On March 4, 1893, Nāwahī became a founding member of Hui Aloha ʻĀina oNa Kane (Hawaiian Patriotic League for Men), a patriotic group founded shortly after the overthrow of the monarchy to oppose annexation and support the deposed queen. Nāwahī was elected President of the League later that year. The ranks of the group were largely composed of the leading native politicians of the former monarchy. A delegation was elected by its members to represent the case of the monarchy and the Hawaiian people to the United States Commissioner James Henderson Blount sent by President Grover Cleveland to investigate the overthrow.