Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 4, Number 4, 1 April 1987 — Right to Sue [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Right to Sue

By Moanikeala Akaka Trustee, Hawai'i

One of the important bills in the Legislature right now is our Native Hawaiian Right to Sue. House Bill 37 has now passed out into the Senate. This basic civil right is enjoyed by all Hawaii residents except we native Hawaiians in relationship to our native trusts of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands

as well as our state ceded lands whieh the Office of Hawaiian Affairs has a fiduciary responsibility to protect. Last year, this bill was passed by both houses but vetoed by then Governor George Ariyoshi whieh showed his laek of eoneem about Hawaiian justice. However, we now have a new administration with Hawaiian Governor John Waihee. One wonders if the native Governor hears his people's p!eas for justice. Though this bill has eome out of Hawaii Island Representative Andrew Levin's Hawaiian Affairs Committee with a waiver of sovereign immunity, Attorney General Warren Price has added exemptions allowing "for a state employee or official's failure to exercise or perform their duty" or job. This exemption is promoting and knowingly allows vio!ation of our civil rights and our precious Hawaiian resources to continue to be mismanaged. This loophole proposed by Attorney General Price emasculates our native Hawaiian right to sue, making it ineffective. Can you imagine, the Attorney General is supposed to be OHA's attorney? This has been the case since OHA's inception. I could never understand why and have fought that since my election. For the first time, we now have our own in-house attorney at OHA in Mililani Trask who has been doing a great job. Why have a Right to Sue bill if it has exemptions that will allow us to continue to be ripped off? Makes no sense at all. Please, if you care about justice for the Hawaiian people, contact Rep. Levin and Senator James Aki and Gov. Waihee. Tell them: • You support the Hawaiian Right to Sue bill. • There should be an unqualified waiver of sovereign immunity by the State (no loopholes to slip through). • No Statute of Limitations. The just completed audit of ceded lands says it will take years before they'll get the trust straightened out. Non-natives, and the Attorney General, should remember that when justice comes back to the Hawaiian people, there will be more aloha to flow in these islands. Malama pono. Ua mau ke ea o ka aina i ka pono.