Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 31, Number 5, 1 May 2014 — OHA convenes fourth summit on rebuilding a Hawaiian Nation [ARTICLE]

OHA convenes fourth summit on rebuilding a Hawaiian Nation

By Harold Nedd The Office of Hawaiian Affairs gathered Native Hawaiian leaders again in April for a summit on O'ahu to discuss constructive, collective paths to reestablishing a Hawaiian nation. A goal of the summit was to nurture greater solidarity among various leaders in the community. For the Summit, OHA specifically reached out to many voices that have not typically engaged in matters related to OHA. "Assembling this wide array of participants was in itself historic," said Kamana'opono Crabbe, OHA's Ka Pouhana and CEO. In straight-talking discussions,

the 100-plus participants at the Kāmau a Ea Summit spent two days in passionate conversations. Two major topics rose to the forefront: calls to amend the proposed OHA-facilitated nation-rebuilding process and calls for unity among those holding diverse perspectives. Those addressing concerns about the proposed OHA-facilitated Nation-rebuilding process urged the agency to provide more time in the process and to open up a second way for Native Hawaiians to register to vote in the process. Some stressed that the origin of the existing Kana'iolowalu Offieial Roll is too narrowly associated with a process intended to achieve state recognition of the Hawaiian Nation - an outcome that some did

not desire. Andre Perez, who was among 30 participants at the summit to formally express concerns about the process to the OHA Board of Trustees, felt that "if OHA listens to the recommendations of the people, we have a good ehanee of moving forward." At the same time, Miehelle Ka'uhane, president of the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, echoed her Kāmau a Ea comments in a formal statement to the OHA Board of Trustees, emphasizing CNHA's continued "support for moving forward with the process (OHA) described." In a conversation during the Kāmau a Ea summit, Dexter Kaiama, a Native Hawaiian rights

lawyer, said: "I think it's good to bring our people together to talk about these issues. We need to eontinue to engage and have critical discussions without state or OHA interference." Kamana'opono Crabbe, OHA's Ka Pouhana and CEO, summed up his feelings about the summit this way: "Allowing our people to have a free voice to share their views was a crucial goal of the Kāmau a Ea summits. Without this open dialogue, OHA cannot be responsive to the needs and will of our people." Both requests for more time to engage in the Nation-rebuilding process and for a second way to register to participate in the process are being considered by OHA's leadership. Summit participants also urged that more education be provided to the Hawaiian community. "We agree that what we've begun is far from all that's needed," Crabbe said. "Additional educational efforts have always been part of our plan,

and our community will see this in the months to eome." Live-streaming presentations of the various leaders at the Kāmau a Ea Summit is one way that OHA is offering all interested more insight about various approaches to re-es-tablishing a Hawaiian Nation. (See those presentations and more at oha.org/nationbuilding). Amid intense conversations about the Nation-rebuilding process, leaders from all parts of the Hawaiian community called for unity. Evidence of that unity emerged both in the general calls for changes to the proposed Nation-rebuilding process and in agreements about what will and will not be sought along the various paths to re-estab-lishing a Hawaiian Nation. Those supporting state and federal recognition of a Hawaiian Nation and those supporting restoring an internationally recognized Hawaiian Nation agreed that state or federal recognition should SEE SUMMIT ON PAGE 14

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not prohibit further efforts to seek international recognition. "We declare our support for all paths that lead to state, federal and international recognition of Lāhui ' Ōi wi and repudiate and disavow the interpretation that federal and state recognition precludes our right and elaim to independence," Davianna McGregor, Melody MacKenzie and Derek Kauanoe said in a five-page declaration they jointly shared at the summit. Miehelle Ka'uhane stressed that her nonprofit organization's position for the past 13 years has been about self-governance. "We don't believe any one position, any one group or any one person should impede on the opinion of another," Ka'uhane said. "We don't believe state or federal recognition has to stand in the way of what others are trying to achieve." Kāmau a Ea was the fourth summit in a series that began in

November2012, when OHA started bringing together leading thinkers on Hawaiian sovereignty. The summits have taken on new meaning since OHA announced in March its decision to facilitate a process that empowers its beneficiaries to participate in building a goveming entity. In her remarks to open the April 11 Kāmau a Ea Summit, OHA Chairperson Colette Machado praised participants for their dedication to the goal of Nation building. "I am also grateful to all of you for your willingness to get involved and help drive a process to form a Native Hawaiian governing entity," Machado said. "Let's demonstrate a commitment that would send a stronger, clearer and better message about how our community is uniting to move forward and engage in a process to build a Nation that would benefit future generations of Hawaiians." ■