Royal seal of the Polynesian Kingdom of Atooi
    Polynesian Kingdom of Atooi

    Research and Documentation Standards

    How this archive classifies, sources, authenticates, and corrects its records.

    This archive publishes material of several different kinds — authenticated instruments, court records, correspondence, photographs, internal registers, and knowledge held orally by families. They are not the same kind of evidence, and this page sets out how the archive tells them apart so that a reader can weigh each record for what it is.

    Last substantively reviewed: September 6, 2026

    Methodology Legend

    Recognition & Relationships

    The archive distinguishes five categories of relationship and authority. They record different kinds of relationship; they are not a scale.

    Traditional chiefly and Indigenous recognition described in this archive reflects customary relationships and authority within the relevant cultural systems. These forms of recognition are distinct from formal diplomatic recognition by contemporary nation-states. That distinction is stated here once and is not repeated after each entry.

    Traditional Chiefly & Royal Recognition

    Recognition extended within Indigenous and traditional systems of chiefly authority, according to customary protocol.

    Traditional / Customary Recognition
    Recognition extended through customary protocol, kinship, and traditional authority — including recognition by chiefs, elders, kūpuna, and customary custodians. It is documented in the terms in which it was expressed and is governed by traditional practice.
    Royal / Chiefly Relationship
    A relationship between hereditary, royal, or chiefly houses, expressed through protocol, audience, exchange, or shared observance.
    Ceremonial Recognition
    Recognition expressed through ceremony, reception, investiture, anointing, welcome, or the presentation of regalia, staffs, or chiefly insignia. It records recognition in customary form, carrying the cultural meaning attached to it by that tradition.

    Indigenous Nation Relationships

    Treaties, accords, declarations, ceremonies, and bilateral relationships with Indigenous nations and traditional governments.

    Indigenous Nation Relationship
    A documented relationship or accord between the Kingdom and another Indigenous nation or Indigenous body, concluded on the parties' own authority. Such an accord binds its signatories.
    Cultural Diplomacy
    Dialogue, exchange of cultural material, performance, teaching, or gifts undertaken between peoples and institutions. Cultural diplomacy evidences relationship in practice.

    Government-Official Engagement

    Documented meetings, correspondence, receipt of instruments, or engagement involving officials of contemporary governments.

    Government Contact
    Documented contact with a government office, agency, court, or official — correspondence, receipt, presentation, or a meeting. Contact is recorded as contact; it is not registration, endorsement, or acceptance by that government.
    Institutional Relationship
    A documented relationship with a non-governmental institution — academic, ecclesiastical, civic, professional, or non-profit.

    International Forum Activity

    United Nations-related events, international conferences, summits, press activity, and institutional forums.

    United Nations Activity
    Attendance at, or participation in, United Nations premises, forums, or side activities. The Kingdom holds no accreditation, consultative status, or membership, and attendance at a venue is not an act of the organisation.

    Formal State Recognition

    Reserved for formal recognition by a contemporary sovereign state, and recorded only where an instrument exists.

    Formal State Recognition
    An explicit act of recognition by a sovereign state, evidenced by an instrument of recognition, a treaty of recognition, or an equivalent official act. The archive holds no such instrument extending formal state recognition to the Polynesian Kingdom of Atooi.

    These categories represent different forms of relationship and should not be treated as interchangeable.

    Traditional, Indigenous, royal, and chiefly recognition is documented on its own terms and is not treated as insignificant merely because it differs from modern interstate diplomatic recognition.

    Section I

    Source Priority

    Where several sources exist for the same fact, the archive cites the highest source available in this order as the principal authority:

    1. 1. Original authenticated document

      The instrument itself, or an authenticated facsimile, with its seals, signatures, stamps, and provenance intact.

    2. 2. Official government, court, archive, or international-organization source

      Published by the issuing body — for example govinfo.gov, the U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian, the National Archives, the Hawaiʻi State Archives, a court docket, or a United Nations document server.

    3. 3. University or peer-reviewed academic source

      Scholarly monographs, university presses, and peer-reviewed journals.

    4. 4. Reputable independent journalism

      Established news organisations with editorial accountability and a published correction policy.

    5. 5. Established historical institution

      Museums, historical societies, and libraries publishing from their own holdings.

    6. 6. PKOA internal record

      Decrees, registers, correspondence, and photographs held by the Kingdom. Cited as the Kingdom's own record, never as independent confirmation of it.

