Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 20, Number 3, 1 Malaki 2003 — Hawaiian recognition bill [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Hawaiian recognition bill

Sovernor Unda Ungle testlfles betore the U.S. Senate Commlttee on lndlan Atfalrs on leglslatlon that would recognize Natlve Hawallans and pave the way for Hawallan self-governance. Mieah Kane, dlrector for the Department. of Hawallan Home Lands, ls at right. Photo courtesy: The Honolulu Advertis&.

By Naomi Sodetani Akaka Bill is 'vitar to well-being of Hawaiians and Hawai'i, Lingle says Undeterred by blizzard conditions and pending threats of war, a contingent of Hawaiian leaders and Gov. Linda Lingle journeyed to Washington, D.C. to lobby for federal recognition for Native Hawaiians. On Feb. 25, OHA Chairperson Haunani Apoliona, Lingle, and Hawaiian Homes Commission Chairman Mieah Kāne were among those who testified before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs urging passage of the legislation known as the "Akaka Bill." The bill introduced by Sen. Daniel Akaka formally recognizes Hawaiians

as an indigenous people with the right to establish a government that could have government-to-government relationships with the U.S. and the state of Hawai'i. It would give Hawaiians parity with other indigenous people in the U.S., including about 600 Native American and Alaska Native sovereign entities recognized by the federal government. OHA trustees and staff, and leaders of the State Council of Hawaiian Homestead Associations, Papa Ola Lōkahi, and the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs followed in the footsteps of Hawaiian ali'i who sought justice for their people from Congress after the overthrow of the Hawaiian government. "Long has been the road traveled here by Native Hawaiians who dearly embrace wisdom and justice," Apoliona recalled, "a path tread upon by such royal nobility of the past" as King Kalākaua, Princess Ka'iulani, Queen Lili'uokalani," and Prince

Jonah Kūhiō. As the territory's first delegate to Congress, the latter obtained passage of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1920, to return Hawaiians to their lands. Gov. Lingle, in her first testimony before Congress, told the committee that the bill "is a matter of simple justice." She declared, "This bill is vital to the survival of the native Hawaiian people; it is vital to the continued character of our state; and it is vital to providing parity and consistency in federal policy for all native peoples in America." Hawai'i Republicans and Democrats display rare bipartisan unity behind the proposed legislation. "We are united in urging Congress to pass the Akaka Bill," Lingle said, emphasizing that both party platforms support the bill. "I've heard some people say it's race-based discrimination when, in See AKAKA BILL on page 4

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AKAKA BILL from page 1 fact, it's the opposite," Lingle stressed. "It's ending decades of discrimination against one group." Rep. Ed Case called the legislation "the most enieial pieee of legislation to Hawai'i since statehood. "The stakes are nothing more or less than the survival and prosperity not only of our indigenous Native Hawaiian people and culture, but of the very soul of Hawai'i as we know it and love it," Case noted. "That Hawai'i has never been so at risk." Since the Supreme Court's Rice decision in 2000 allowed nonHawaiians to vote for OHA, about 160 laws that provide federal support for social programs serving Hawaiians' needs, including heakh, housing and education are now in jeopardy, Case said. Mieah Kane, director of the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, said the bill could eliminate the legal uncertainties and costly litigation. "The risk of doing nothing puts us back into the courts," he said. All stood during an oli led by Apoliona that called for Hawaiians throughout the world to unite for

pono (righteousness), ending with the pledge: "I resist injustice, resist! I stand for righteousness, stand!" Opening and ending her testimony in 'ōlelo Hawai'i to underscore the uniqueness of Hawai'i's politieal history and living culture, Apoliona recounted the tumultuous relationship between U.S. and Hawaiians, including the U.S. role in the overthrow of the kingdom of Hawai'i, statehood and the federal government's formal apology in 1993 that promised "healing" reconeiliaūon. Apoliona said that Hawaiians have too long "endured the painful irony that they were made part of the American political family without being permitted to exercise one of the most basic principles of American political thinking - the right of self-determination." The group anticipated ehill skepticism among lawmakers more focused on deepening military, homeland security and eeonomie crises in the U.S. and abroad than Hawaiian rights. The bill is further challenged by growing concerns over racial preferences among some Republicans on Capitol Hill. The Bush adminis-

tration recently weighed in against the University of Michigan's admissions policy, whieh includes race as Sen. Daniel lnouye observed that the rapport that Lingle, Hawai'i's first Republican woman governor, builds with the administration will be crucial in getting the legislation approved by a Republican-controlled White House and Congress. a factor, in a case now before the U.S. Supreme Court. Yet against this political backdrop, the group's efforts were unexpectedly well-received by senators with whom the contingent met. Over two days, Lingle met with administration officials, including Attorney General John Ashcroft and Secretary of the Department of the

Interior Gale Norton. Those meetings "opened doors and lay the foundation" for further dialogue, she said. Sen. Daniel Inouye, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs who presided over the hearing, observed that the rapport that Lingle, Hawai'i's first Republican woman governor, builds with the administration will be crueial in getting thc legislation approved by a Republican-con-trolled White House and Congress. "Maybe I am expecting too mueh from the governor, but I think she will do the job," the senior senator said. "That may be strange coming from me, but it is a worthy cause and it is a just cause." Committed to the bill's passage since Apiil 2000, Inouye vowed, "It will become a reality." On Feb. 24, a blessing was held to open OHA's Washington D.C. office. A post-hearing reception was attended by about 300 well-wishers, who enjoyed entertainment by the Virginia-based Hālau o Aulani and a Hawaiian quartet featuring Isaac Ho'opi'i, the 9-11 hero originally from Wai'anae credited with saving 17 lives in the Pentagon attack. ■