Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 22, Number 12, 1 December 2005 — Wrapping up 2005 [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Wrapping up 2005

£ k no'aikākou. Anotherchallenging / \ year for OHA has conres to an J. A.end. As we look forward to the conring year, I'd like to take this tirne to reflect on issues and events fronr the past year. State Legislature Although OHA was able to help Nā Pua No'eau, the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation and Alu Like Ine. boost their budgets, several of our nrost irnportant bills ended up dying. For exainple, ever since 2001, we've tried unsuccessfully to pass legislation that would reestablish the continued funding of OHA fronr ceded land revenues. The Legislature needs to define, onee and for all, the revenue streanr fronr puhlie trust lands that is to be given to OHA for the benefit of Hawaiians. We nrust also do sonrething to save our kuleana lands. For the past two years, I have subnritted bills that would exenrpt kuleana lands fronr real property taxes if the land has been continuously occupied by the descendants of the original titleholder. I am detennined to give struggling Hawaiian fanrilies living on kuleana lands the tax relief they desperately need to hold on to their honres and legacy. Fiscal I brought up two concerns when Goldnran Sachs and Frank Russell were hired to serve as OHA's two hnaneial nranagers on lan. 16, 2003. First, I felt that their fees were too high. Secondly, I argued that we should hire an independent consultant to make sure they were doing their jobs. Unfortunately, OHA's leadership at the tinre didn't agree with me and the contracts were approved. I finally got sonre vindication when state Auditor Marion Higa eame out with her April 2005 audit of OHA and found that our nroney nranagers' fees were too high and that we should have hired an independent consultant to help us evaluate thenr (whieh still has not occurred). OHA policy For years now, I have been calling for OHA to create a land division to be headed by a "land konohiki," an expert specializing in land acquisition, nranagement, investnrent

and ceded land clainrs. The land konohiki would be able to quickly consider private lands for acquisition. The adnrinistration is now beginning to look at addressing this eoneem. Also, back in April, I strongly opposed a proposal to establish two censors to control what trustees could print in their Ka Wai Ola colunrns. Thankfully, this threat to free speech was quickly dropped after I brought up nry concems in an editorial to the Honolulu Advertiser and in nry Ka Wai Ola eolumn. While the chairperson has publicly stated that there was no attenrpt to implenrent the censors, I have a copy of the written reconunendation that was given to the trustees. Lawsuits We nrade sonre progress in the Arakaki lawsuit. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeak' denied the Arakaki plaintiffs any standing regarding the Departnrent of Hawaiian Home Lands and ceded land revenues. That just leaves OHA's nratching funds fronr the state, whieh I feel is pretty ridiculous since we are a state agency. I was nrost disappointed by the October lawsuit filed by Virgil Day, Mel Ho'omanawanui, Iosiah Ho'ohuli, Patrick Kahawaiola'a and Sanruel Kealoha, Ir. against OHA. They want OHA to stop serving Hawaiians with less than 50 percent blood through programs such as Nā Pua No'eau and the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation. They also want us to stop supporting the Akaka Bill. When will we learn that a people divided cannot stand? The only people that will gain fronr our bickering are those who do not want to see Hawaiians prosper in their own honreland. Federal reeognition We learned in late Iuly that the previously unheard of Grassroot Institute of Hawai'i, led by Richard Rowland, had joined Thurston Twigg-Smith and H. William Burgess in opposing the Akaka Bill. These people fed Congress false and nrisleading infonrration in an effort to confuse the issue. They say that they are fighting for equality, but I believe they are really nrotivated by racisnr. Urgent nratters, such as Humieane

I liūwena Akana TrustEE, At-largE

ended up postponing the Akaka Bill. As of this writing, OHA is planning to lobby the Senate in the week before Thanksgiving. I believe it will be our last ehanee to get the hill passed this year. Elder care On a positive note, I was very pleased that on lune 23, 2005, the Board of Trustees approved a grant of $300,000 to help fund the Kupuna Continuing Care Assurance Program, whieh will be administered by Lunalilo Home over the next two years. The

program is designed to help make residential care, respite care, adult day care and outreach nutritional services more affordable for Native Hawaiian kūpuna. Your prayers and guidance, for those of us in hardship in 2006, will help to make our journey successful. May the Lord bless and keep you all safe this holiday season. Aloha pumehana. For more infonnation on important Hawaiian issues, eheek out Trustee Akana's website at www.rowenaakana.org.