriended by a young Hawaiian beachboy not yet known to the world - the future Olympic and surfing legend Duke Kahanamoku.Act of War: The Overthrow of the Hawaiian Nation
IMDB 9 | Jan , 1993
This hour-long documentary is a provocative look at a historical event of which few Americans are aware. In mid-January, 1893, armed troops from the U.S.S Boston landed at Honolulu in support of a treasonous coup d’état against the constitutional sovereign of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Queen Lili‘uokalani. The event was described by U.S. President Grover Cleveland as an "act of war."KAPU: Sacred Hawaiian Burials
IMDB 0 | Nov , 2022
Death is an intimate experience, and how we lay our loved ones to rest, varies between cultures. KAPU: Sacred Hawaiian Burials sheds light on the ongoing battle by Native Hawaiians to protect burial sites across the state and the iwi, or sacred bones, that are within them.Kahuku: Survival of a Plantation Town
IMDB 0 | Jan , 1988
When the Kahuku sugar plantation and mill shut down in the 1970's, workers who lived in plantation housing had to decide how to hold the community together and create something new out of an industry that had come to an end. This is the story of their successful transition from plantation to self-governing community.American Aloha: Hula Beyond Hawai'i
IMDB 0 | Jan , 2003
American Aloha: Hula Beyond Hawai’i shows the survival of the hula as a renaissance continues to grow beyond the islands. With the cost of living in Hawai'i estimated at 27 percent higher than the continental United States, large numbers of Hawaiians have left the islands to pursue professional and educational opportunities. Today, with more Native Hawaiians living on the mainland than in the state of Hawai'i, the hula has traveled with them. From the suburbs of Los Angeles to the San Francisco Bay Area, the largest Hawaiian communities have settled in California, and the hula continues to connect communities to their heritage on distant shores.