Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 31, Number 12, 1 December 2014 — Highlights from Kāmau a Ea 5 Governance Symposium [ARTICLE]

Highlights from Kāmau a Ea 5 Governance Symposium

By Kehaunani Abad, Ph.D. What are viable pathways to and likely outcomes of federal or international recognition for Kanaka Maoli? This was the focal question posed to seven world-renown experts on international law and native nations at Kamau a Ea 5 on November 1 (see oha.org/kamau for more information). At this full-day public symposium, two panels offered their insights through presentations and discussion. The international recognition panel included attorneys who have represented in international venues the national interests of various peoples. The panel included: • James Anaya: Former Special Rapporteur on the Rights of

Indigenous People at the United Nations and one of the key drafters of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. • Francis Boyle: Counsel to Bosnia, Herzegovina, and the Provisional Government of the State of Palestine, and attorney for the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria. • Lauri Malksoo (by Skype): Professor of International Law at the University of Tartu, Estonia and advisor to the Chancellor of Justice of the Republic of Estonia. • Robert Williams: Attorney for various tribal groups forwarding claims at the Inter- American Court of Human Rights and the

United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Peoples. Panelists with extensive experience in federal contexts offered ideas for consideration for Kanaka Maoli: • Patty Ferguson-Bohnee: Attorney representing tribal clients in state, federal and tribal courts regarding election law and policy, voting rights, and status clarification of tribes. • Thomas Schlosser: Attorney representing various tribes in cases involving natural resources, tribal property issues, tribal economic development and environmental regulation. • Richard Trudell: Founder of the American Indian Lawyer Training Program and the

American Indian Resources Institute which provide educational and training programs for tribal people. Over 150 Kamau a Ea 5 attendees and additional livestream viewers were treated to a stimulating array of perspectives for our lahui to consider in forwarding the national claims of the Hawaiian Kingdom and the separate, distinct claims of Kanaka Maoli as the aboriginal people of the Hawaiian Islands. Presenters highlighted the ripe opportunity before Native Hawaiians to use the full spectrum of moral, legal and political foundations to advance Hawaiian claims. A second frequent point emphasized was the ability of our lahui to choose our own path, define that

unique path for ourselves, and to follow that path relentlessly regardless of the many inevitable obstacles we will encounter. A third common theme among presenters was the ordering of our primary goals. First among them - for practical and other purposes - was seen to be the need for a Hawaiian government to be formed through the collective will of our lahui. Presenters stressed that once such a government is formed, the collective will of our lahui could most effectively be engaged in arenas external to our lahui, whether federal or international. To see a video recording of Kamau a Ea 5, visit oha.org/kamau. ¦