Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 23, Number 12, 1 December 2006 — 2006 IN REVIEW [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

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2006 IN REVIEW

... Public lnform atiun Specialist

nnnn ^een a year eharting new ground for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. First and foremost was the agency 's emergence as an important landholder, with its conservation #1111 hacquisiti°ns °f the 26,000-acre Wao Kele o Puna rainforest on Hawai'i Island and l,800-acre Waimea Valley on O'ahu. There was also the partial resolution of long-dis-U U Uputed issues regarding OHA's share of ceded-lands revenue, whieh resulted in the agency securing $15.1 million a year in payments from the state, plus a $17.5 million one-time payment for certain previously unpaid amounts. And, while the narrow defeat of a procedural vote on Sen. Daniel Akaka's Hawaiian federal recognition hill in the U.S. Senate was a disappointment to OHA's leadership, whieh has strongly supported the hill, the agency responded by redoubling its own efforts to sponsor a process through whieh Hawaiians ean fonn their own representative body. Here's a recap of some of the key headlines Ka Wai Ola covered this year:

lanuali - January • OHA and Gov. Linda Lingle reach a ceded lands revenue agreement that provides OHA with $15.1 million in annual revenue for the agency's share of ineome from the puhlie land trust, plus a one-time $17.5 million payment for undisputed past-due amounts. Both sides agree that further negotiations are needed

to resolve additional disputed amounts. • A conservation hui made up of OHA, the City and County of Honolulu, the U.S. Army, the state Department of Land , and Natural Resources and ' the National Audubon Society reach an agreement to purchase 0'ahu's Waimea Valley for $14 million, with OHA assuming title to the land. The deal pennanently protects the historic valley, considered 0'ahu's last intact ahupua'a, from development. Pepeluali - February • A federal appeals court agrees to rehear a lawsuit seeking to strike down Kamehameha Schools' Hawaiian-preference

j admission ■ policy. A ■ three-judge ■ panel of the I court had preI viously ruled I against the

school in the case. The court's ruling on the rehearing is still pending. • NASA pulls funding from its proposed Keek telescope expansion at the sununit of Mauna Kea. The move effectively kills the controversial project, whieh had been opposed by several Hawaiian and environmental groups. • Hawaiian activists protest the University of Hawai'i's patenting of several taro varieties. The university later agrees to drop the patents. Malaki - March • Cultural groups seek legislative funding for hadly needed repairs at Mauna 'Ala, the royal mausoleum for

Hawaiian ali'i. Lawmakers eventually approve maintenance funds to be | administered by | OHA.

• Federal officials arrest two men for the 2004 looting of Hawaiian cultural objects that had been repatriated to Kanupa Cave on Hawai'i Island. The men later confess to the crime. 'Apelila - April • Culture and arts groups join together to organize the first Maoli

Arts Month, a series of | events eeleI brating Native I H a w a i i a n I visual artists. • Trustees I approve an * increase of

$1.57 imllion in OHA's operating budget to be used for additional grants to nonprofit coimnunity groups serving Native Hawaiians.

L Mei - May ' • The state I Legislature I passes a I number of ' bills related

to Hawaiian issues, including approving OHA's ceded lands revenue agreement and Waimea Valley acquisition. • The state Supreme Court reafflrms its rejection of airport revenue claims by OHA. The ruling puts an end to the lengthy case, in whieh OHA had sought to recover as mueh as $300 million that the agency said it should have received from conunercial activities at Honolulu International Airport, whieh partially sits on ceded lands. lune - June • A procedural vote on the Akaka Bill ,

is narrowly [ defeatedinthe I U.S. Senate. Supporters of the Hawaiian federal recog-

nition hill had hoped the vote would force the measure - whieh had long been stalled by opponents - to the Senate floor for a full debate and final vote. • In a surprise announeement, President Bush designates the federal waters surrounding the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands as a nalional monument. The designation, whieh bans commercial fishing but allows for research and Hawaiian cultural access, creates the world's largest oeean refuge. • The U.S. Supreme Court issues a ruling favoring OHA in the Arakaki lawsuit, whieh had sought the abolishment of the agency as being racially biased. The High Court's ruling invalidates a lower court's earlier decision that the plaintiffs in the case had sufficient standing to challenge OHA's use of state tax revenues.

lulai - July • After eomplex negotiations, OHA gains title in both the Wao

Kele o Puna and Waimea Valley land deals, instantly making the agency one of the top landholders in the state. • In the aftermath of the unsuccessful Akaka Bill procedural vote, OHA steps up its I Ho'oulu Lāhui Hawai'i goverI nanee initiative, whieh would | provide a process for native I Hawaiians to form their own 1 representative body.

NŪ HOU • NEWS

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'Aukake - August • A federal judge dismisses a blood-quantum suit against

OHA. The L suit had I challenged I the agenI cy's use of I ceded-lands I funds for ' beneficia-

ries of less than 50 percent Hawaiian blood, but the judge ruled that federal law had no clear intent allowing such a elaim. • Tempers flare at 'Iolani Palaee, as protestors face off with celebrators at a hastily arranged Admission Day conunemoration at the palaee, whieh is the spot where statehood was officially proclaimed, but is also the site of the Hawaiian monarchy's overthrow. Kepakemapa - September

• Cultural objeets that had been reburied in "Forbes Cave" on Hawai'i Island are reportedly returned to Bishop Museum, in accordance with a federal judge's order. Disagreement over the proper dis-

position of the items created heated eonI troversy in I the Hawaiian | community. • Bishoo

M u s e u m unveils the largest display of important Hawaiian featherwork pieces seen in modern times. The "Nā Hulu Ali'i" exhibit includes some of the most treasured surviving symbols of the ruling chiefs of old. 'Ūkakūpa - Dctūber • OHA announees a major restrueturing of its Native Hawaiian Revolving Loan Fund. New loan applications are put on

hold during the upgrade, whieh is slated to take effect early in 2007 and add new services to the existing business-loan .

program. Nūwemapa - Nūvember • Fonner state legislator and judge Walter Heen is eleeted to OHA's O'ahu seat. Incumbent Trustees Rowena Akana, Boyd Mossman, Oz Stender and lohn Waihe'e IV are re-elect-ed to their seats for another four years. • OHA files suit against the Army over /

alleged violations of cultural and I environmental I, protections in II training areas (I at Schofield II

Barracks that the military has been revamping for use by its planned Stryker Brigade. S

U WAI OLA L IN REVIEW,

NŪ HOU • N EWS

HūWūiian entitlements critic Ken Conklin orgues with sovereignty activist Terry Keko'olani during an Admission Day confrontation at 'lolani Palaee - Photo: Sterling Kini Wong