Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 16, Number 10, 1 ʻOkakopa 1999 — Rice debated in the Chicago Tribune: Kēhaulani Lum answers Linda Chāvez [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Rice debated in the Chicago Tribune: Kēhaulani Lum answers Linda Chāvez

ALOHA MAI kākou, e nā 'ōiwi Hawai'i. Fromtime to time Trustee columns have given voice to beneficiary mana'o on issues of significance. Rice vs. Cayetano. set for argument Oct. 6 before the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., is a landmark case. Hanging in the halanee is the status of Native Hawaiians, at least in the eyes of the federal government. Amicus curiae briefs have been filed in support of Rice's position and the position of the State of Hawai'i. Opinions of the pubhc are being pubhshed locally and nationally on both sides of the issue. Aug. 24, the Chicago Tribune pubhshed a response by Kēhaulani Lum, Native Hawaiian beneficiary, to a Linda Chavez article pubhshed Aug. 4 in the Tribune. Normahy, we trustees are limited to a monthly eolumn of 600 words. For this my 38th of 46 articles planned for this term, I have combined the space I am

allotted with those of Trustees Machado and DeSoto in order to share both pieces with you. We are pleased to give voice to our beneficiary Kēhaulani Lum, daughter of Winston and Ku'uipo Lum of 'Aiea, granddaughter of Harriet and Patrick 0'Sulhvan and Maryann and Buck Lum. Kēhaulani served as aide to Trustee Apohona in 1997 and

had previously worked for Pacifie Islanders in Communication, ALU LIKE, the Scleroderma Foundation and Senator Daniel K. Akaka. The combined eolumn format provides beneficiary readers the full text of Chavez' point of view, titled "Only the natives ean vote " fohowed by Kēhaulani Lum's factual, eloquent and excellent response, "Native Hawaiians' trail of teai\"

ĪHE CLINTON administration,which has long favored dispensing jobs, college admissions and government contracts on the basis of race, now has decided that voting ean be restricted by race as well. Last week, the Clinton Justice Department filed an amicus brief arguing that Hawai'i has the right to prohibit whites,

blacks, Asians and others from voting in certain state elections. At issue is a 30-year-old state law that govems elections for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, a state board that dispenses mhhons of dollars of public funds. In 1996, Harold Rice tried to vote in a state election to choose trustees to the OHA but was tumed away at the polls. Why? Because although he is a state resident and a Hawaiian native whose hneage in the state goes back several generations, Rice fails to meet the state's definition of "native Hawaiian." And only Hawaiian natives ean vote in the election of OHA trustees. Hawai'i counts as "natives" only those who are "descendants of the aboriginal people inhabiting the Hawaiian Islands...inl778, ..." or "any descendant of not less than one-half part of the races inhabiting the Hawaiian Islands previous to 1778." Since Rice is

white, he can't vote-nor ean any black, Asian, American Indian or Hispanic hving in Hawai'i. This kind of voting restriction was supposed to have been outlawed by the 15th Amendment, whieh says, "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color or previous condition of servitude." Justice Department lawyers have tumed ttieir duty to uphold the Constitution and faithfuhy execute the laws on its head. Instead of defending the right of Harold Rice to vote in a state election regardless of his skin color, the Justice Department is defending Hawaii's right to make race a bona fide voting qualification. The Justice Department claims Hawai'i isn't discriminating against anyone but merely enacting legislation "on behalf of indigenous people with whom it

Sce APOLIONA, DESOTO and MACHADO on page 7

Only the 'natives' ean vote Linda Chavez, Chicago Tribune Aug 4,1999

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