Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 18, Number 8, 1 August 2001 — Is OHA the weakest link? [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Is OHA the weakest link?

Is OHA the representative of the Hawaiian people or the weakest link? Since the turn of the eentury, Hawaiians have struggled and continue to survive in a brutal game of give-and-take politics. Today, Hawaiians are still giving while government and private interests continue to take. To survive and eope with the abuse, we've been taught to turn against eaeh other and resort to aleohol and drugs to medicate the pain caused by years of colonization. No one is immune to this pain, not even trustees. OHA is the microcosm of all that should work but doesn't for Hawaiians. Over the years we've "played the game" with the crumbs from ceded lands and we always end up on the short end of the stick. Perhaps we're playing the wrong game or maybe the rules just don't

govern our people with the same zeal and fairness. For example, the Rice case tells us that nonHawaiian's rights ean be elevated through Hawaiian disposition. We give the aloha and then take the abuse. Though it may seem strange, the strategy of the T.V. game show Weakest Link ean help us understand OHA's current polilieal situation. Although the motivation for contestants on the game show is money, let us say that our goal is the betterment of the Hawaiian people. The fundamental design of the game is to secure a position on the panel by answering as many questions correctly as possible. Being effective is the key toward a contestant's continued success. In eaeh round, time is decreased and one player is voted out and is asked

to leave. When dealing with the issues that affect the Trust and beneficiaries, OHA has fallen short of being indispensable. In June, the Trustees worked with the OHA administration to develop a budget that would include a broad spectrum of programs and projects. We later learned that the administration provided some trustees with wrong numbers. Trustees who had the accurate numbers ridiculed the others. The game, as it were, played staff against Trustees, and Trustees against Trustees. The outcome: OHA has no budget. No budget means no programs and no programs mean that Hawaiians ,are losing out. At the meeting, kupuna, 'ōpio, and eommunity leaders pleaded with OHA to fund programs that serve

Hawaiians. OHA's response was disappointing. When considering the goals we hope to achieve in the name of our people, are we the weakest link? How effective ean OHA be with so mueh internal segregation and dysfunction? Many would say that OHA is lost. I agree. OHA has the potential of being efficient. The new administrator has a strong background and appears ready to take on the challenge of bettering the Hawaiian people. Trustees have a unique opportunity to utilize this positive change in OHA's leadership and finally bring credibility to a very weakened organization. For in the end, our only weakness will be that we are too proud to admit that OHA needs to stop playing games that hurt our people. ■

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Colette Machado Trustee, Moloka'i and Lāna'i