Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 23, Number 2, 1 Pepeluali 2006 — Mahalo, City Council [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Mahalo, City Council

Rūwena Akana TrustEE, At-lsrgE

£ A no'ai kākou. Special thanks go out /_\ to the nine City Council members Ā. \.who, on Dec. 7, 2005, voted to reject a settlement proposal that would have allowed private homes to be built in pristine Waimea Valley. The crucial vote paved the way for a new negotiated settlement between all interested parties that will eventually allow OHA to take ownership of the valley. Those community members who testified before the City Council to save the valley should be proud of a job well done. As a Hawaiian, it fills my heart with joy that our state motto is alive and well: Ua mau ke ea o ka 'āina i ka pono. The new $14.1-million settlement will be paid forby the U.S. Army ($3.5 million, negotiatedby the non-profit Trust for Public Land), OHA ($2.9 million). DLNR ($1.6 million), the Audubon Society ($1 million, advanced by OHA) and the city ($5.1 million). Onee the deal is approved by the City Council, Waimea Valley will finally be preseived in perpetuity. I am personally elated for the North Shore residents and environmental activists who brought tliis issue to OHA. None of this would have happened if it were not for their persistent efforts. OHA will continue to be vigilant about former ah'i lands that are up for sale. Negotiations aie currently taking plaee between all parties concerned to preserve Moanalua Valley. I have no doubt we will succeed if we ean generate the same cooperation and support that saved Waimea Valley. Akaka Bill update: On lan. 11, I was invited to speak about the merits of the Akaka Bill at the Small Business Hawai'i's (SBH) annual conferenee. Also speaking was Akaka Bill detractor Sandra Burgess, who is one of the plaintiffs in the Arakaki lawsuit and the wife of Wilham Burgess, the owner of the anti-Akaka Bill website Aloha For All. I was grateful for the opportunity to address this auspicious group because if I hadn't, they probably would have only heard Burgess' false, fear-mongering and downright racist remarks. It was clear that the SBH audience had very little knowledge of Hawai'i's annexation

or the reasons for the passage of the Apology Bill that President Bill Clinton signed into law in 1993. With less than 10 minutes to speak, I briefly covered how the Apology Bill set into motion a process for reconciliation between the Native Hawaiians and the United States, wliieh is the whole purpose of the Akaka Bill. Then it was Burgess' turn to speak. Here are just a few of the things she said: 1) She asked whether it was fair to non-Hawaiian businesses if Hawaiian businesses paid no taxes; 2) She asked whether we are all Americans and why should Hawaiians be different; 3) She said that if the Akaka Bill passes, nonHawaiians will have to face the question of returning all of their lands; 4) She said that federal recognition will give Hawaiians more power and money to corrupt our state and federal elected officials who already can't say "no" to Hawaiians. She even said that our governor is misguided for her support of the Akaka Bill; and 5) She said that the Akaka Bill sets up a separate class of people. I was appalled by Sandra Burgess' ridiculous statements. She gave no facts to support her position and basically told the audience that the worid would end if the Akaka Bill passes. I did my best to explain in my oneminute rebuttal that the Akaka Bill: 1) Doesn't allow Hawahans to be exempt from state or federal taxes; 2) Doesn't allow Hawaiianowned businesses to have an unfair advantage over non-Hawaiian businesses; 3) Doesn't allow Hawaiians to expel non-Hawaiians or the military from their lands; 4) Doesn't set up a separate class of people; and 5) Whatever documents are created by the new govemment must be reviewed by the Department of the Interior, and any settlements would have to be approved by the state and federal governments. This allows for checks and balances. Listening to Sandra Burgess opened my eyes to her and her group's true motives. They want to create an "US AGAINST THEM" mentality by scaring people into believing the Akaka Bill will hurt them. Let me be absolutely clear that it is not Native Hawaiians who are creating this kind of fearful atmosphere. We must all find a way to eome together, both Hawaiians and kama'āina, united in our eommon goal, to counter this divisive attitude and stop the noxious seeds of hate that Burgess' group is planting from taking permanent root in Hawai'i. I mua e Hawai'i nei! For more information on important Hawaiian issues, eheek out my website at www.rowenaakana.org. ^