    7. 7. Oral testimony or family record

      Accounts held by elders, families, and custodians. Recorded faithfully and identified as oral or custodial knowledge.

    8. 8. Wikipedia or general reference source

      Useful for orientation and for locating primary material. Not cited as the principal authority for any claim.

    Weaker sources are kept where they add context. Wikipedia, advocacy sites, and reposted copies of documents are not used as the principal authority for a claim when an official source for that document is available.

    Section II

    How Records Are Classified

    Every record carries an evidence status: Verified Primary Source, Verified Secondary Source, PKOA Official Record, Cultural or Oral Record, Asserted Legal Position, Documentation Pending, or Disputed Interpretation. Each badge on the site carries a short "What this means" note.

    Relationships and engagements carry a second label describing their nature: Formal Recognition, Official Correspondence, Cultural or Customary Recognition, Ceremonial Engagement, Internal PKOA Appointment, Asserted, Documented, or Pending Documentation. A record is never given a stronger label than its source supports; where the classification is uncertain it is left as Documentation Pending.

    Section III

    Historical Fact and PKOA Interpretation

    A historical fact is a matter the documentary record establishes and that a reader can check against an official source — for example that Great Britain and France recognised the Hawaiian Kingdom as an independent state on November 28, 1843, or that the Hawaiian government was overthrown in 1893.

    A PKOA interpretation is the Kingdom's own legal, historical, or genealogical position drawn from those facts — for example its position on continuity of sovereignty. Interpretations are presented separately from the factual description of an event, labelled as the Kingdom's position, and never written as though a court, government, or international body had adopted them.

    Section IV

    Receipt and Recognition

    Many records in this archive are documents that were delivered to an office and stamped, logged, or acknowledged. A receipt stamp establishes that a document was received or presented on a given date. It is not registration, acceptance, endorsement, or diplomatic recognition, and this archive does not present it as any of those things.

    Likewise, attendance at a United Nations event is recorded as attendance. The Kingdom is not listed as a United Nations member state or non-member observer state, and holds no accreditation or consultative status with the mechanisms whose sessions it has attended.

    Section V

    Cultural and State-Level Agreements

    An agreement signed with a traditional leader, Indigenous nation, royal house, elder, or customary representative is recorded as a cultural or customary instrument. It stands on its own terms within Polynesian and Indigenous custom.

    It is not recognition by the modern state in whose territory that leader resides, and the archive does not use a modern country's flag or the phrase "recognized by [country]" for such an instrument. A state-level instrument requires an authenticated act of a government or an authorised international body, and each record states plainly whether the signer had documented authority to bind a United Nations member state.

    Section VI

    How Documents Are Authenticated

    A document is checked for provenance — where it has been held and how it reached the archive — and for its physical and formal features: seals, signatures, registry marks, stamps, notarisation, and internal consistency of dates and titles. Where an official published copy exists, the archive links to it and cites that copy as the principal source rather than a reposted image.

    Authentication notes and chain-of-custody notes are recorded for each document submitted to the archive. A document that cannot yet be corroborated is published as Documentation Pending rather than described as verified.

    Section VII

    Why Some Records Remain Restricted

    Some material is held back from public view: records containing personal information about living people, genealogical material held under family custodianship, documents whose custodians have not consented to publication, and originals whose release could compromise the integrity of the copy held.

    Restricted material is not hidden from scrutiny — its existence is recorded, and qualified researchers may apply through the archive access request. Where a redacted public copy of a restricted document exists, that copy is what the site displays; the original is never published automatically.

    Section VIII

    Editions and Review Dates

    The major legal, historical, diplomatic, and genealogical pages carry an edition number and a review date, so a reader can tell which version of a page they are citing. The archive as a whole was last reviewed on September 6, 2026.

    Section IX

    Submitting a Correction

    The archive welcomes corrections, and treats a documented correction as a contribution to the record rather than a challenge to it. Please include the page, the exact wording at issue, what you believe is correct, and a source if you have one.

    Write to corrections@kingdomofatooi.com or use the contact form. Corrections are reviewed by the Office of the Aliʻi Nui; where a correction is accepted, the page is amended, its edition number is raised, and the change is recorded.

    Corrections

    corrections@kingdomofatooi.com

    Last substantively reviewed: September 6, 2026