Keepers of the Flame
Authorized by the 35th Article of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawai‘i, King Kamehameha V (Lot Kapuāiwa Kalanikupuapaikalaninui Kalanimakua Ali‘iōlani) established the Order of Kamehameha I (Order) by royal decree at a Privy Council of State held at the 'Iolani Palace, on April 11, 1865. The decree established the Order’s kuleana (responsibility) to protect, preserve, and perpetuate the Kingdom of Hawai‘i, its institutions, and to promote the welfare of the People.
Following the illegal overthrow of Queen Lili‘uokalani and the Kingdom in 1893, the Order was considered a threat to national security and suppressed by the Provisional Government and subsequent Republic of Hawai‘i. As a result, the Order was forced to exist as a secret underground society. After Hawai‘i became a territory of the United States in 1898, Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalaniana‘ole, lead a torchlight ceremony around the statue of Kamehameha I (Oahu) and publicly declared the restoration (return to public light) of the Order in 1903.
Today, the Order proclaims the continued existence of the Nation of Hawai‘i and awaits the restoration of its governing body. In the interim, the Order asserts its continuing kuleana to support and uplift the Hawaiian Nation and all Kānaka ‘Ōiwi (aboriginal peoples of Hawai‘i). The Order represents an unbroken kuleana and authority back to the Kingdom of Hawai‘i and is the oldest Hawaiian organization in existence today.
E ho'okanaka| Chapter name: | Year established: | Moku/Island: |
|---|---|---|
| Heiau O Hawai‘i | Established 1903 | ‘Ewa, O‘ahu |
| Heiau O Māmalahoa | Established 1907 | Hilo; Puna; Hamakua; and Ka‘ū; Moku O Keawe |
| Heiau O Kaumuali‘i | Established 1918 | Kaua‘i |
| Heiau O Kahekili | Established 1922 | Maui |
| Heiau O Kalaniana‘ole | Established 1928 | Moloka‘i (currently inactive) |
| Heiau O Kūhiō | Established 1962 | Ko‘olaupoko, O‘ahu |
| Heiau O Ahu‘ena | Established 1994 | Kona, Moku O Keawe |
| Heiau O Kapuāiwa | Established 2007 | Wai‘anae, O‘ahu |
| Heiau O Kamehameha | Established 2011 | Kohala, Moku O Keawe |
