Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 22, Number 4, 1 ʻApelila 2005 — Akaka Bill lays foundation for our future [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Akaka Bill lays foundation for our future

Aloha kākou. Trustees recently returned from committee hearings in Washington, D.C., and an historic event whieh included the testimonies of many representatives of the people of Hawai'i including our governor, congressional delegation, OHA chair, DHHL chair, Hawaiian Civic Club president, CNHA representatives, and also Native American and Alaskan leaders. The sentiment at the hearing was clearly favorable to allowing Native Hawaiians an opportunity to seek self-determination to include moving S.147, the Akaka Bill, to the Senate floor for the first time in four tries. While our Senators continue to tirelessly direct the bill through Senate hoops, and our Representatives work to position the bill through the House, our governor has also been exerting her influence in her efforts to convince the Bush administration and congressional leaders of the need for this legislation. With a team like this, whose interests

are not selfish or self-centered but clearly in the interests of the Hawaiian people and the people of Hawai'i, we really have an excellent opportunity to finally succeed with this bill and to secure for our people a degree of self determination never seen since 1893. Julie Kitka, the president of the Alaska Federation of Natives, closed the hearing on a high note stating to Sens. McCain and Dorgan that the United States has exerted enormous resources and efforts to bring selfdetermination to Iraq and other foreign countries, and so why shouldn't it also look to within its own borders and allow self-determination for the only other unrecognized indigenous people in America, the Hawaiians? A week after the hearings, the Indian Affairs Committee unanimously passed the bill and now a report will be prepared and the matter set for hearing on the Senate floor. If all goes well, Hawaiians will have in plaee a process to bring to pass the establishment of a government entity

whieh will be able to speak as a government body representing Native Hawaiians regarding a myriad of matters affecting Hawaiians today and preserving our identity as a people. We Hawaiians will finally be able to take care of our own problems and focus on rehabilitating, educating and uplifting our own people. And to the naysayers who eomplain about the wording of the bill and its imperfections, no bill is perfect. An attorney friend has observed that maybe, if all the people were evil, crooked and stupid, then S. 147 might be a problem, but that would be the case with any legislation. And so we press forward with hopes that our people will soon have their own government and sovereignty to the extent that we are finally recognized politically as the last of the indigenous peoples of America. The result will not stop those who are working for complete independence as they ean continue their efforts as a small minority to gain international acceptance of their arguments. Nor will

this result in any more discrimination in Hawai'i but instead will preserve for this state its attraction as a unique pearl in the Paeil'ie because of its host culture, the Hawaiians. Along these lines the recently premiered movie by Edgy Lee, The Hawaiians: Reflecting Spirit, (T.V. rebroadcast set for April 15, 7 p.m.) presents the essence of why Hawaiians should be recognized, appreciated and supported as the substance, the source and the roots of Hawai'i. This movie artistically offers to the world an explanation of who the Hawaiians are and now all will be able to understand why we as a people cannot be allowed to disappear as have other cultures and species. We need Akaka to help win in court. We need Akaka to lay a foundation for the future. We need Akaka to stem the forces that would eliminate Hawaiians as a people. We need Akaka to preserve what we have today and provide a promise for tomorrow.

Boyd P. Mossman Trustee, Maui