Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 9, Number 3, 1 March 1992 — OHA offers bills toward sovereignty [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

OHA offers bills toward sovereignty

by Christina Zarobe In a move to push the issue of sovereignty on Capitol Hill, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs last month presented U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye with three bills related to sovereignty the agency recommends for federal legislation. The bills eall for granting Hawaiians the right to sue the federal and state governments in the federal court system, establishing a Hawaiian nahon, returning public lands seized illegally by the U.S. government in 1893, including payment of $10 billion in damages suffered since the overthrow of the kingdom. "This enunciates and underscores the bng, enduring struggles of many people such as Emmett AluH,

Davianna McGregor, and Melody McKenzie and the thousands of other Hawaiians and non-Hawaiians who have fought long and hard on behalf of the Hawaiian people," said OHA Chairman Clayton Hee. Trustee A. Frenchy

ueaoio Deneves ine aus eneaie a irameworK, a siarnng point for making sovereignty a reality. She said she hopes the Hawaiian community will contribute ideas , and offer suggestions to the recommended bills.

"l'in veiy pleased because it givoe our people the opportunity to giwg inpi.it into a procc30^īry Qmy opinion, triey don't have tnat now„yshgLr~--\ sa4dr "We are hoping our people will have ) input, criticism. Everyone now has the opportunity to participate with their views."^= — - Both DeSoto and OHA vice-chairman Abraham Aiona said developing a plan for p . achieving sovereignty is a pressing issi^^«d pointed to the Bush administration's opinion of . . federal trust obligations to Hawaiians— admii'iisliaLii>tt views Hawaiiags as an ethnic ,group and concludes that/4|/fecieral trust rela- / tionship doos not existc?, , continued on page

Clayton Hee

Federal bills from page 1 "I believe in that instance we are beginning to feel the betrayal. We will actually feel the pain of the betrayal if the present administration holds fast," said DeSoto. However, she emphatically vowed, "We plan to fight with everything and anything including the kitchen sink." Aiona admitted the administration's stance is one of the "major obstacles to hurdle" before the recommended federal bills become law. Yet the trustee said he is confident about the outcome. "I am optimistic," Aiona said and added quietly, "I didn't think it would eome in my lifetime but it looks like it will." DeSoto predicted that as sovereignty eonhnues to gain momentum the discussion will unify Hawaiians and the general public. "This issue is an issue that will bring the Hawaiian eommunity and the broader community together and that excites me." As for the bills, the first would allow Hawaiians as individuals or a group, their beneficiaries or heirs to sue the federal and state governments for breaches of trust by DHHL, according to Hee. The elaim would be taken to an Office of the

Trust Counsel where a recommendation would be made to the U.S. attorney general on whether the elaim should be pursued in federal court. The individual, however, would have the right to file an aehon in U.S. Circuit Court if a recommendation for federal court action was unfavorable, he added. Choang the head of the Office of Trust Counsel wouki involve soliciting names from the Hawaiian oommunity. The gcvemor would namow the Bst down to three. Those reoommendations wouki be submitted to the Secretaiy of the Interior who would appoint one person. Voters at the next OHA election uouki eonfirm or derry that candidate, Hee said. "The individual would have to have lived in Hawai'i for the past five years to ensure their sensitivity, compassion and understanding of the Hawaiian people's plight," he continued. The second bill "re-establishes and creates" a sovereign Hawaiian nation, Hee explained. "OHA would be the primary conduit to establish a Constitutional Convention of 101 members selected on a one-man, one-vote premise through a reapportionment system whieh accounts for only Hawaiian people." According to the current census figures, eaeh delegate would represent approximately 2,000 Hawaiians. The delegates would provide the basis of a Constitution and a Bill of Rights for the Hawaiian nation, the chairman said.

The programs created by the Constitutional Convention, however, would still be subject to ratification by the Hawaiian people at the next election. If the programs failed to be ratified, the Constitutional Convention would reconvene to address the concerns of the Hawaiian conrimunity, Hee said. Under the terms of the third recommended bill, all of the federal lands seized in 1893 would be returned to OHA or the sovereign government and would be leased back to the U.S. at fair market appraised value, he said. If the U.S. government and the sovereign nation agree, the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands would be placed under the jurisdiction of OHA or the sovereign nation for "custodial purposes," according to Hee. Additionally, 20 percent of all ceded lands - or its equivalent value appraised in the year the bill is passed - belonging to the state would be conveyed back to OHA or the sovereign nation, he noted. "The tāll also calls for $10 billion in damages suffered as a result of the loss of land and livelihood encountered by the Hawaiian people as a result of the overthrow of the Hawaiian nation," Hee said. The amount is the same figure introduced by U.S. Senators Spark Matsunaga and Daniel Inouye as well as former Congressman Cec Heftel and Daniel Akaka in the 1970s.