Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, 1 March 1983 — CHAIRMAN'S COLUMN [ARTICLE]

CHAIRMAN'S COLUMN

by Joseph Kealoha

Hawai'i's ceded lands and their future are vitally important to every citizen of our state. Yet many people have only a vague idea of what those lands are, how they achieved their special status. and who they are intended to benefit. At the time of the o,verthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy in 1893, Queen Lili'uokalani ruled over appro\imately 1.8 million acres of "crown" and "government" lands. When Hawai'i officially was annexed by the United States in 1898, the Queen's lands were ceded or assigned to the United States government. The United States took control of the Queett's lands, but in doing so created a special trust whieh directed that all re\enue or proceeds from the bulk of those lands shouid be used exclusi\ely for the benefit of Hawai'i's people. This unusual action was a recognition by the federal go\ernment that Hawaiians ha\e always had a unique right to use and live on the 'aina. Some of the ceded lands were set aside for use by the United States government for military and other purposes. These were exempted from the trust. When Hawai'i became a state in 1959, Congress returned to Hawai'i mueh of theceded land and redefined the ceded land trust whieh had been established in 1 898. It also ordered the federal government to return to Hawai'i the land still under U.S. control as that land became surplus to the needs of the United States. The new trust provisions provided that the ineome and

proceeds from certain catagories of the ceded lands should benefittwoseparategroups . . . native Hawaiians (those with o\er 50r, Hawaiian blood) and the public at large. Five purposes \\ere established including "the betterment of the conditions of native Hawaiians." Trust fund ineome for the general puhlie was to be used for education, development of farm and home ownership, puhlie improvements, and lands for public use. The 1978 Constitutional Con\ention whieh established the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. designated OHA as the agency to administer the Native Hawaiian portion of the ineome from the ceded land trust. Subsequently. the state legislature set OH A's share at one-fifth or 20%, although this limitation is not set forth either in the Admissions Act or the state constitution. At the present time, OHA is receiving ineome from only a portion of the ceded land trust. The state Legislative Auditor has been e\aluating the trust and it appears that the major unresol\ed question is whether ceded lands used for puhlie facilities such as airports are subject to trust provisions. It should be pointed out that the public lands we are discussing were taken from the Hawaiian people "By an act of war, commited with the participation of a diplomatic representative of the United States and without the authority of Congress"following "the la\vless occupation of Honolulu under false pretexts by the United States forces." Those words are not the rantings of some wild-eyed radical. They are direct quotes from then-President ofthe United States, Grover Cleveland who attempted to block the annexation and restore the lawful government of Queen Lili'uokalani. The native Hawaiian beneficiaries of the trust created by Congress and fleshed out b\ Hawai'i's constitution and the state legislature, have received only a fraction of the moneys to whieh they are entitled. Almost a quarter century have passed since Hawai'i became a state and since Congress specified that ceded land revenues and proceeds should be used to better the conditions of native Hawaiians. The native Hawaiians are still waiting. iimaiiiiniiiīiiiii >i ^ m& w w. .

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