Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 9, Number 7, 1 Iulai 1992 — OHA trustees walk difficult path to future [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

OHA trustees walk difficult path to future

The following speech was deliuered by OHA ehainman Clayton H.W. Hee in May to a eonference titled: "Land, Culture and Development in the Aquatic Continent" held at the Kapalua Pacific Center, on Maui. The eonelaue was attended by representatiues of Pacific island nations and the state of Hawai'i and all the OHA trustees. I am pleased to be here today and am equally pleased that the Office of Hawaiian Affairs is privileged to participate as a sponsor of this prestigious conference entitled "Land, Culture and Development in the Aquatic Continent." 1 have been asked to speak to you about the role of policy makers from the point of view of the chairman of the board of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. To do so requires a brief description of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and its mission; and whom we serve as trustees. In 1978, a Constitutional Convention was convened as required by state legislative action. By the time the convention adjourned, the dele-

gates had agreed to a change in the state constitution whieh established the Office of Hawaiian Affairs to improve the betterment of the condi-

1 tions of the Hawaiian people. This includes, but is not limited to, the health, education, housing, eeonomie selfdetermination, and political growth of our people. In short, it means to be a I spokesperson/advocate ■ for the Hawaiian people in all asDects of societv.

In 1980, through enabling state legislative action, OHA was created. As part of its eeonomie base, the state legislators determined, and the governor of the state of Hawai'i agreed, that through Section 5 of the Admissions Act, 20 percent of revenues derived from the use of state-owned and controlled ceded lands would serve as the financial base of OHA. But there

was a catch. Those revenues could only be used to serve Hawaiians who could prove themselves to be at least 50 percent Hawaiian. Who then would shepherd the needs of the Hawaiians with less than 50 percent? These people constitute approximately four times those with 50 percent or more Hawaiian ancestry. A more fundamental question arose — "Am I different from my brother because the quantity of my Hawaiian blood is different from his?" This dichotomy has required the trustees, as policy makers, to walk gingerly down a hazardous path, for with every action for the "real Hawaiians" is a reaction positive or negative, and sometimes both, from the "not-real Hawaiians." In some cases, this dilemma has caused trustees to act in ways whieh have been interpreted as not serving "just the 50 percent" Hawaiians. As you ean imagine, throughout the years trustees have been sued on numerous occasions. Occasionally we've been sued by

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Clayton Hee

Hee calls for $20 miliion revolvina loan oroaram

from page 1 people with no Hawaiian blood at all. As policy makers for our people, we are eompelled to assimilate into areas foreign to our native culture. Doing a decent job requires familiarity with the ways of the United States Congress, the Hawai'i State Legislature, the various county councils, and the ways of many other people who oppose the betterment of the people of the first nation of Hawai'i — the Hawaiians. We must constantly monitor and befriend policy makers to be sure that legislative proposals do not cause further erosion of our inalienable rights as natives to our land and our revenue entitlements as set forth in law. Trustees must also remain vigilant to legislative measures whieh may appear to be unrelated to Hawaiians because the ripple effect of a proposed measure may have unforseen consequences for our beneficiaries. For example, proposals related to land use zoning changes may erode the seed of self-determination: revenue entitlements. Transfer of certain parcels of ceded lands by the state govemment to county administrations without the benefit of input by OHA may also jeopardize native entitlements. The job requires trustees to understand the implications of the 10-second sound bite of the television reporter, particularly in times when confrontations arise between our own people, and in some cases between ourselves. Trustees should beware of the print journalist who "covers" stories for the "moment in time." Often he or she is an American import from the mainland sent to cover "us natives," complicated by the fact that he or she is ignorant of not only who we are but more importantly, from whenee we have eome. Some in the media appear to relish the "feast of Hawaiian confrontation" whieh often results in my opinion, from generations and generations of institutionalized racism heaped upon Hawaiians by westerners. This conference's brochure advertises a Pacific Islander saying, "As long as we have our land, we have our culture." Obviously, this Pacific Islander is not a Hawaiian. As a matter of fact, generally speaking, the Hawaiian today is landless. The year 1993 will mark the centennial overthrow of Hawaii's last queen, a sad reminder, admitted to by President Grover Cleveland, of the impehal actions taken against the Hawaiian nation by the United States as part of an agenda for western dominance in the Pacific. As Hawaiians, we have evolved today into a facsimile of what we onee were. Where else in the entire Pacific islands will you find natives singing and dancing the songs of their ancestors without really understanding the true meanings of the words they sing and dance? This unfortunate reality underscores the effects of almost two centuries of western dominance on a civilization whieh at that time was considered the most "technologically advanced" in this part of the world. So where is the space and plaee that the Hawaiian fits in, in today's rapidly changing world economy? What role does the Office of Hawaiian Affairs take as the 21st century rapidly approaches? OHA must preserve the few remaining fragments left to our people, such as the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. Trustees must commit themselves to establish two revolving loan programs, totaling $20 million. One loan program must be established to fund the resources to assist Hawaiian homesteaders to

rehabilitate their homes. It should eome to no one's surprise that it is normal for multi-family generations to subsist under one roof on homestead land. Ten million dollars should be set aside as a revolving loan program from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs to the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to meet the needs of homesteaders. An additional $10 million should be established to assist the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands in new construction loans to build new homes on vacant awarded parcels. I am told that the initial loan will create approximately 145 homes. Both loans would be the seed to establish the plant, whieh continues to nourish through the reinvestment of those resources as the homesteader repays their loan. Both loans should only assist those Hawaiians who are on the Hawaiian Homes waiting list who do not own other property within Hawai'i. Both loans should be administered by a reputable financial institution, whose experts are intimately familiar with the financing process. Both loans should be guaranteed by the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. And finally, both loans should give priority given to Hawaiian-owned construction businesses. The vertical integration of first priority given to Hawaiian construction eompanies will cause a npple effect, assisting more

Hawaiians than just the homesteader. OHA must commit its resources to establishing more educational assistance programs to our youngsters. The $50,000 presently awarded through the OHA scholarship program is not enough. We must set in motion the long-dis-cussed $10 million educational foundation to assist as many students as possible. But OHA cannot do this alone. OHA cannot serve as the panaeea to every ill that haunts Hawaiians today. OHA must convince others in business that we mean business. We must assure our business colleagues that we have good ideas, but that those ideas need the benefit of other points of view from experts. OHA must convince the policy leaders that their help is essential to the success of helping the Hawaiian people. Every homeless Hawaiian waiting for a homestead who is housed is one less the state needs to worry about. As Hawaiian historian David Malo prophesied in the late 1800s the "ships of the white men will eome, and they know we are few in number, they will eat us up." With the recent initial commitment by the governor and the Legislature of $112 million there may not be a better opportunity to demonstrate that "us Hawaiians" ean survive and re-establish ourselves in a landwhieh onee was entirely ours."