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Anthropology 699 & 399 (Fall 2005)
Graduate Course Number 76204
Undergraduate Course Number 77408

Hawaiian Land Titles

Dr. Ty Tengan & Keanu Sai Class Room: Webster 203-A
Email: anu@hawaii.edu Mondays: 5:00-7:30 pm
Office: Saunders 638 Office Hours: M-F 9-11am

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course will provide the student a working knowledge of Hawaiian land tenure in 19th century Hawai`i. Crucial to this knowledge is an understanding of real property, in particular, the common law. Knowing terminology, laws and customs as they relate to real property are vital and it provides a theoretical framework before delving into the function and role of the Board of Commissioners to Quiet Land Titles, the 1848 Great Mahele, and the 1850 Kuleana Act. The student will also develop a working knowledge of the Bureau of Conveyances, the Archives, Land Court and other repositories concerning landed property. By the end of the course the student should be able to do a basic title abstract that can trace property today to the original title under Kamehameha I.

METHODOLOGY

The course will be taught as a seminar, notwithstanding it being listed as a directed reading and research course. Students will be expected to actively participate in class discussion and complete the required readings before class. Grading is based on (40%) class participation, (20%) class attendance, (20%) pop-question quizzes, and a (20%) title abstract.

CALENDAR

DATE

TOPIC

READINGS

ASSIGNMENT

8/25

Introduction of Course

 

 

9/1

Terminology, Laws & Customs

Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England, vol. 2, pp. 44-57; Walker, Theory of the Common Law, pp. 1-34.

 

Pop-Question

9/8

Terminology, Laws & Customs

Walker, Theory of the Common Law, pp. 34-90.

 

Pop- Question

9/15

Terminology, Laws & Customs

Walker, Theory of the Common Law, pp. 90-130; Kent, Commentaries on American Law, vol. 1, pp. 90-113.

Pop- Question

9/22

Hawaiian Legal Order

Sai, Hawaiian Constitutionalism (essay); Constitution, 1840, 1852, 1864; Article LI—Of the Registrar of Conveyances—His Duties, Compiled Laws, 1884, pp. 405-410; Article LII—Of Notaries Public, Compiled Laws, 1884, pp. 410-412.

Pop- Question

9/29

Hawaiian Land Tenure

Alexander, Surveyor General's Report: A Brief History of Land Titles in the Hawaiian Kingdom, pp. 3-30; Glossary of Real Estate Terms & Hawaiian Institutions; Chapter XXXII—Of the Descent of Property, Both Real and Personal, Compiled Laws, 1884, pp. 474-478; Chapter XXXIII—Of Wills, Compiled Laws, 1884, pp. 479-481.

Pop- Question

10/6

Land Commission

Article IV—Of the Board of Commissioners to Quiet Land Titles, 1845; Principles Adopted by the Board of Commissioners to Quiet Land Titles, in Their Adjudication of Claims Presented to Them, 1846.

Pop- Question

10/13

Division between the Government and Chiefs

Joint Resolutions on the Subject of Rights in Lands and the Leasing, Purchasing and Dividing the Same, 1846; An Act to Relieve the Royal Domain from Encumbrances and to Render the Same Inalienable, 1865, Compiled Laws, 1884, pp. 523-525; An Act to Facilitate the Settlement of Boundaries, by the Appointment of Commissioners, and Extend the Term of the Commission of Boundaries, Established by an Act Approved 23rd August, 1862, Compiled Laws, 1884, pp. 528-532.

Pop- Question

10/20

Division between the Government, Chiefs and native Tenants

 

An Act Confirming Certain Resolutions of the King in Privy Council, passed on the 21st day of December, A.D. 1849, Granting to the Common People Allodial Titles for Their Own Lands and House Lots, and Certain Other Privileges, 1850; An Act to Provide for the Appointment of Agents to Sell Government Lands to the People, 1851.

Pop- Question

10/27

Court Decisions

Kekiekie v. Dennis, 1851, vol. 1, pp. 69-70; Ha`alele`a v. Montgomery, 1858, vol. 2, pp. 62-72; Oni v. Meek, 1858, vol. 2, pp. 87-96; Estate of His Majesty Kamehameha IV, 1864, vol. 2, pp. 715-726.

Pop- Question

11/3

Post-1887 Hawai`i

1887 so-called Constitution; Proclamation—Incident to the Change from the Monarchy to the Provisional Government, 1893; 1894 so-called Constitution; Dowsett v. Maukeala, et al., vol. 10, pp. 166-171.

Pop- Question

11/10

Post-1898 Hawai`i

Joint Resolution to Provide for Annexing the Hawaiian Islands to the United States, July 7, 1898; Validity of Congressional-Executive Agreements that Substantially Modify the United States' Obligations Under An Existing Treaty, Nov. 25, 1996, Office of Legal Counsel, vol. 12, pp. 389-401; Legal Issues Raised by Proposed Presidential Proclamation to Extend the Territorial Sea, October 4, 1988, Office of Legal Counsel, vol. 19, pp. 238-263; The Law of Land Warfare, FM 27-10, Dept. of the U.S. Army, pp. A-90-107.

Pop- Question

11/17

How to do a Title Abstract

Visit Tax Office, Bureau of Conveyances, Archives and Land Court;

Sample: Title Abstract

 

11/17-12/8

Title Abstract

Individual Titles Search

 

12/8

Last Class

Pa`ina

Submit Title Abstract