Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 9, Number 3, 1 March 1992 — Sovereignty -- starting at the beginning, again [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Sovereignty -- starting at the beginning, again

by Rowena Akana Trustee-At-Larae

Sovereignty — The word hangs in the air like an uncertain new friend to all who attempt to understand its encircling arms. Why does the eoncept of sovereignty, whieh should unite our people, divide us into fragmented

shards? It has been a goal of mine to use the issue of sovereignty to bring together the many grass roots groups in the community over the past several months. Yet, like a delicate spider's web, the unity is fragile and unsure as the elements that affect it. It's easy enough to get the many people l've worked with to agree, in concept, to the need for the study, education and understanding of sovereignty. The state legislature is considering six separate bills dealing with sovereignty this session alone It's easy enough to get many people to admit sovereignty is a necessary first step toward the Hawaiian nation. But the unity and understanding seems to stop there. Perhaps, we need to start at the beginning again and again ... as many times as it takes to grasp the elementary foundation of the very word. To define "sovereignty" is to plaee the concept in a known variable category. One of the best definitions I have eome across comes

from the group, Ka Lahui Hawaii: "Three key elements of nationhood are sovereignty, self-determination and self-suffi-ciency. "Sovereignty is the ability of a people who share a eommon culture, religion, language, value system and land base to exercise control over their lands and lives, independent of other nations. In order to do this they must be selfdetermining. "Self-determination is realized when the native people organize a mechanism for self governance. Only when the Native Hawaiian people create a government whieh provides for democratic representation of their members and begin to interrelate with the state and federal trustees who control their lands will they be able to gain control over their trust assets and their future. "Self-sufficiency is the goal of nationhood. Self-sufficiency means the people are able to be self-supporting, capable of feeding, clothing and sheltering themselves." I like this definition. It seems to be all eneompassing and obtainable too. Perhaps, onee this tangibility has been created, we ean begin to direct the various components that make up the whole. One thing I have definitely found to be true: the study of sovereignty must be carried out by an impartial, independent agency. I have recently presented testimony at several senate hearings voicing this exact eoneem. It is important for the study group to be able to feel free to research the issue of sovereignty without

undo pressure from any state agency. Currently, there are three different proposals in the legislature attempting to create some form of group to study the issue of sovereignty. Senate bill 3444 and eompanion House bill 3513 attempt to amend existing Act 301 whieh created the Sovereignty Advisory Council (SAC). The amendments basically clarify the independence of the group by transferring the funding for the group into the Department of Accounting and General Services (DAGS). Senate Bill 2407 attempts to create a eommission outside of SAC, to be appointed by the governor, to study the sovereignty issue. House Bill 3662 proposes to create a sovereignty task force with 16 members to be appointed by the legislature, including four non-Hawaiians. In summary, I support the idea of an independent group whether it be the SAC, the commission, or the task force. I believe that this group must be independent of any state agency so that the group's findings and ultimate report to the legislature will be unbiased and will encompass input from all sectors of the community.