Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 6, Number 11, 1 November 1989 — OHA protests Makahuena Point sale [ARTICLE]

OHA protests Makahuena Point sale

Makahu'ena Point, site of the former U.S. Coast Guard station, on Kauai's south shore was auetioned by the federal government as surplus property on Sept. 20. The Cook Inlet Region ine., a native Alaskan land development company based

in Anchorage, bid $5.4 million for the 13.5 acre parcel. Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs had written the Hawaiian congressional delegation Sept . 15 , asking them to press for a moratorium on

the sale of Makahu'ena Point and all other federally contro!led public lands (whether ceded or non-ceded). They also asked for federal legislation to specifically exempt Hawai'i from the requirement whieh forces auction of federal lands. Although the 13 acre Makahu'ena Point site is not ceded land it is public land. Explaining OHA's position, Trustee Rodney Burgess, chair of OHA's Committee on Status and Entitlements, said ceded land has been sold in the past and now Native Hawaiians are calling for an end to the sale of all federally owned public land in Hawai'i until Native Hawaiians land claims are settled. Chairman of the OHA trustees, Thomas Kaulukukui Sr., said such a moratorium would show good faith on the part of the federal government.

According to Linda Delaney, OHA division officer for land and natural resources, Makahu'ena Point falls under a la w enae ted by congress in 1983 whieh requires the sale of federal surplus property (public lands) to help off-set the national debt, unless the land is needed for the homeless or for prisons. This 1983 law, in effect, repealed Public Law 88233 whieh had recognized the special public trust constraints affecting public lands in Hawai'i. The constraints required that public lands be returned to the state when no longer required for public purposes. Following announcement of the successful Alaskan bid, Chairman Kaulukukui wrote to Kirk McGee, vice-president of the Cook Inlet Region group asking him to withdraw their bid. Kaulukukui said it was a tragic irony the highest bidder was another native people who, like the Hawaiians, had waited too long for a recognition of land claims.