Joseph Apukai Akina (June 15, 1856 – March 16, 1920) was a lawyer, politician and minister of the

Kingdom of Hawaii The Hawaiian Kingdom, also known as the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ɛ ɐwˈpuni həˈvɐjʔi, was an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country from 1795 to 1893, which eventually encompassed all of the inhabited Hawaii ...

and later

Territory of Hawaii The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ''Panalāʻau o Hawaiʻi'') was an organized incorporated territories of the United States, organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from Apri ...

. He served as a statesman during the reign of Queen

Liliʻuokalani Queen Liliʻuokalani (; Lydia Liliʻu Loloku Walania Kamakaʻeha; September 2, 1838 – November 11, 1917) was the only queen regnant and the last sovereign monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom, ruling from January 29, 1891, until the overthrow of th ...

and later became the first Speaker of the House of Representatives in the

Hawaii Territorial Legislature The Hawaii Territorial Legislature was the legislative body of the Territory of Hawaii from 1900 to 1959 (when Hawaii became a state). The Hawaii Territorial Legislature was established on April 30, 1900, by the Hawaiian Organic Act which establ ...

Early life and family

Akina was born on June 15, 1856, of

Native Hawaiian Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians; , , , and ) are the Indigenous peoples of Oceania, Indigenous Polynesians, Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaiʻi was set ...

and Chinese descent, was the son to Ten Sung Akina and his wife Kaimikahu Hiku. He resided on Waimea, on the island of

Kauai Kauai (), anglicized as Kauai ( or ), is one of the main Hawaiian Islands. It has an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), making it the fourth-largest of the islands and the 21st-largest island in the United States. Kauai lies 73 m ...

, where he started his career as a lawyer. He was recorded as "one of the best versed Hawaiian scholars". He married twice. With his first wife, a native Hawaiian woman, he had three children including Mrs. Chris Johnson, Lillian Keaki Kawai Akina (born December 25, 1885), who married William Volney Hardy, and Edwin Hiku Akina, chief quartermaster at Camp Dewey in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. With his second wife, he had three other children.

Political career

In 1901, Akina was first elected to the Territorial Hawaiian legislature, and elected the first Speaker of the House. A Russian immigrant was elected President of the Senate. The Independent Home-Rule party, with a majority of native Hawaiians, controlled both houses, which required bi-lingual translations. Some in the American press labeled Akina a "half-breed Chinese". In the election of 1892, Akina was elected as a member of the House of Representatives, the lower house of the Hawaiian legislature, for his home district of Waimea, Kauai. He ran as candidate for the Reform Party, which was dominated by the conservatives parts of the government, and defeated

National Liberal National liberalism is a variant of liberalism, combining liberal policies and issues with elements of nationalism. Historically, national liberalism has also been used in the same meaning as conservative liberalism (right-liberalism). A serie ...

candidate E. L. Kauai and Independent candidate A. P. Kalaukoa for the seat, but the

Blount Report The Blount Report is the popular name given to the part of the 1893 United States House of Representatives Foreign Relations Committee Report regarding the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii. The report is formally titled "Affairs in Hawaii," and ...

later listed him as a member of the National Liberal party. From May 28, 1892 to January 14, 1893, the legislature of the Kingdom convened for an unprecedented 171 days, which later historian Albertine Loomis dubbed the " Longest Legislature". This session was characterized by a series of resolutions of want of confidence ousting a number of Queen

's appointed cabinet ministers and debates over the passage of the controversial lottery and opium bills. The monarchy was overthrown and the Queen deposed soon after the commencement of the 1892–93 session. Shortly after the overthrow, Akina became a delegate of Kauai for the Hui Aloha ʻĀina (Hawaiian Patriotic League), a patriotic group founded to protest the overthrow and the attempts to annex Hawaii to the United States. This organization represented the case of the monarchy and the Hawaiian people to the United States Commissioner

James Henderson Blount James Henderson Blount (September 12, 1837 – March 8, 1903) was an American statesman, soldier and congressman from Georgia. He opposed the annexation of Hawaii in 1893 in his investigation into the American involvement in the political revolut ...

who was sent by President

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States, serving from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. He was the first U.S. president to serve nonconsecutive terms and the first Hist ...

to investigate the overthrow. After the establishment of the

, Akina became a member of the Home Rule Party which consisted of former royalists and Native Hawaiian leaders during the monarchy such as

Robert William Wilcox Robert William Kalanihiapo Wilcox (February 15, 1855 – October 23, 1903), nicknamed the Iron Duke of Hawaii, was a Hawaiian revolutionary soldier and politician, who led uprisings against both the government of the Hawaiian Kingdom under King ...

who was elected the first Congressional Delegate from Hawaii under the Home Rule ticket. In 1901, Akina was elected to the inaugural Territorial Legislature established after the

Hawaiian Organic Act The Hawaiian Organic Act, , was an organic act enacted by the United States Congress to establish the Territory of Hawaii and to provide a Constitution and Government of Hawaii, government for the territory. The Act was replaced by the Hawai ...

as a Representative from the Sixth District. He presided as the first Speaker of the House of Representatives in the Hawaii Territorial Legislature while Frederick William Kahapula Beckley Jr. was Vice-Speaker.

Later life and death

After his political career, Akina was ordained as a pastor on June 7, 1908. He preached in the Waimea and Hanapepe area and was a minister for the Hawaiian church at Waimea. It was reported: "His ability and intelligence, as well as fertility of resource, will add much to the Kauai ministry." In 1918, he resigned his pastorship of the Waimea Church and moved to

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

to enter business. On March 16, 1919, he was appointed to the Territorial Board of Health as a herb specialist to keep records on the use and practice of traditional Hawaiian herbal medicine and served in this post until his death. Akina died at his home in the neighborhood of

Kalihi Kalihi is a neighborhood of Honolulu on the island of Oʻahu in Hawaiʻi, United States. Split by Likelike Highway (Route 63), it is flanked by Liliha, Chinatown, and Downtown Honolulu to the east and Mapunapuna, Moanalua, and Salt Lake t ...

on March 16, 1920. He was buried at the cemetery of the Kawaiahaʻo Church. Akina Street in Kalihi, Honolulu is named after him.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Akina, Joseph Apukai 1856 births 1920 deaths People from Kauai Lawyers from Hawaii Native Hawaiian politicians Hawaiian Kingdom politicians Members of the Hawaiian Kingdom House of Representatives Members of the Hawaii Territorial Legislature 20th-century Hawaii politicians Speakers of the Hawaii House of Representatives Reform Party (Hawaii) politicians National Liberal Party (Hawaii) politicians Home Rule Party of Hawaii politicians Hawaiian Kingdom Protestants United Church of Christ ministers Burials at Kawaiahaʻo Church Members of the Hawaii Board of Health Hawaii people of Chinese descent Hawaii politicians of Chinese descent