Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 24, Number 8, 1 August 2007 — My Akaka Bill support statement [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

My Akaka Bill support statement

Bnyd P. Mūssman TrustEE, Maui

Aloha kākou. Sometimes it is difficult to explain why Hawaiians deserve to be federally recognized to those who are not knowledgeable of the issues facing us today. While chatting with some Hawaiians in Utah, they suggested a one-page statement that could be easily read by anyone interested in Hawaiian recognition. My response follows. Julian Kau prepared another such statement that I hope to publish at a later date. Though not bulletproof, this statement tries to explain to the uninformed the plight of Hawaiians in the face of a nation with many other priorities. Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act S.B. 310 Hawaiians today are seeking to preserve their culture, language, customs and their very identity from a well-financed and determined eampaign to end their further legal existence in the name of "equal rights." In 1778, Captain James Cook identified the indigenous people of Hawai'i as "Indians." In 1787, the Constitution of the United States was signed, whieh gave Congress plenary power over Indians who were the indigenous people of the United States. In 1866, the 14th Amendment was added to the Constitution providing "equal rights for all." The Kingdom of Hawai'i was at that time an internationally recognized sovereign nation and had in effect several treaties with the United States. By 1893, the Hawaiian population had decreased from over a half million to 40,000. A small group of Americans with the collaboration of the American envoy and military caused the queen to yield to the "superior power" of the United States. The total number of Americans in Hawai'i was two percent of the population; nevertheless, the Republic of Hawai'i was recognized,

and despite clear evidence of U.S. involvement in the overthrow, annexation of a foreign nation was achieved not by the will of the Hawaiian people, but by joint resolution of Congress. In 1920, Congress recognized that Hawaiians deserved recognition of their demise as a people and provided lands for their rehabilitation. Today, most Hawaiians seek only a degree of self-determination and to keep what they already have while reconciling any remaining differences with the U.S. government arising from its complicity in the unlawful taking of the Hawaiian Islands. Numerous legal scholars concur that Congress's passage of the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act (S.B. 310) is within its legal authority and that therefore this issue is a political and not racial one. Passage would allow Hawaiians themselves to focus on the many problems they face today. Hawaiians have welcomed all races to Hawai'i, and all have embraced their adopted land and culture. It is Hawaiians themselves who, despite individual achievements, have suffered the wrath of discrimination, the loss of their 'āina (land) and the depletion of their people and language. The problem is mueh more than a mere superficial attack on racial grounds but one aimed at the very essence of Hawai'i, its indigenous people. Forced assimilation would mean the legal extinction of a onee sovereign and independent nation and people of Hawai'i. Loss by Hawaiians of the ability to address their significant needs in government, health, education, housing, jobs, etc. would be catastrophic to all the people of Hawai'i. Not only would the economy suffer, but the loss of the basic fabric of Hawai'i, its native people, would cause untold harm to every segment of society. Recognition afforded by S.B. 310 is a multi-step process with federal oversight at eaeh level. It is in tune with the Admissions Act of 1959 and the Apology Bill of 1993 and is the least that America ean do to reconcile with a wronged people and to avoid further injustice. We humbly enlist your support for the last indigenous people of the United States. E

LEO 'ELELE ■ TRUSTEE MESSAGES