Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 27, Number 11, 1 November 2010 — White House Official addresses Hawaiian convention [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

White House Official addresses Hawaiian convention

By Lisa Asato KaWai Ola

Calling it "the beginning of a new era of dialog and engagement between the islands and the federal govemment," the Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Paeihe Islanders said she is committed to "making sure that every Asian American, every Native Hawaiian and every Paeihe Islander has access to the federal services and protections needed to remove barriers that keep them from their potential." In an Oct. 12 keynote address at the ninth annual Native Hawaiian Convention, Kiran Ahuja also reaffirmed President Obama's commitment to the Akaka bill and highlighted federal support of programs here, including $75 million in Race to the Top funds for Hawai'i puhlie schools and $1.5 million to the Wai'anae Coast Comprehensive Heahh Center as part of a larger $727 million in grants to community heahh centers under the Affordable Care Act. She also announced, to loud applause, that the initiative's next philanthropic briefing, whieh eonnects funders whh community projects, will focus on Native

Hawaiians and Paeihe Islanders. The initiative hosted a similar philanthropic briefing for Southeast Asian and Vietnamese fishermen in the Gulf Coast whose livelihoods were threatened after the BP oil spill, she said. After the speech, Robin Danner, President and CEO of the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, whieh organized the convention, called the announcement for a philanthropic briefing "truly historic." "That is a platform to be able to share all of the innovation of community organizations, Native Hawaiian practitioners and the ingenuity of our culture," Danner said, adding, "It's going to bring a light to that work, from foundations around the country that are completely unaware of things that ean be replicated and duplicated here in the Paeihe." Speaking to a crowd of about 400, including state and city lawmakers, OHA Trustees and staff and leaders in Hawaiian health, education, homesteads and business, Ahuja recognized Kamuela Enos of MA'O Farms as a new member of the President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Paeihe Islanders, describing him as a "formidable force on the commission."

Ahuja also described her upbringing in the Deep South as the daughter of Indian immigrants, where her parents ran a medical elinie in Savannah, Georgia. "I grew up knowing the feeling of being a small minority and the importance of minority voices," she said, her voice cracking with emotion. "This plaee in the South far away from

my parent's homeland is where my parents worked hard and where my brother and I grew up. It's where we lived, played struggled and strived to realize the American dream. It is where my father struggled with a mental illness for most of his life, where my mother worked the flea markets to make ends meet, where unfortunately my brother eommkted suicide in his 20s. And where my parents survive only on Social Security during their retirement. "It is also where i found my voice as a community advocate and why I am here with you today," she said. The visit to Hawai'i was the first major outreach trip she and her staff have taken, she said. "We started here first with you." While here, they conducted "more than 50 site visits and met with hundreds of people" in the community. "We have seen amazing, innovative examples in restoration and education and traditional Hawaiian fish-farming practices, organic food production utilizing the reliance and strength of young people, vibrant eommunity heahh centers, charter schools that promote language and culture, and renewable energy projects run by small businesses and eommunity organizations," Ahuja said. "Through these examples, we see inspiration, pride and hope. We see communities collaborating to create solutions and models developed in Hawai'i that we ean replicate in other parts of the country." She also spoke of Hawai'i's natural beauty, but pointed to the spirit of aloha 'āina, Hawaiians' love and respect for the land, as an "incredibly profound and a lesson for all of us." "This same spirit has been kept alive by Native Hawaiians all these years through tragic disease, abandoned treaty and the overthrow of the sovereign kingdom," she said. "These moments remind us of the injustices and the pitfalls of our nation's long journey to perfect itself. ... That is why the Ohama administration stands by its eommkment to recognize Native Hawaiians and supports the Akaka Bill." Speaking earlier that day, OHA CEO Clyde Nāmu'o said that OHA Trustees remain "steadfast in their support of the Akaka bill," a Hawaiian recognition bill that is also known

as the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act. OHA has often fought court battles defending Hawaiian programs and the Akaka bill "will provide that legal shield," he said, adding that there is still time to get a vote on the bill when Congress resumes after the elections. Nāmu'o also pointed to the findings of OHA's new report The Disparate Treatment of Native Hawaiians in the Criminal Justice System that confirm what many in the field had long suspected. The report, available for download at www.oha. org/disparatetreatment, among other things, found that Native Hawaiian women make up half the state's female incarcerated population. "The devastation on our eommunities is huge," Nāmu'o said. OHA in fiscal years 2007 to 2009 awarded 468 grants and sponsorships for a total of $51.9 million, with the greatest number of awards during that period going toward education and the largest awards going to housing, he said. OHA was the title sponsor of the Oct. 12 to 14 convention at the Hawai'i Convention Center. The catchall convention covered business, Paeihe Islanders policy and grants, including OHA grants. At a pre-convention gathering, youth leaders drew up initiatives to present to the next Governor, whieh included tuition waivers for all Hawaiians attending the University of Hawai'i, decreasing property taxes for Hawaiians, and having Hawaiians comprise more than half of the members on the state Water Commission. Speakers and other participants included U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka, U.S. Rep. Mazie Hirono, gubernatorial candidates James "Duke" Aiona and Neil Abercrombie, OHAChief Advocate Esther Kia'āina, OHA Director of Research Kamana'opono Crabbe, Melody MacKenzie of the UH law school and Kamaki Kanahele of the Sovereign Councils of the Hawaiian Homelands Assembly. At the preconvention, OHA Trustee Walter Heen, a retired Judge and former state lawmaker, was recognized with a Kupuna Award for lifetime achievement from various groups led by the Native Hawaiian Legal Defense and Education Fund. ■

Kiran Ahuja, Executive Director of the White House lnitiative on Asian Americans and Pacific lslanders, after making her keynote address. - Photo: John Matsuzaki

OHA CE0 Clyde Nāmu'o. - Photo : Zachary Villanueva