Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 29, Number 5, 1 May 2012 — a [?] [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

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ith a stroke of a koa pen, Gov. Neil w m m Abercrombie on April 11 signed into law a bill settling a fierce tug-of- war that has spanned more than three decades, four state administrations, four lawsuits and 17 Legislatures. The new law transfers 30 acres of state land valued at $200 million in Kaka'ako Makai to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs to settle claims of back rent for use of ceded lands at state airports, affordable housing projects and state-run hospitals dating backto 1978. The bill-signing ceremony was held at Washington Plaee, the home of Hawai'i's last reigning monarch, Queen Lili'uokalani. U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka was in attendance along with OHA trustees, Hawaiian Homes commissioners, state law-

makers, homesteaders, civic group members, royal societies and other Hawaiian community leaders. The true sea change the settlement heralds may lie not in the land or the symbolism of the ceremony but in the collective mana beneath the ink. A critical mass of eollahoration and solidarity among diverse sectors of the Hawaiian community, from grassroots groups to the ali'i trusts, morphed opponents of earlier settlement proposals into ready allies. Robin Danner, president and CEO of the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, explained the "very striking contrast in process between 2012 and 2008," when OHA was poised to settle for a $200 million mix of land and cash. "First and foremost, in 2008 our Hawaiian community leadership was essentially not at the table, not in the front end," Danner said. Before undertaking this settlement, OHA reached out to

Hawaiian beneficiaries and eommunity leaders and initiated scores of community consultations held across the islands, to answer questions, lay out options and seek grassroots input - first. Referring to the federal designation that defines native Hawaiians by blood quantum, denoted by a lowercase "n" or capital "N," Danner said: "OHA and Governor Abercrombie brought together all Hawaiians, small 'n,' big 'N,' into this process. That's what made it possible for our community to rally around this because the door was open. We could knoek on the door, we could give our mana'o - and our OHA trustees welcomed that mana'o. That made it not an OHA settlement but a Hawaiian settlement, something that we are all a part of." "OHA made a nohle effort in that regard to seek the opinion of the community by going out and outreaching to the community,"

said Soulee Stroud, president of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs. "We felt as if they were willing to hear our mana'o and receive our input but more importantly to allay the questions and concerns that a lot of our board members had." "It's a good day for the Hawaiian people in the sense that we were all able to unite. And unified, we ean achieve miracles," said Hawaiian Homes commissioner Leimana DaMate. "This is one pieee but we're making strides and we're moving on. The ... commission fully supports OHA and we're open to partnerships with all of the Hawaiian trusts. So the closer we ean get together the stronger we are. Open agendas, talk story, all of that is critically important." Māhealani Cypher, president of the O'ahu Council of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs, supported the settlement before the state Legislature, but still had mixed

feelings - not so mueh about the settlement, but what it represents. "It's a good thing that they're finally providing OHA with some of the resources that they were obligated to do a long time ago," Cypher said. "But in my mind all these lands belong to the Hawaiian people, so it's really painful to feel that we only will be given this small portion of lands. It's hard to be totally joyous because really, it's kind of a eheap buy off; they paid us with our own land." Yet, Cypher reflected, "In the traditional view, nobody owned the land. The akua owned the land. So maybe our job is not about owning land but about keeping Hawaiian values at the forefront and lifting our people and the whole world up with those values. Maybe that's nalve, but that's the way I feel." APPROVED UNAMENDED It's almost unprecedented that a pieee of legislation goes fromintroduction to passage without a single word being changed. But that's exactly what happened. That the settlement was passed during the state's current eeonomie adversity attests to the unprecedented politieal will shown from both sides of the aisle. "I would say the stars were aligned. From a legislative perspective, it is so humbling to see that we have addressed this issue," said House Speaker Calvin Say. "Today, a debt was paid to our people. You ean put that in your heart and carry that on your shoulder," OHA Chairperson Colette Machado said at the ceremony. "And this is the only way we ean move forward." Recalling community meetings where Hawaiians on the Neighbor Islands asked how the settlement would benefit them, OHA Trustee Rowena Akana said, "Whatever revenues are generated will go into the trust fund for all the beneficiaries." It will be years before OHA sees meaningful revenue generated from the properties, but when that

