Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 9, Number 8, 1 August 1992 — Democratic platform outiines Native Hawaiian obligations [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Democratic platform outiines Native Hawaiian obligations

by Nakana'ela Nathaniel Hawai'i Democrats feel they just took the first of the first steps toward educating the federal government on Native Hawaiian issues. The first "class" was the 1992 Nahonal Democratic Convention in New York City. The required reading

was a plank in tne official party platform stating "the U.S. government respects its trustee obligations to the inhabitants of Hawai'i generally and to native Hawaiians in particular." The authors of the text were two prominent Hawai'i Democrats, Senate majority leader Malama Solomon serving

as the Hawai'i representative to the platform committee, and Governor John Waihe'e.

When adopted, the platform confines all Democrats, federal and loeal, to the party's stands and opinions on major issues for the next year. John Goemans, an assistant and outside consultant of Solomon's office, had high praise for the efforts of the Senator to secure the plank. "It's a miracle that the

wording is even in there," Goemans said. Solomon and Waihe'e worked on the plank over the past year, said the governor's press secretary, Carolyn Tanaka.

Solomon was not present during the drafting of the platform in Sante Fe, NM and the first draft of the platform did not contain

the statement on trust obligations. It was not until the final continued on page 8

Sen. Malama Solomon

Democratic olatform specificaliv mentions Hawai'i

from page 1

meeting to approve the document in Washington, DC. in late June that Solomon was able to get the wording of the Native Hawaiian plank into the platform under Civil and Equal Rights.

The text of the platform had eontained a plank stating that the Democrats would "respect Native American culture and our (the U.S. government's) treaty commitments." Solomon was able to specify the platform to include Hawai'i. "Hawai'i is the only state specifically mentioned in the Democratic platform. It is an important step in our efforts to assure the U.S. government meets its obligations to Hawai'i," Solomon said.

Waihe'e was one of the first speakers at the convention, but he failed to make any significant mention of trustee obligations until he later addressed the Asian Pacific Ameiiean Advisory Council of the Democratic National Committee. Before the gathering of the Asian Pacific Democrats, the governor told the

group that only upon the election of a Democratic president would the United States finally accept the trustee obligations the U.S. govemment has toward Native Hawaiians. Bruce Reed, press secretary for Democratic presidential nominee Bill Clinton, said the Arkansas governor would support reaffirming the United States's trustee obligations to Native

Hawaiians. The Hawai'i Democrats chose the national convention as a grounds to rebut the Bush administration's stance on Native Hawaiians, epitomized in the Sec. of the Interior Manuel Lujan's open rejection of obligations to Native Hawaiians during testimony before a congressional committee in January.

State Republicans felt however that the Democratic plank fell short. "It's a cop-out, they made no mention of sovereignty, so they really said nothing," state Republican party administrator Sarah Grant said. Grant said she did not recall if in fact her party's state resolution sent to the naUonal Republic platform committee

contained any mention of sovereignty. State Rep. Whitney Anderson, a Republican running for mayor of Honolulu, said the Democrats did a great thing at their convention. "(The state Democrats) have taken the proper steps to ensure that trustee obligations to Native Hawaiian are recognized," Anderson said. "I hope we will do the same at our convention."

Grant is hoping a state Republican resolution similar to the Democrat's plank might make it to the platform, although she implied that it is highly unlikely. The nahonal GOP platform, Grant said, will not change mueh from the last version whieh contains no menUon of Hawaiian issues.