Pū‘ā Foundation has released a provocative new textbook that will challenge current information listed in history of Hawai‘i textbooks used in classrooms today. Ua Mau Ke Ea, Sovereignty Endures: An Overview of the Political and Legal History of the Hawaiian Islands by David Keanu Sai, Ph.D. will debut on September 4. The textbook is now available for purchase online at www.puafoundation.org and will be available at Native Books/Nā Mea Hawai‘i in Ward Warehouse at the Ua Mau Ke Ea Launch Party on Sunday, September 4 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Under development is a historical documentary by Kaui Sai-Dudoit that chronicles Hawai‘i’s history through story-telling, interviews, archival images and Hawaiian language newspaper articles. The historical documentary will be launched at a later date and will accompany the textbook as a supplementary DVD. Attendees will get to meet both Sai and Sai-Dudoit at the September 4 launch party.

What: Ua Mau Ke Ea Launch Party
Textbooks will be available for sale and for autographs
Preview of historical documentary will be presented

Who: Attendees will get to meet and talk to the team behind Ua Mau Ke Ea

• David Keanu Sai, Ph.D., Author
• Kaui Sai-Dudoit, Historical Documentary Producer
• Toni Bissen, Pū‘ā Foundation Executive Director

When: Sunday, September 4 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Where: Native Books/Nā Mea Hawai‘i at Ward Warehouse

Why: Meet the author and team behind Ua Mau Ke Ea and learn important events that change Hawai‘i’s history and therefore Hawai’i’s future

Information: Call (808) 945-3570, email puafoundation@hawaii.rr.com or
www.puafoundation.org

Cost: Book – $35
Historical Documentary DVD   – $25 (Pre-orders will be taken)

An instructional data CD containing sample exams and teaching materials is also available for educational instructors upon request. This includes sample tests, PowerPoint presentations, discussion questions and reference copies of primary historical documents. Please contact Pū‘ā Foundation.

Purchase Locations: Available September 4, 2011 at www.puafoundation.org and at Native Books/Nā Mea Hawai‘i

About Ua Mau Ke Ea
Based on more than 20 years of research and investigation, Sai’s book challenges the accuracy of previous events in the history of Hawai‘i that have been and continue to be taught in classrooms today. Grounded in political science yet softened for easy reading, Ua Mau Ke Ea takes the reader on a journey beginning with Kamehameha I in the 18^th century to present day Hawai’i and exposes the fallacy of the United States’ annexation of Hawai’i, thus revealing errors on what has been taught in classrooms in Hawai‘i for more than 100 years.

“Ua Mau Ke Ea is the most conservative, yet radical history book that covers over 200 years of Hawai‘i’s political and legal history,” said Sai. “It is both shocking and revealing.”

One of Sai’s many sources include author and researcher Tom Coffman, whose book Nation Within states: “I am compelled to add that the continued relevance of this book reflect a far-reaching political, moral and intellectual failure of the U.S. to recognize and deal with its takeover of Hawai‘i. In the book’s [Nation Within] subtitle, the word Annexation has been replaced by the word Occupation, referring to America’s occupation of Hawai‘i. Where annexation connotes legality by mutual agreement, the act was not mutual and therefore not legal. Since by definition of international law there was no annexation, we are left then with the word occupation.”

“Ua Mau Ke Ea is an eye-opening text that fosters a new understanding of our history,” says Toni Bissen, Executive Director of Pū‘ā Foundation. “Under the Hawaiian Historical Production Project, we commissioned this historical work of Dr. Sai and Ms. Sai-Dudoit to support Pū‘ā Foundation’s mission of developing community educational teaching resources to serve Hawai‘i’s communities to assist with reconciliation efforts that address consequences of the overthrow.”

Pū‘ā Foundation believes Ua Mau Ke Ea will be an insightful learning supplement for Hawaiian history classes at high school and college levels. Sai’s fresh perspective on the topic has already earned rave reviews from local educators.

“Heavily dependent on primary sources and contextualization, this book is a radical departure from ‘conventional’ histories with some truly fresh insights on the Hawaiian Kingdom and Hawai‘i’s current legal status,” adds Umi Perkins, Ph.D., a High School Honors Hawaiian History educator from Kamehameha Schools-Kapalama. “By focusing on Hawai‘i’s often-neglected legal infrastructure, Sai shows its problematic—and ultimately occupied—nature.”

Instructor and Coordinator of Hawaiian Studies at Windward Community College Peter Kalawaia Moore, Ph.D. calls the book a “breakthrough.”

“Sai’s expertise and meticulous research across diverse but related fields of international relations and law, American and Hawaiian politics and government, clarify Hawai‘i’s place in the international order both historically and today,” says Moore. “Well written and clearly organized, Ua Mau Ke Ea is the foundational work I use in my classes to teach about the history of the Hawaiian Kingdom, and upon which a more informed analysis about present day politics can be built.”

Plans for elementary and middle school textbook editions are underway.

About the Authors
Sai received his commission as a 2^nd Lieutenant from New Mexico Military Institute and retired as a Field Artillery Captain in the Army after 10 years service. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in sociology and Master’s degree in political science from the University of Hawai‘i. In 2008, he earned his Ph.D. in political science specializing in international relations, international law and constitutional law, with a particular focus on Hawai‘i’s political and legal history. Sai began to investigate the political and legal history of Hawai‘i when research of his family’s genealogy revealed that what he was taught in school about the Hawaiian Kingdom of the 19^th century and after was not accurate.

Born in Kaimukī and raised in Maunalua Bay, Sai-Dudoit is a lifelong student and professional researcher of Hawaiian culture and history. She currently serves as the Project Manager for the Ho‘olaupa‘i: Hawaiian Newspaper Resource, an innovative program funded by Bishop Museum and Office of Hawaiian Affairs that makes pages from early Hawaiian language newspaper available on the Internet. Sai-Dudoit has also produced, directed and edited mini documentaries on William Charles Lunalilo and Queen Lili‘uokalani.

About Pū‘ā Foundation
Pū‘ā Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization which develops projects that foster an understanding and holistic context of the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy through research, knowledge sharing and open dialogue. The Foundation’s mission is to heal and reconcile the past and present so that a better future in Hawai‘i’s community can be built. Ua Mau Ke Ea represents the Foundation’s latest piece of literature, which is chronologically separated into four parts, depicting the rightful politics and legalities of the islands by highlighting monumental events throughout Hawai‘i’s history.

Pū‘ā Foundation supports extensive research to create an understanding of Hawai‘i’s controversial past, and the organization’s leadership hopes that Ua Mau Ke Ea will do just that. Information about the book and Pū‘ā Foundation can be found at www.puafoundation.org.