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happens the benefits will be spread statewide, she said. Akana, who was vice chair during negotiations for an earlier 1993 partial settlement with the Waihe'e administration, said she was glad to see the issue finally resolved. The land, she said, will provide an eeonomie base for the good of the Hawaiian people. "A nation without land is no nation," she said. "You have to have ineome. You have to have land." Signing the bill, Abercrombie declared, "He 'ike 'ana ia i ka pono," a proverb for one who has seen the right thing to do and has done it. He also quoted from a speech from the late Rev. Abraham Akaka delivered at the time of statehood, in 1959, whieh affirmed the need for aloha at a time of a great transition for Hawaiians, saying: "Aloha consists of a new attitude of heart above negativism and legalism. It is the unconditional desire to promote the true good of other people in a friendly spirit out of a sense of kinship. Aloha seeks to do good to a person with no conditions attached." The governor had said that settling the longstanding dispute was "a top priority" in his administration. In the end, the lone dissenting vote was cast by Sen. Sam Slom, a Republican. The land deal has potential to move

OHA toward greater Ananeial sustainability. The Kaka'ako lands will provide OHA with a revenue stream to fund services for its beneficiaries, while creating jobs and funding valuable programs in every comer of the state. OHA's programs already address Hawaiian community needs in education, heahh, housing, job training, eeonomie development and cultural preservation. "This provides hope for our people," said Kamana'opono Crabbe, OHA's chief executive officer. "It goes a long way in healing the hihia, that historical political trauma, and to a certain extent helps to fulfill the state's constitutional obligation to us so we ean carry out our duties and responsibilities to improve conditions for the Native Hawaiian people." Existing leases produce a little more than $ 1 million annually, a figure expected to rise with future property development. The leases will continue to be honored by OHA under the terms of the settlement agreement. SETTLEMENT DETAILS Ten contiguous and adjacent parcels totaling 30 acres near Kaka'ako Waterfront Park will be conveyed to OHA. The Hawai'i Community Development Authority will continue to govern zoning and land use in the area, as opposed to City

Council oversight. The settlement only applies to claims for ceded lands receipts that the state collected between 1978 and 2012. It leaves on the table all claims related to sovereignty, or claims related to ceded lands receipts after July 2012, whieh are currently governed by Act 178 (2006). Pursuant to that act, OHA's current annual share of cededlands receipts is $15.1 million. During a transition period that may take six months to a year, Crabbe said that OHA will complete title transfers, and tenant and other issues before taking full possession of the lands. Meanwhile, OHA will continue to meet with Hawaiian and Kaka'ako community stakeholders to gather their input to create a master plan for

the property, whieh includes Fisherman's Wharf. "We'll be consulting not only with HCDA but with the loeal community group there because they have a master plan as well," Crabbe said. "We need to consider that since a lot of them have been in the effort of preserving the Kaka'ako landscape." "We are committed to making sure the land is used in a responsible way that will benefit the entire community," said Chairperson Machado. "We will halanee cultural and environmental considerations with the need to support programs that benefit the Native Hawaiian community." ITTAKESAVILLAGE At the ceremony, Machado honored those who had fought for Hawaiian rights and the recovery of native lands. Aunty Frenchy De Soto, known as the "Mother of OHA," tirelessly pushed to establish an office that would administer revenues generated from ceded lands for the betterment of conditions for Hawaiians at the 1978 state Constitutional Convention. The late Jon Van Dyke, a University of Hawai'i law professor and leading authority on Native Hawaiian law and eonstitutional law, was also instrumental in establishing "the framework for all of the SEE DEBT PAID ON PAGE 33

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RIGHT: OHA attorney William Meheula said, "Now these lands are always going to be in Hawaiian hands." State Department of Hawaiian Home Lands Director Alapaki Nahale-a, seated atcenter, and Attorney General David Louie atthe bill-signing ceremony. Standing at back left is Jesse Broder Van Dyke, whose late father, Jon Van Dyke, was praised by OHA Chairperson Colette Machado for creating the legal framework for the agency's work on ceded lands. - Photos: Francine Murray

DEBT PAID Continued from page 17 work that we are moving (forward) as a native people on ceded lands - to develop these legal frameworks for what would be due to our government," said Machado. Machado also gave credit to OHA attorney William Meheula, who spearheaded two of four lawsuits filed against the Legislature for breaching its constitutional obligation. "Now these lands are always going to be in Hawaiian hands, and will probably be passed on to the Hawaiian nahon when it's organized," Meheula said. When the state House of Representatives unanimously approved the settlement bill sending it to the governor for hnal approval, Governor Abercrombie stood and gave a

lei to deputy state attorney general Charleen Aina (see sidebar), who had worked on the agreement for years. At the signing ceremony, the governor asked Aina to say a few words. "I've always been the state's attorney, and I always thought I was doing what ought to be done and needed to be done," Aina said. "But there were times when that was hard to convince myself that that was what I was doing. But the sermon (by Rev. Abraham Akaka in on Hawai'i statehood) reminded me, and Senator Akaka reminded me, how lucky I've been to have had the opportunity to work on this project." ■ Naomi Sodetani is a freelance writer, documentary producer and former Publications Editor of Ka Wai Ola.