Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 10, Number 11, 1 November 1999 — MESSAGES [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

MESSAGES

Rice vs. Qyrtdno : Race forces an uneasy reconciliation process

N THE aftermath of the Rice arguments, Hawaiians are regrouping and strategizing their next move. Freddy Rice and his supporters want us to beheve that they are protecting the rights of all United States citizens by refusing the Hawaiian people their fundamental right to vote. And many in the Supreme Court appear to agree. Their basic assumption is that a Native Hawaiian's ri aht to vnte. fnr

OHA trustees is inherently racist and therefore discriminatory. ?Their underlying theme is that Native Hawaiians should assimilate rather than be afforded the right to self-determination. Those assumptions ignore more than 100 years of racially motivated oppression and political and eeonomie exploitation of Hawaiians. Rice maintains that Hawaiians are no different from any other race of people living in the state of Hawai'i. Others argue that as long as you live in Hawai'i you are a "Hawaiian" or a "native" of Hawai'i whose rights should be equal to those of all others regardless of national origin or race. Rice urges people to ignore the politieal, spiritual and cultural significance of Native Hawaiians. Rice and the court want all of us to believe that our plight is a natural adjustment to society's demands. However, blaming Hawaiian struggles on poor personal choices neglects the subtle yet sophisticated form of institutional racism that has become eommonplaee in the real Hawaiian world. The court carries the baggage of racially motivated laws and will attempt to apply them to our people's right to vote. They will tell us that such laws are "color blind." They will say that their laws must protect all citizens from favoritism of one race over another. And they will defend their decisions by imposing the very laws created to protect Hawaiians ffom racial inequity. The irony is that Hawaiians are a political class of people whose government belonged to the independent family of nations, held treaties with the U.S.

and had laws that have been adopted and applied by today's courts. We are NOT just another race of people who happen to live in the 50th State. We are THE original people of this archipelago not unlike our indigenous counterparts in the United States, Canada, Aotearoa and Tahiti. Observers now believe that OHA's election process will be held illegal. They are nrain(T Hawaiians to

focus on the federal "reconcihation" process based on Public Law 103-150 and scheduled to get underway in December. Reconciliation is crucial, but it will take time and cannot be accomplished in such short order. Hawaiians should be uniting and strategizing how we will heal our people, bring them to good health, nurture them spiritually and politically, and prepare them for the days ahead. The Rice case is manini compared to all of the struggles that we are facing. There will always be the argument of race versus political class. There will also be arguments over whether Hawaiians are Native Americans, people receiving special treatment based on our race, or a distinct political class of indigenous peoples whose status and recognition go beyond the racially motivated stereotypes and misgivings raised by Rice and voiced by members of the court. Whatever the case, Hawaiians should not be pressured to bargain for "reconciliation" or scraps from the federal and state governments' table. " Come then comrades, it woulā be as well to āeeiāe at onee to change our ways. We must shake offthe heavy darkness in whieh we were plunged, and leave it behind. The new day whieh is already at hand mustfind us firm, prudent and resolute!" wrote Frantz Fanon in "The Wretched ofthe Earth." As Fanon's quote suggests, it is time for Hawaiians to eome out of these dark times with the courage to stand strong and fight for justice. Anything less would be a travesty. ■

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