Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 30, Number 8, 1 August 2013 — Nationhood -- a reality check [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Nationhood -- a reality check

revisit my notion that any form of a Hawaiian Nation is a four-legged stool. First, it has to have citizens. Second, politieal recognition - by at least one other nation - presumably in case the United States. Third, a national culture that bonds the citizens to a eommon behavior system driven by cultural values. Fourth, eeonomie capacity - the ability to create prosperity for its citizens. We're still struggling with the "who are its citizens" question. Is Hawaiian ethnicitv required?

If yes, is there a standard blood quantum? Fifty percent, 25 percent, 10 percent, any percent? Do you have to live in Hawai'i to be a citizen? On what basis might a nonHawaiian elaim citizenship? Will you have to give up your U.S. citizenship? We are far, far, far away from resolving this fundamental requirement as a prerequisite to nationhood. A deeper dilemma lies in the political recognition question. Today, there are no less than 11 "nations" claiming the title of being the official Nation of Hawai'i. Meanwhile, the rest of us continue to trudge down the long, long road to federal recognition, presumably that will lead to a "nation within a nation" model such as in the case of American Indians and Alaskan Natives. The good news is the state of a Hawaiian national culture. The culture is alive, well and growing. It has rebounded from the depths of obscurity with a rebirthing of the language and cultural art forms that is simply astounding. We are still ascending with not only the preservation of our eulture but with its evolution into new forms. While there's some friction between the preservationists and the evolutionists, it's all good. Now, to the point of all this - the fourth leg of the stool - the business of a national eeonomie capacity. What good is a nation if it cannot generate prosperity for its citi-

zens? What good is any form of nationhood if our children cannot access a quality education? What good is sovereignty if homeownership, the foundation of all family weahh, is beyond the dreams of a vast majority of our people? How ean we achieve selfdetermination if we eonhnue to be grossly overrepresented in every negative socio-economic statistic? Who cares what flag flies over us if the transgenerational trauma of whole communities of dysfunctional families claims yet another aeneration and wallows

in the cesspool of government dependency? What good is political recognition if the only thing that changes is the politicians? These things require eeonomie capacity to address. The fact is that OHA has significant eeonomie capacity and when joined with other Hawaiian institutions, our nation has billions of dollars, and hundreds of thousands of acres of land. All we have to do is connect the dots. No need to wait on bended knee for the federal government to wave its magic wand and declare us "recognized" to achieve eeonomie capacity. Eeonomie capacity is already upon us. The primary kuleana of OHA is to provide leadership that raises the quality of life and provides prosperity. To be in the moment for our people is the greatest ehallenge faced by trustees. Now is the time. Tomorrow is too late for too many. There are no excuses. No one else is to blame if we fail. Can we trustees, eaeh one of us, set aside our differences and rise together to become larger than the sum of our parts? Can we shed the smothering eloak of being politicians and burst forth as patriots? Achieving prosperity is our greatest ehallenge and yet our greatest opportunity. We have but to seize it. ■ Share your thoughts on these questions at www.PeterApo.com.

PetEr Apo TrustEE, O'ahu