Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 13, Number 8, 1 August 1996 — Our Readers Write [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Our Readers Write

Plebiscite is for all Hawaiians

To those of you in the present and ongoing sovereignty movement, I admire your sincerity, your efforts, and your belief that you are working for the Hawaiian people. Our right to sovereignty, our right to define our destiny as Hawaiians and our right to perpetuate our eul-

ture as it has evolved during the last ceqtury and a half ean only be determined by we the inheritors of the aloha spirit. In the near future, we will vote to empower ourselves to propose a govemment of, and for, the Hawaiian people. I have no doubt that this unprecedented vote will pass and will go down in history as we confirm our heritage and plaee in this world.

The richness of our Hawaiian lifestyle, whieh has incorporated many different nationalities, also brings into the movement the many people of Hawaiian mixtures. These people from around the world have shared their language, culture, religion, food and lifestyle whieh have become part of our daily lives. Wherever we tum, whatever we do, we ean never avoid their associations in our lives today. Today we try to instill in our children the Hawaiian way. At the same time, we may be doing these children a great disservice and instilling in them the notion of prejudice. Why prejudice you ask? Because we are telling them you have to have 50 percent Hawaiian blood or more to benefit from the upcoming plebiscite. To you in the sovereignty movement my question is this: Will those of us who consider ourselves Hawaiians, even though we have less than 50 percent blood, be part of the new Hawaiian nation? If so, why have you not looked into chang-

ing the laws to include all Hawaiians so that we may all equally participate in the benefits that are now only available to those Hawaiians with 50 percent blood or more. In a few generations there will be very few Hawaiians with the right amount of Hawaiian blood. Then what will you do? It will be too late if we don't act soon. This issue should be addressed in the plebiscite. What OHA board members have ever advocated lowering the 50 percent blood quantum requirement? Are there any new candidates advocating this? I would be very interested in their ideas. Hinano Makaalii Honolulu