Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 26, Number 2, 1 February 2009 — THOUSANDS RALLY TO PROTECT CEDED LANDS [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

THOUSANDS RALLY TO PROTECT CEDED LANDS

BlilwiT»Mi»H»l[»f''»l''P >]Vr 1 1 g l 1 EI« I ki [»1 |T , C^k

By Usa Asatū Public lnfurmatiun Specialist Thousands of people took to the streets of Waikīkl to prevent eeded lands from being sold by the state. They marehed in red T-shirts, hoisted homemade signs and Hawaiian flags and filled the air with the sounds of ehanting and blowing of pū in reaction to a pending U.S. Supreme Court review of a case involving the state's right to sell ceded lands, whieh were formerly held by the Hawaiian government. Hawaiian leaders rallied the throng at Kapi'olani Park to let them know the work is just starting. "Let's pass moratorium legislation in the 2009 Legislature, and let that serve as an incentive for the state administration to eonsider their action and remove the appeal in the U.S. Supreme Court," OHA Chairperson Haunani Apoliona told the thousands who showed up at the Kū i ka Pono March and Rally lan. 17 - a date whieh also marked the 116th anniversary of the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom. "We must do it in a unified effort. Divided we will not aeeomplish and we will not prevail. ... It is legislation that govermnent will understand." Apoliona said OHA has submitted to the Legislature a hill that would impose a moratorium on the sale of ceded lands until umelinquished claims of Native Hawaiians to those lands are settled. The hill is posted online at oha.org. "It's there for all to see, to study and to support," she said. The march and rally took aim at the state's appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court over its ability to sell ceded lands before Native Hawaiian claims to those lands are resolved. Ceded lands onee belonged to the Hawaiian government and are now held in trust by the state for five purposes, including the bettennent of Native Hawaiians. In 1994, OHA and four plaintiffs sued to stop the state from selling 1,500 acres of ceded lands in Maui and Hawai'i Island. In 2000, the Circuit Court ruled in favor of the state, but on appeal the Hawai'i Supreme Court in Ianuary 2008 ruled unanimously to bar the state from selling or transferring ceded lands until Native Hawaiian claims to those lands are resolved, basing its ruling on, among other things, the Apology Resolution, whieh was signed by then-Pres-ident Bill Clinton and apologized for the United States' role in the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian govermnent. The state appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, whieh is hearing the case on Feb. 25. Other speakers at the march and rally sounded a similar message that passage of a moratorimn hill is emeial this legislative session.

State Sen. Clayton Hee, chairman of the Senate Water, Land, Agriculture and Hawaiian Affairs Conunittee joined six lawmakers on stage in a show of support for a moratorium bill. Hee (D, Kahuku-Ka'a'awa-Kāne'ohe) said it was inevitable that the state would win its appeal to the U.S . Supreme Court and urged puhlie action, saying: "I will hold a hearing. You eome so we ean win. Without you we cannot win. It's that simple. This ain't rocket science. It don't take brains. It takes the na'au." Kupu'āina Coalition member Davis Price

said he took heart in a eommon theme shared by the day's speakers of the examples of resistance by kūpuna in the 1898 Kū'ē petition that protested annexation, and the Hawaiian renaissance of the 1970s, whieh saw exercises of polhieal power like fighting for the return of Kaho'olawe and the rebirth of Polynesian navigation in Hawai'i symbolized by the sailing eanoe Hōkūle'a. "People, go up to your legislators tell them: 'We're not taking no for an answer. You pass

this hill iimnediately to protect the 'āina so we ean move forward and we ean unite behind that,' and I'm confident we ean have another amazing moment in our history from that moment of unity." Earlier in the morning, 83-year-old Abbie Dela Cruz said she was marching to keep Hawaiian lands in Hawaiian hands. "We had plenty lands," she said. "They are taking away little by little." She said the fight has been a long one, seemingly without end. "We're trying to fight for our land that belongs to our kupunas way back. And we are the younger generation, but (look)

how old I am and I'm still fighting for my kupunas. ... That's the reason why I'm walking." For 51-year-old lohn Chun of Papakōlea land is a matter of Hawaiian identity and worth fighting for. "If they sell the ceded lands, we lose everything," said Chun, who was marching with his wife and children and wearing a red T-shirt symbolizing Hawaiian blood and unity. His shirt read, "Stop Stealing from Hawaiians" in the front and "Don't Mistake our Kindness for Weakness" on the back. And Kawika Iohnson eame with 10 members of his 'ohana, who often march together in support of Hawaiian issues. Carrying an upside-down Hawaiian flag - a sign of distress - he said his message to Gov. Linda Lingle was to withdraw the state's appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. "It's a ruling that's supposed to be resolved only when Hawaiian issues are resolved," he said. "Then a decision ean be made. Obviously it's not resolved and (Lingle's) trying to sell land that's designated for the Hawaiian people." He said Hawaiians voted for Lingle because she has been supportive of Hawaiian issues in the past, including marching in 2005 to preserve Kamehameha Schools' Hawaiian-preference admissions policy, whieh was being challenged in federal court. Now her actions are hypocritical, he said. Asked what he made of her past statement that her support for Hawaiians remains unchanged, but that she has to maintain the interest of all her constituents in this case, he said he wasn't convinced. "It doesn't really ring true for me," he said. "But if she's for the people then this was her first big blemish." Lingle did not respond to a request for conunent. Other speakers included Mililani Trask, plaintiff lon Osorio, Lynette Cmz of Hawaiian Independence Alhanee, fonner OHA Trustee Moanike'ala Akaka and Walter Ritte, a eommunity leader on Moloka'i. Rally organizer Kaho'onei Panoke told the audience the march was sending a message to the Lingle administration that "you still have time" to withdraw the appeal. "Open your ears, maka'ala (be alert) and look at whose out here today ... because we're not going to go away," Panoke said, addressing Lingle, who was not present. Panoke said it was wrong of Lingle to take the issue to the federal arena because it should be decided at home with Hawaiians at the table. But he promised Hawaiians would not give up. "We will continue to fight this issue up until Feb. 25 when this case will be heard in the U.S. Supreme Court," he said. S

Get the facts! Ceded lands panel discussion Free on 'Ōiwi TV or oiwi.tv With plaintiffs' attor-

ney Bill Meheula, state Attorney General Mark Bennett, Bill Tam, who specializes in land and natural resources law, state Sen. Clayton Hee and fonner Gov. lohn Waihe'e III. Hosted by Kupu'āina Coalition at the University of Hawai'i Richardson School of Law on lan. 7.

NŪ HOU - NEWS

[?]