Transformation from Trauma
“When Henry Opukahaia, a Native Hawaiian, was traveling in New England in the 1800s, he was instrumental in inspiring the creation of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions of the United Church of Christ. It was this board that originally sent missionaries to Hawaii,” recounts Toni Bissen, executive director of the Pua Foundation.
In 1993, the UCC formally issued an Apology Resolution, which was recognized by the U.S. Congress, for the church’s part in the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy 100 years earlier. The independent nonprofit Pua Foundation was formed in 1996 with seed money from the UCC, as a redress and reconciliation effort, Bissen says.
