Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 15, Number 4, 1 ʻApelila 1998 — Why federal matters matter to Hawaiians The Native Hawaiian Housina Bill [ARTICLE]

Why federal matters matter to Hawaiians The Native Hawaiian Housina Bill

By Noelle Kahanu GIVEN STATE legislative and court ehallenges to Hawaiian sovereignty, land use, and customary rights, as well as concems regarding the leadership of two Hawaiian tmsts, the focus of the Hawaiian community, appropriately, has been loeal. Why then do federal matters still matter? Why should the activities of the U.S. Congress and the executive branch,

some 6,000 miles away, be of any e interest? Federal matters matter because, eaeh federal dollar and program benefiting Hawaiians bears testament to the legal and moral respon- i sibility of the United States. For eaeh failed legislative effort to assist Native Hawaiians or federal Hawaiian program eliminated, there is the danger of a corresponding decrease in the federal commitment to Native Hawaiians. Several years ago, at a Senate Committee on Indian Affairs budget hearing, then-Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Henry Cisneros questioned eongressional efforts to block-grant housing funds to the states (thus

eliminating the federal role in providing low-ineome housing to the nation's neediest : citizens). He spoke passionately of his belief that certain federal responsibilities could not, should not ; and must not, be abandoned and of the role of the federal government to protect individuals and groups historically neglected by the states. One of these federal responsibilities is the care and protection of native peoples. This is not derived ffom patemalistic notions of dependency, but rather from principles of tribal self-determina-tion and self-governance. From a practical stand-

point, S.109, and its house eompanion, H.R.626, provide funds to the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) for affordable housing activities and enable Hawaiian families and Hawaiian organizations to benefit ffom federal loan guarantees. More importantly, S.109 is founded upon two key principles: first, that "the Native Hawaiian people have a political status comparable to that of American Indians and Alaska

iNauves ana tnat iNative nawanan people have a continuing right to autonomy in their intemal affairs and an ongoing right of self-deter-mination and self-govemance that has never been extinguished. Secondly, actions by the federal government in facihtating the alienation and dispossession of Native Hawaiians, and in subsequently denying Native Hawaiians equal access to federal housing programs, created a housing need whieh ean only be addressed by Congress. This dual approach represents the first comprehensive legislative effort at overcoming the federal govemment's position that federal housing assistance to Native Hawaiians constimtes imnermissi-

ble racial discrimination. However, S.109 has met with hostihty from Senate Repubhcan staffers, suspicion ffom tribes and Indian Housing Authorities, and relative ambivalenee on the part of Hawaiians. In an effort to increase tribal support for the bill, Senator Inouye recently addressed the National Ameiiean Indian Housing Council to clarify that the bill would not effect Indian housing funds. Despite these assurances, however, S.109 is undergoing revision. The redraft is likely to create a separate, stand-alone See HOUSING BILL, on page 7

For eaeh failed legislative effort to assist Native Hawaiians or federal Hawaiian program eliminated, there is the danger of a corresponding decrease in the federal eommitment to Native Hawaiians. — Noelle Kahanu 11

K a L e o P a • ē iiiiii» iihJL :

Native Hawaiian housing program, rather than one established under the auspices of the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determi-nation Act. S.109, whatever its final form, faces a rocky road ahead. Prospects for passage are further dimmed if Congressional members beheve the Hawaiian community cares little about federal matters in general, and S. 109 in specific. "Hawaiian homestead associations, Hawaiian

oiganizations and the broader Hawaiian and nonHawaiian community need to support the Native Hawaiian Housing Assistance bill if we are to see it pass this year," remarked DHHL Chairman Kali Watson. "The critical housing needs of our Native Hawaiian people require that we explore all avenues that help put our people on the 'āina. This bill is the vehicle needed to open some of those avenues." We heeded the eaU for Native Hawaiian vigilanee during this state legislative session. We must also consider the merits of causes 6,000 miles away, including action or inaction by the U.S. Congress and the executive branch. ■

Housing Bill HOUSING BILL, from page 5