Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 22, Number 4, 1 April 2005 — Akaka Bill and independence [ARTICLE]

Akaka Bill and independence

Isupport Hawaiian independence, but that doesn't mean I must oppose the Akaka Bill. Yet I find too often those two positions

being placed in opposition to one another. It's part of that "or" syndrome: either Akaka or independence. The Akaka Bill is not a substitute to the independent nation. It is a small, inadequate step to fully address the illegality of the overthrow and the wresting of selfdetermination from our Hawaiian nation. But it ean be an important

step to move us along that way. It ean be an important step in addressing the current social, educational, cultural and eeonomie needs of our native Hawaiian population, whether or not they select to enlist in the cause of Hawaiian independence. The passage of the Akaka Bill will in no way retard or thwart the struggle for our sovereign nation. Like the Office of Hawaiian Affairs that was never meant to be the substitute for our independence, it could, and has, served to bring us one step closer to independence. Instead of the Akaka Bill standing as an "or" proposition to Hawaiian sovereignty, I see it as an "and" solution.

Instead of dividing the causes among Hawaiian proponents between federal Native Hawaiianrecognition vs. Hawaiian indenendence. sne.h

causes ean be joined together. One is not exclusive of the other. We need not be divided on this issue. The times now eall for a new framework in whieh we plan our future. I ean accept the Akaka Bill and continue to strive toward our Hawaiian independence. Hawaiians, whether defined by race or by national allegiance, ean continue to

march hand in hand toward our historical justice and our brighter future. Pōkā Laenui, Wai'anae Do you have thoughts you'd like to express regarding the Hawaiian recognition bill currentiy before Congress? Whether you're for or against the bill, write in and share your reasons why. E-mail us at kwo@oha. org, send letters to Ka Wai Ola o OHA, 77 7 Kapi'oiani Blvd., Ste. 500, Honolulu, Hl 96813, or fax us at 594-1 865.

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