Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 9, Number 5, 1 Mei 1992 — Civil Rights-Sovereign Rights [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Civil Rights-Sovereign Rights

". . . the greatest stumbling block in the stride toward freedom" is not the violent resistance of blatant racism, but rather "the . . . moderate who is more devoted to " order " than to justice; who prefers a negative peaee whieh is the absence of tension to a positive peaee, whieh is the presence of justice. [ We ] are not the creators of tension. We merel\j bring to the surface the hidden tension that is alreadg alive. We bring it out in the open where it ean be seen and dealt with. Like a boil that ean never be cured as long as it is covered up but must be open with all it's pus flowing ugliness to the natural medicines of air and light, injustice must likewise he exposed, with all of the tension its exposing creates, to the light of human conscience and the air of national opinion before it ean be cured." Dr. Martin Luther King Letter from Birmingham Jail

By Rowena Akana Vice Chair & Trustee at large

Nearly three decades later, the strength and truth of Dr. King's words ring as clear as ever. While we, the na kanaka maoli, struggle daily to maintain and expand our sovereign rights, it is only natural that the phrases of the great civil rights leader

eome to mind. In so many ways, the concepts of civil rights and sovereign rights are similar. It would seem that after the Civil Rights Amendment was approved by Congress, basic, inalienable rights would not be questioned. Rights such as the ability to obtain public documents, the ability to speak one's mind in the presence of peers, the ability to exercise the will of the people when elected to public office. Yet, in amazement, I find myself locked in some bizarre time warp here, in the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, struggling to accomplish the simplest of tasks under the heavy dictatorial hand of extreme mismanagement.

I cannot help but be amazed by it all. Have we assimilated so mueh since contact that even our Hawaiian brethren take on the clothes of the oppressive leaders, who put us in our current plight? Can we no longer tell the difference between the status quo and our own? The last thing I would suspect from my peers is resistance to improvement in operations, in accountability and in leadership. Difference of opinion, robust debate perhaps, but outright denial of the right to be heard? Blatant withholding of public information? Uncalled for verbal attacks on one's very character? I can't believe I am even speaking of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. But it is true. That's why the words of Dr. King seem so poignant today. Just like the festering sore he refers to, we have a hidden boil in our office now, wrapped in the very clothes of our people. The structure of OHA is such that responsibilities are distributed evenly among division offi-

cers so maximum efficiency ean be aeeomplished. An administrator is hired by the board to oversee the day-to-day functions of the various divisions and support staff. The trustees are the elected leaders ultimately held accountable by the people and the government for enacting the mandate of OHA. It would logically follow that the officers and the administrator are subordinate to the board and would willingly provide needed information to any trustee upon request. Yet trails of paperwork and inter-office memos are testimony to the fact that even the simplest request, such as expenditure reports or copies of workers' contracts, must first go through a mind-boggling maze before the request is even considered.

How ean we, your elected leaders, function efficiently and positively for you, the beneficiaries, when we can't even obtain the information we need to form educated opinions on pressing issues? Somewhere, the concept of democracy (of the people, for the people) has gotten lost in a mountain of bureaucratic baloney that so mirrors the faltering government system of the nation that it frightens me. 1 never doubted my rights when I took this office. I trusted my peers, my people would feel so strongly about the wrongs we have suffered as a people that we woukl never confront such stumbling blocks as

basic rights. Yet, here I find myself, saddened, disheartened and unhappy. I ean tell you this, we are a sovereign people and our rights will not be denied. No matter what it takes to accomplish our goals, we are a strong people of love, who are accepting and open. We will persevere and overcome any obstacle we encounter, whether it be from the places we anticipate barriers or whether it be, unfortunatelv. in our own ranks.

You people put me here to better the Hawaiian condition in our native land and I believe in your faith. I know my colleagues do too. I even somewhat understand if some have become sidetracked by the antics of poor and oppressive role models we've had forced upon us for so many decades. But my trust in change for the Hawaiian people comes from somewhere mueh deeper within, that plaee where visionaries like Dr. King knew we had to look at the system that was not fair to all people and be brave enough to speak our discontent. And now, if I see shadows of that same faltering system leaving sores upon OHA, I have the comfort of knowing, I have a sovereign right — a civil right to speak out. Believe me, I will. 1 will continue to speak the will of the people who put me here until, just like Dr. King's vision, air and light cure the ills of injustice done to the Hawaiian people.