Koani Foundation’s 11th annual Hawaiian Kingdom Patriot Awards given

The Koani Foundation distributed its 11th annual Hawaiian Kingdom Patriot Awards on July 30 at Thomas Square Park in Honolulu.

The awards presentation took place at Thomas Square as part of a daylong observance of La Ho‘iho‘i Ea, Hawaiian Sovereignty Restoration Day. The 2023 honorees are Healani Sonoda-Pale and the late Nate Yuen.

Sonoda-Pale is a longtime Hawaiian rights activist and chair of the Ka Lāhui Hawai‘i Political Action Committee. She was selected to receive an award for her years helping to protect Mauna Kea, her advocacy for clean drinking water at Red Hill and her leadership in protecting O‘ahu’s environment.

Yuen was posthumously honored in recognition of a lifetime of love for all things Hawaiian. As a naturalist, hiker, photographer and member of the Sierra Club, he had a passion for preserving and capturing images of Hawai‘i’s nature and natural resources. Yuen was a former commissioner at Natural Area Reserves System
Hawai‘i.

Hawaiian Sovereignty Restoration Day marks July 31, 1843, when British Admiral Richard Thomas ordered the Union Jack lowered and the Hawaiian Kingdom flag hoisted above Honolulu, ending five months of British occupation and restoring the sovereignty of the Hawaiian Kingdom government to legitimate power.