Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 37, Number 8, 1 August 2020 — Success in the Judicial Branch of Government [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Success in the Judicial Branch of Government

j KĀNAKA FORWARD ^ > ONTHEHOMESTEADS ?

By Robin Puanani Danner There's mueh to be thankful for as Native peoples over the last few months, even in the midst of a global pandemic. In our democracy, there are essentially three branches of government. The Executive Branch eonsisting of government agencies led by the President of the United States, State Governors and County Mayors; the Legislative Branch consisting of the Congress, State Legislatures and County Councils; and the third, our Judieial Branch, consisting of Courts and Judges

SOVEREICN COUNCIL OF

HAWAIIAN HOMESTEAD ASSOCIAT!ONS

at every level. Notable successes have recently been rendered in the Judicial Branches of our governments for the three groups of citizens in our country that predate our U.S. Constitution - American Indians, Alaska

Natives and Native Hawaiians. "Predates" means our populations and our sovereigns were already here; living and governing ourselves in the now 50 States. The only nonimmigrant citizens in the U.S. This uncomfortable reality, in whieh a great country wanted to be built, or a great State here and there wanted to exist, could only happen by taking our ancestral lands. It' s a dilemma that few elected officials of the Executive Branch and Legislative Branch care to educate themselves about, especially here in Hawai'i. The founders of this country described Native peoples in our founding document, the U.S. Constitution, establishing a solemn obligation to Indigenous peoples as poliīieal bodies of people, and not merely a "race of people," When any government official refers to a Native program as "race-based," it's a telltale sign that we have serious ignorance in our midst. That may be for another article and another day. This month let's rejoice in the success of the Judicial Branch of our governments. Here at home, Native Hawaiian plaintiffs on the wait-

list won a major court case against DHHL and state government in the Kalima case. It clearly states what SCHHA has known for decades - the absolute failure of state government to meet its trust obligation established under a federal law called the 1959 Hawai'i Statehood Act. It should be required reading for every state and county official running for, or in, office. Yes, the Statehood Act. In South Dakota, the Standing Rock Tribe won a major victory in the Dakota Access Pipe Line (DAPL) case. And in Oklahoma, a case at the U.S. Supreme Court yielded a decisive win in the McGirt case, reaffirming that federal/tribal treaty-defined boundaries of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation still remain in force today. That the words "trust lands" are "forever set apart as a home for the Creek Nation" mean something. Three major successful cases in the Judicial Branch of our great democracy. Yes, there will be wins and losses in every branch of government; there will be missteps in every branch of government. Hawaiians witness this almost daily in the Executive and Legislative Branches here in Hawai'i. Nevertheless, SCHHA is grateful for these three monumental wins in the Judicial Branch that reflect a great country seeking to be a more perfect union that lives up to its promises. The Executive and Legislative Branches in Hawai'i would do well to read the Statehood Act and the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1920. It's not hard to imagine a county eouneilman, a state senator, a state house representative, a governor, a mayor in this state, running to serve the people of Hawai'i, who has never read these powerful foundational laws that make the elected offices in this state possible. We are a condition of Statehood. Let's encourage elected officials and appointed agency officials to find the time to read their obligation. It is their kuleana. ■ A national po!icy advocate for Native selfgovernance, Danner is the elected Chairofthe Sovereign Council of Hawaiian Homestead Associations, the oldest and largest coalition ofnative Hawaiians on or waitingfor Hawaiian Home Lands. Born on Kaua'i, Danner grew up in Niumalu, and the homelands ofthe Navajo, Hopi and Inuit peop!es. She and her husband raised four children on homesteads in Anahola, Kaua 'i where they eonūnue to reside today.