In 1897–98, the Hui Hawai‘i Aloha ‘Āina mounted a massive political drive, collecting more than 21,000 signatures for the Palapala Hoopii Kue Hoohuiaina, a petition against the annexation of the Kingdom of Hawai‘i by the United States. Submitted to the U.S. Congress, the Kū‘ē Petitions (as they are now commonly known) were successful in defeating the treaty of annexation. They fell into obscurity before re-entering the consciousness of the lāhui in 1998, when scholar Noenoe K. Silva found them at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.
Today, the Kū‘ē Petitions are as important to the lāhui as when they were originally signed. Kū‘ē Petitions: A Mau Loa Aku Nō features all of the petitions in brilliant full-color; compelling essays by Kanaka Maoli authors Jonathan Kay Kamakawiwo‘ole Osorio, Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio, Nālani Minton, and Noenoe K. Silva; and a location-based index to help readers look up their ancestors.