Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 9, Number 8, 1 August 1992 — We need to know [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

We need to know

by Louis Hao Trustee, Moloka'i & Lana'i Aloha mai,

We need to know that the State of Hawai'i is still failing to fulfill its trust obligation to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. This has not happened. In the 12 years that OHA has heen in existence, OHA spent four years in state courts suing the State of

Hawai'i for nonpayment of revenue due us from the ceded lands trust. As a condition of statehood, the federal government had set forth five major purposes. for the ceded land trust, one of whieh was to better the conditions of native Hawaiians. This has not happened. By the mid-1980s, the state court claimed that it could not rule on

the fate of OHA, and that the issue of back rent should be resolved by the body whieh created OHA in the first plaee, the State of Hawai'i. So we were back negotiating with the State again. By the latter part of the 1980s, the State of Hawai'i and OHA did a joint inventory, whieh showed that OHA should be receiving $8.5 million annually from the ceded lands trust.

For the period July 1, 1990, to June 30, 1991, OHA received its first annual eheek; but for July 1, 1991, to

June 30, 1992, the State again failed to pay OHA the agreed $8.5 million. Since July 1, 1992 begins a new fiscal year, the State of Hawai'i now owes OHA $17 million. People are under the impression that OHA is receiving its payments from the State; OHA has

not received these payments except for about 2 percent annual payments from the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR). We need to know this. In addition, OHA has spent three years negotiating with the State of Hawai'i for past-due entitlements. Entitlements from 1980 to 1990 are estimated to amount to between $112 million and $150 million in back rent.

OHA's chairman is negotiating with the State for a combined cash and property settlement. So the recent photograph in the newspaper showing OHA's chairman receiving a eheek for the amount of $112 million from the governor's representative is a bogus "rubber" eheek whieh is not negotiable at any bank. OHA has not yet

received this money. We need to know this. Furthermore, I believe, as do many Hawaiians, that we Hawaiian people already own the ceded lands. So why are we negotiating to receive, in plaee

of money owed us, a part of the land whieh we already own in its entirety? We Hawaiians are supposed to be kept informed about things like this. It appears to me that certain politieal powers in the State and federal government and those in control of our destiny ean keep us in "limbo" fighting among ourselves, while certain investors and developers enjoy the fruits of our 'aina. This we need to know.

Also, I believe that if OHA decides to buy back the lands that (we) Hawaiians already own, we are admitting that we never owned the land to begin with. This, of course, is a legal question. We must eome together to examine these issues whieh determine our destiny. We must share our knowledge and work for solutions. So let's keep ourselves informed so that no one ean fool us. We don't want to be on the short end of the stick any more. This we know. Mahalo.