Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 13, Number 4, 1 ʻApelila 1996 — A ʻHawaiian vote' is not a plebiscite; the Pai ʻohana [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

A ʻHawaiian vote' is not a plebiscite; the Pai ʻohana

by Moanike'ala Akaka Trustee, Hawai'i On February 15, 1996, the OHA Board of Trustees voted 5-4 to release allocated funding to the Hawaiian Sovereignty Elections Council (HSEC) for a vote of the Hawaiian people. Question: "Shall the Hawaiian people elect delegates to propose a Native Hawaiian government? Yes or No?"

If it had been called "Plebiscite," I would not have been able to vote for this release of previously appropriated matching funds to HSEC. There was valid eoneem of Ka Lāhui and other Hawaiian groups that if called a "plebiscite", it could have national and international implications that mav harm us as a

Hawaiian nation. The HSEC, wisely, with the consent of the Ka Lāhui O'ahu po'o, voted to remove the word "plebiscite"; it is now - "A HAWAHAN VOTE."

In a democracy, the Hawaiian people deserve the right to take this vote. There are those of us that have been working towards sovereignty for over 15 years. In 1980, 1 attended a sovereignty conference in Puerto Rico along with the late Kawaipuna Prejean and raised funds for Keoni Agard (now a HSEC member) and Dr. Noelie Rodriquez, UH Hilo Sociology professor to attend as well. This was almnst a rtncade hefnre we fnunrtert Ka

Lāhui in Keaukaha in 1987. I was an original legislator and chairperson of Land and Natural Resources for Ka Lāhui. An important direction for Hawaiians is the path to sovereignty, self-determination and self-governance. It is only fair that the Hawaiian people at-large become a part of that decision-making process. To me. that is the onlv nurnose for

the recently funded vote. With the referenee to "plebiscite" and the inhibiting state legislative clause removed, I feel the vote would be "elean": A HAWAIIAN VOTE TO BE USED AS WE WISH. If it's no

longer called a "plebiscite", why does Ka Lāhui continue to object to the "process" itself? In December 1995, I sat with my friend, Mililani Trask, Kia'aina of Ka Lāhui at her office while we discussed international Human Rights attorneys' eoneem about using the "P" word. So now, it's out!! Surely, Ka Lāhui cannot object to our people's grassroots participation in such an important decision as our sovereignty. There is no question that there needs to be an extensive education campaign on the issue of sovereignty and its different models before any delegates are elected to propose a Native Hawaiian government. Furthermore, Ka Lāhui has strong grassroots support throughout the islands and the leadership should not fear a democratic vote. We have our problems as a people, but we are an intelligent, educated and awakened people eapahle of full participation in our destiny. There is understandable apprehension in the process of obtaining a democratic vote that "big money" buys access to the media. There must be found a way where monies ean be made available through OHA in order for groups

like Ka Lāhui and the Nation of Hawai'i to use for equal access to the media. We must unite and eome together as a Hawaiian people to catch this wave of Sovereignty - TOGETHER!!! Ho'oululāhui, TO RAISE THE NATION. The Pai 'ohana We must also eome together as a people to support the Pai 'ohana who have lost their case in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals recently on their sovereign right to remain on their ancestral lands at Honokohau (see my Ka Wai Ola Trustees Column 11/95). Recently, they received an eviction notice from the Naūonal Parks Service since their ancestral lands, where their family lived for over two centuries, abut Honokōhau National Historic Park. By the way, there is interesting legislation being hurried through Congress that would allow Cuban exiles in America to sue any company doing business in Cuba on property they lost at the time of the overthrow of the Bautista Govemment in 1959. I wonder if this will also apply to us Hawaiians who lost property and our nation in 1893. Mālama pono. Ua mau ke 'ea o ka 'āina i ka pono.