Anti-imperialist fighter and Native Hawaiian activist Haunani-Kay Trask dies at 71

Honolulu, July 6 (RHC)-- Renowned Native Hawaiian activist, author and scholar Haunani-Kay Trask died this weekend in Honolulu after battling Alzheimer’s for years.  She was 71. 

Trask was a devoted Native Hawaiian community advocate and a longtime opponent of the United States’ colonization of Hawaii who denounced the destructive impacts the military and tourism industries had on their sacred land. 

Speaking at a rally at the Iolani Palace on the 100th anniversary of the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Haunani-Kay Trask said: “We are not American.  Say it in your heart.  Say it when you sleep.  We are not American.  We will die as Hawaiians.  We will never be Americans! … They took our land.  They imprisoned our queen.  They banned our language.  They forcibly made us a colony of the United States.  America always says they are democratic.  Lies!  That is a lie!”