Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 17, Number 9, 1 September 2000 — Federal recognition and Hawaiians [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Federal recognition and Hawaiians

T'S WORTH saying that the Rici :ase is far from over. You remember that the L:nited State Supreme Court ruled thai i 1 registered voters ean vote in OHA elections. Moreover, the Federal Distnct Court fo he Distnct of Hawai'i has ruk hat anyone ean run for OHA This new case and the Rice demonstrate the day has eome ti ind other means of moving iur commumt\ - Hawaitans ane iion-Hawaiians - forward tow ard justice for Native Hawaiians. We art fortunate because the opportunity is here to have for mal federa! recognitioi of the poliūea >tatus of Native Hawai ians as native peoples The opportumty is the Akaka legislation Today. more thar 550 indigenous people have attained the samt official recognition ffom tht tederal government. The Navajo Indians have more thanl4,0(X),000 acres of land in severai >iates. The Alaska Natives nave more than 44,000,000 acres of land. There are more Native Hawaiians than

Navajos or Native Alaskans or any other groups of native peoples īn the United States. but Native Hawaiians have remained the Islands of Neglect by the federal government The United States Constitution permits Congress to recognize the pohtical status of a specifīc group of indigenous peoples. Federally recognized indigenous peoples have the eonstimtional right to special benefits īn the areas of health. education, housing, social services and eeonomie development They havr the authority to goverr themselves, to elect theii own leaders. to determine theu owri membership and their own land base It is self-detemunation ai work While polineal statu- is not tht panaeea to all problem- tha' some native peoples continue to endure, politicai status ha- itadvantages. For example manv Hawaiian programs fundeo by Congress ean continut withou' challenge. Programs like tht Hawaiian Home Lands Depart ment. and Alu Likt a federal

state and OFlA-funded eeonomii development agency for Hawaiians, ean eonhnue Papa Ola Lokahi a health organization funded b\ the federal govemment. goes on uninteirupted. Education programs funded by the Native Hawaiian Education Act ean eonūnue Unfortunately there is a miseoneephon that only Hawaiians benefit from these programs We forget that nearly every one of us. non-Hawaiian and Hawaiian is connected Many Hawaiian homesteaders today are married to non-Hawaiians who reside

with them on their land. Many Hawaiian children at the Kamehameha Schools have one parent who is not Hawaiian. My own family is a perfect example. I was privileged to attend the Kamehameha Schools and my father is Chinese. Non-Hawaiians benefit when a Hawaiian is trained by Alu Like in starting a business. When that Hawaiian business is successful, it creates jobs and increases state ineome and tax receipts.

The United States has a history of acknowledging past injustices. Congress appropriated $20,000 in reparations per JapaneseAmeiiean person improperly

interned in detention camps - more commonly known as jails - during World War II. The real question is whether one believes Hawaiians are entitled to any special benefits at all. The answer to that is whether one believes that the United States is obligated to Hawaiians for the unlawful taking of a their kingdom. Congress and the President believed so when the Apology Resolution passed by Congress and signed into law by President Clinton in 1993. Rice and its progeny underscore the immediate need for passage of the Akaka legislation providing federal recognition to the Hawaiian people. We should support this effort. I believe that Hawaiian people will have the courage to walk down this path toward federal recognition and that the community will support us because we are dependent on eaeh other as family, and friends. As our beloved queen said, "I could not turn back the time for ■ the political change. but there is still time to save our heritage. You must remember never to cease to act because you fear you may fail.'" ■

' Rice and its progeny underscore the immedic ate need for passage of the Afcaka legislation providing federal recognition to the Hawaiian people.'

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TRUSTEE MESSAGES CHAIRPERSON'S MESSAGE

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