Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 20, Number 12, 1 Kekemapa 2003 — Ceded lands, nationhood top 2003 priorities [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Ceded lands, nationhood top 2003 priorities

2003 was a very eventful year for issues impacting the Hawaiian community. From federal courtrooms to the streets of Waikīkī, issues wiīh profound implications for the future of the Hawaiian people eame to the fore, prompting many who had previously been silent to make their voices heard. A look back at some of the developments this year, for the Hawaiian community at large and OHA in particular:

January • Amid calls for justice, Hawaiians mark 110 years since the illegal overthrow of their kingdom. Among the observances, OHA and other Hawaiian groups lead a march to the State Capitol on the opening day of the Legislature to eall for the formation of a sovereign Hawaiian body. • Revered kupuna and pioneering Hawaiian studies advocate Gladys Kamakakūokalani 'Ainoa Brandt passes away, and a grieving community pays tribute to her strength and vision. • OHA opens a Washington, D.C., office to help support federal recognition legislation for Native Hawaiians, in accordance with the Board of Trustees' unanimous decision to back such a measure as a means to defend against lawsuits seeking to abolish Hawaiian programs.

February • Sen. Daniel Akaka re-intro-duces the recognition bill in the Senate, and a similar bill is introduced in the House. Later, Sens. Ted Stevens of Alaska and Harry Reid of Nevada sign on as cosponsors of the bill. In the following months, Gov. Lingle, OHA trustees and other officials travel to Washington to urge passage of the measure, with the governor telling the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs that the bill was "a matter of simple justice."

March • The Hōkūle'a embarks on a statewide educational sail and later visits the island of Nihoa, marking the first time a modern-day voyaging eanoe has visited the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.

April • Gov. Lingle signs into law a measure providing OHA with $9.5 million in undisputed ceded lands back payments. However, the Legislature fails to act on another measure that would have reinstated a payment system halted in 1991. In July, OHA files suit against the state to seek reinstatement of the payments. • The Merrie Monarch hula festival

celebrates its 40th year, having evolved from a tourist attraction into the premier showcase of Hawaiian artistry and culture. May • OHA, in partnership with a broad spectrum of Hawaiian organizations, launches the "Ho'oulu Lāhui Aloha" (To Raise a Beloved Nation) campaign to facilitate community efforts in forming a Hawaiian representative body.

• Kamehameha Schools' CEO Hamilton McCubbin resigns abruptly amid rumors of impropriety, whieh he strongly denies. • State Department of Education Director Pat Hamamoto issues a special exemption from new federal guidelines for the department's 250 kupuna educators, many of whom would have had to stop teaching under stricter credential requirements mandated by the federal No Child Left Behind Act. June • An amended version of the Akaka-Stevens federal recognition bill passes the Senate Indian Affairs Committee and becomes eligible for a floor debate. However, the measure is stalled after a Republican senator places an anonymous procedural hold on the bill. • Attorneys representing an unnamed Hawai'i island student file federal suit seeking to strike down Kamehameha Schools' Hawaiianpreference admissions policy. In August, the same attorneys file a similar suit on behalf of a Kaua'i boy, and in an emergency ruling the judge requires that the school must

admit him while the case is considered. In mid-November, the first lawsuit is dismissed, and a decision on whether the second case ean proceed is expected soon. (See story on page 1.) • Patrick Hanifin, a plaintiffs' attorney in the Amkaki suit seeking to abolish OHA and other Hawaiian programs dies suddenly of a heart attack, leaving co-counsel and plaintiff Bill Burgess to argue the case. Burgess wants to proceed quickly, but hearings are delayed.

• Demonstrators form a human lei around ceded land parcels on the grounds of the Hilton Waikōloa resort to draw attention to a 17-year rent dispute. Eventually, the state land board issues a temporary permit for use of the land, at a rate Hawaiian groups contend is well below market value. July • A "controlled burn" by the Army in Mākua Valley gets out of control, scorching 2,100 acres and drawing renewed heat from eommunity members calling for the military to cease live-fire training in the valley. • In a suit filed by OHA seeking to force NASA to conduct a full impact study for its planned telescope development on Mauna Kea, the judge rules that an earlier environmental assessment was inadequate and requires NASA to conduct a new one. In November, NASA announces that it will instead do a more complete Environmental Impact Statement. (See story on page 5.) August • In an OHA-sponsored forum on

federal recognition, speakers present pros and cons of the issue for a live TV audience. • OHA's board approves a $500,000 grant to the National Audubon Society to support cultural preservation and education in Waimea Valley. The conservation group assumed management of the valley in June under a 30-year lease from the city. September • On the eve of scheduled hearings in suits against OHA,

DHHL and Kamehameha Schools, thousands gather in Waikīkī to march for Hawaiian justice. March leaders pledge an ongoing campaign of community action. • The federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upholds an earlier ruling dismissing the Barrett lawsuit, whieh challenged the constitutionality of OHA. The panel affirms that the plaintiffs laek U standing to bring such a suit, since they could not demonstrate individual injuries.

October • Following in the footsteps of Queen Lili'uokalani, who joumeyed to Washington to petition for the restoration of the Hawaiian Kingdom, members of the royal societies visit the U.S. capitol to urge passage of the recogni-

tion bill. The delegation includes representatives of the

Royal Order of Kamehameha I, whieh also celebrates the centennial of the Order's re-formation by Prince Kūhiō. • Prominent Hawaiian activists are arrested while protesting military plans to use more land to accommodate a new force centered around the recently developed Stryker assault vehicle. • During President Bush's brief stopover in Hawai'i, Gov. Lingle speaks with him about the importance of federal recognition, but he still has not indicated a position on the issue. Results of telephone survey released by OHA just before Bush's visit indicate that 86 percent of Hawaiians surveyed support federal recognition, along with 72 percent of non-Hawaiians. November • Judges rule in OHA, Kamehameha suits. • Kaho'olawereturnstostatecontrol. • NASA announces Mauna Kea environmental study. • Pūnana Leo celebrates 20 years of achievement. See stories in this edition. I