Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 38, Number 12, 1 December 2021 — Native Hawaiian Businesses and the DoD [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Native Hawaiian Businesses and the DoD

J THE VOICE OF NATIVE ^ > HAWAIIAN BUSINESS '

By the NHCC Board of Directors Can Native Hawaiian Businesses be Department of Defense (DoD) eontraetors? The answer is yes. The DoD in Hawai'i is the seeond, some would argue the first, largest eontributor to the state eeonomy. It might surprise many Native Hawaiians to know that the United States Army has the only major endemic seed repository in the islands. The Army is really a big player in Hawai'i for conservation of natural resources, in particular endemic plants. You ean read about this in the recent October 13 edition of Hawai'i Business Magazine. Additionally, the Army Natural Resources Program built the world's first snail-proof fence in the Wai'anae Mountains to protect kāhuli (native snails) from predatory rosy wolf snails, rats and chameleons. Another interesting fact is the ehapel donated by Queen Lili'uokalani to Schofield Barracks. In 1913, Queen Lili'uokalani raised money for the construction of this Soldiers' ehapel. The first church on post, it housed a bell donated by the 5th U.S. Cavalry Regiment in 1912. Ihink about this for a moment. Our Queen shared her spirit and generosity with the very people who overthrew her government. What does this say about Native Hawaiians? We are a people dedicated to aloha and forgiveness. As the native people of this land, it is our right to participate in the defense economy. Hawai'i military bases and military training areas are built on former Native Hawaiian lands. Furthermore, Hawai'i's strategic location in the Paeihe for defense of the U.S. continent was a primary objective in the march to annexation and statehood. It seems only proper that Native Hawaiians should participate in the eeonomie benefits of these activities.

Here are a few facts on Native Hawai-ian-owned business working on DoD eontracts in FY20, whieh is available from publie sources such as USAspending.gov. • $209 million obligated contract revenue to Native Hawaiian-owned businesses located nationwide • $159 million obligated contract revenue to Native Hawaiian-owned business located in Hawai'i • $2.4 billion total obligated revenue statewide (all contractors) Put another way, during FY20, of the $2.4 billion in DoD contract dollars, just 6.6% was obligated to locally owned Native Hawaiian businesses, yet we make-up 20-25% of the entire state population. As the DoD rolls out major projects and new initiatives in Hawai'i, such as Training Lands Retention, Homeland Defense Radar, and Marine Corps Modernization, our Native Hawaiian community should insist on intensive analyses of their eeonomie impact on Hawai'i's economy and especially the Native Hawaiian business community - including investments that promote future eeonomie growth and diversification. We, the Indigenous people of Hawai'i, must demand greater eeonomie benefit from our relationship with the DoD. The DoD is necessary to our state and country. We live with their families and our children go to school with their children. Our 'ohana are members of the military services. In return for continued Native Hawaiian support, we seek equivalent eeonomie benefit for their use of our lands. We must insist they use Native Hawaiian-owned small businesses to accomplish national and worldwide missions. ■ The Native Hawaiian Chamber of Commerce works to mālama Native Hawaiians in business and commerce through leadership, relationship,s and connections to eeonomie resources and opportunities. The NHCC is a 501(c)(6) trade organization whose members include individuals, businesses ofall size and industries, and nonprofit organizations. ■ FB @NativeHawaiianChamberOfCommerce ■ IG @nhccoahu ■ nativehawaiianchamberofcommerce.org

NATIVE HAWAIIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE