‘Occupied by the US’: wildfires renew Native Hawaiian call for sovereignty

A man sits on a historic banyan tree damaged by wildfire, in Lahaina, Hawai’i, on 11 August 2023. Photograph: Rick Bowmer/AP

At a time of climate crisis, dwindling resources and unfettered capitalism, the decades-long Native Hawaiian struggle for sovereignty has gained a renewed sense of urgency following the August wildfires that incinerated west Maui.

Indigenous activists say restoring Hawaiʻi as a self-sufficient island nation is the only way to preserve it for their children and grandchildren.