Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 25, Number 12, 1 December 2008 — What does it mean? [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

What does it mean?

On Nov. 5, 2008, Hawai'i, the rest of the country, and the world experienced a euphoric state of amazement and hope. There was amazement that a person of color, Barack Ohama, could be elected president of the most influential country in the world. And there was hope that this new leader could bring new perspectives to the many issues and concerns that people everywhere are experiencing, either as part of a larger community or an isolated one. Hawai'i had particular cause to eelebrate that momentous event. After all, the President-elect was born and spent most of his early fonnative years in Honolulu. Those early experiences, here, undoubtedly contributed to the whole man and, I believe, instilled in him a keen awareness of how people of diverse cultural, ethnie and eeonomie backgrounds ean live together in a kind of hannony not often experienced in other parts of the world, or

in many parts of the United States. Did you see that news elip of him walking along Young Street in "slippahs?" That said a lot to me. But those early experiences are, obviously enough, only a small part of this new world leader's makeup. Barack Obama's further experiences at the country's most prestigious law school (that's a major concession from a Georgetown Law graduate) and as a eommunity organizer in Chicago contributed more greatly to the fonnation of the man, than his youth. He not only got a great education but he experienced the rigors of competing with some of the brightest minds in the country. His conununity-or-ganizing experiences were assisted greatly, I'm sure, by his vision of people living in hannony, such as in Hawai'i, yet striving for recognition and a "plaee in the world." I ean only believe that he is still driven by that vision, and will evidence that in his policies and decisions as president. But, in my mind, Barack Obama's humanitarian world view was forged by his visits to Kenya, his father's birthplace, as brief as those visits might have been. It was during those visits, in my opinion, that he was exposed to the dire effects of western colonialism on that country. He saw, firsthand, the effects of the eolonialists' exploitation of the physical resources of Kenya and also learned from his relatives of the difficulties they experienced.

Indeed, he saw for himself the long-lasting effects of colonialism on his family and the people of Kenya. He ean lead in altering the industrialized world's treatment of the less-developed countries. All of Obama's experiences have molded a leader who has the capacity to bring people together in neighborhoods, in cities, in states and as a country in such a way that will produce the most good for the most people. And this ean only mean good things for Native Hawaiians. Ohama takes with him to Washington strong Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress. We ean expect that his policies and proposals will be well received. At least they will not be rejected out of hand. He has pledged to sign the Akaka Bill if passed by Congress, and with Sen. Inouye as chair of the powerful Senate Appropriations Coimnittee, we ean expect that that will happen. The strong Democratic majority and Inouye's position will also protect other entitlements for Native Hawaiians in appropriations for heahh, education and housing. In the present session of Congress there was still a move on the part of the Senate Republican Steering Coimnittee to remove specific benefits for Native Hawaiians in housing assistance and small-business contracting with federal agencies. These efforts ean be forestalled with the Democratic majority and Obama's more benevolent view of minority rights. □

LEO 'ELELE ■ TRUSTEE MESSAGES

Walter M. Heen TrustEE, O'ahu