Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 27, Number 11, 1 November 2010 — lt's time to take action [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

lt's time to take action

Aloha kākou, The election for 2010 is close to history. For you who

a *voieu, gieai. For you who didn't, shame on you. Now we all have to live with whoever won until the next election. Be that as it may, the fate of the Akaka bill is still up in the air and our delegation has just a short window as a lame-duck Congress to pass the bill. We are in a serious situation and will need the votes of

this year's Congress to get the bill through by Christmas. Back on the home front, our Legislature and new administration will be organizing and preparing for the next legislative session. In that regard, OHA must fight for every penny we are owed by the Legislature who more often than not do not consider OHA and our Hawaiian people to be any of their kuleana despite our state agency identification and the responsibility given OHA to address the needs of our people. Your kōkua this session in ealling and writing your legislators to insist on their funding OHA and not penalizing you by stopping general funds from coming to OHA is important also. We are hopeful that this year might finally be the year the Legislature decides to pay up on a 30-plus-year debt and arrange with OHA to make up the over $200 million owed especially since we are not receiving any interest for this debt. (If we did we'd be owed over a hillion dollars by now.) So let the Legislature know that this interest-free loan from the Hawaiian people needs to be paid up now. The Supreme Court has stated that the state should carry out is fiduciary duty as well as we Trustees at OHA. It should not be a one-way street with OHA having to continuously argue and fight for

duly owed money from the state. Frankly, Govemor Lingle did take the bull by the horn and reinstate annual ceded lands

ievenues paymeuis 10 OHA that had been discontinued by Governor Cayetano. The Legislature, however, has not yet seen fit to secure this decision by passing an appropriate statute. And so, again, Hawaiians should not be shortchanged any more and time has eome for the Legislature to own up. OK, now that I have

that off my chest, may I commend Na'alehu Anthony for his company's extraordinary film titled Papa Mau: TIie Wayfinder. The preservation of the accomplishments of this humhle Micronesian navigator from the past as well as the history of the Hōkūle'a and its crews was well done and memorable and all should plan to see it and marvel at the revival of Polynesian navigation and culture, whieh Mau helped inspire. We Hawaiians have progressed mueh in perpetuating our culture and ean be proud of the accomplishments of so many in benefiting our people. As we close this year we need to recognize that no matter how mueh the state owes us, no matter how mueh we succeed in perpetuating our culture, all will be for naught without federal recognition. Why? Because without this legal shield, the darts of our opposition will pierce and kill any efforts we make to protect and secure our culture and our people for our future. The Legislature won't have to pay us from ceded lands revenues. OHA will no longer need to exist. Hawaiian Homes will be opened to all. Equal treatment will trump indigenous recognition. The Akaka bill has one more shot. What ean we do? A eall, an e-mail and a prayer might be helpful. ■

LEO 'ELELE > TRUSTEE MESSSAGES

Būyd P. Mūssman TrustEE, Maui