Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 9, Number 10, 1 October 1992 — OHA Sovereignty meeting held in La ie [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

OHA Sovereignty meeting held in La ie

Arguments heard for nation-to-nation model

by Pearl Leialoha Page The battle for Hawaiian sovereignty must be waged on three fronts, lawyer Hayden Burgess told a group of about 20 in Lā'ie last month. The first is for the hearts and minds of the people in Hawai'i, he said. Burgess, a.k.a. Poka Laenui and director of the Institute for the Advancement of Hawaiian Affairs, was one of five panel members discussing models of sovereignty during meetings held by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs Committee on Sovereignty. Trustees Rowena Akana, Louis Hao and Frenchy DeSoto make up this committee. The information meetinns have

been held on O'ahu since July, providing a forum for sovereignty groups and three draft bills OHA plans to submit to Congress. (September' s Ka Wai Ola included bigblights of models proposed by different sovereignty groups. Hayden Burgess' 'first presentation was at the Lā'ie meeting. This article summarizes his views on sovereignty.) Burgess' vision for a Hawaiian nation is one that is totally independent and equal to any other nation with total control over its resources, trade relations, immigration, eeonomie development and all facets of government. Its boundaries would encompass the entire archipelago and surrounding waters. Burgess warns that "as we move forward we mustn't become racists ourselves." Doing that would

make us no better than the Americans, he maintains. He suggests that the citizens of Hawai'i be defined by their loyalty and relationship to the country, the same criteria that defined Hawaiian citizens prior to 1893. "Onee it's turned into a racial issue, then the U.S. ean treat us like the American Lndians. Do we want to merely elevate a race within a eolonial context or are we talking about decolonization?" he asked. It was with a view toward decolonization that the United Nations included Article 73 in its charter. The article requires its members to declare all non self-governing territories and to regularly submit a

report on general conditions. Hawai'i was one of these territories prior to 1959. Some of the goals of this article are "to ensure, with due respect for the culture of the peoples eoncerned, their political, eeonomie, social and educational advancement ... to develop self-government, to take due account of the political aspirations of the peoples and to assist them in the progressive development of their free political institutions." Upon statehood, the U.S. submitted the result of the ballot as proof of Hawai'i's expression of selfgovernment. Hawai'i was then removed from the list of non-self-

governing territories, Burgess pointed out. "Who knew there was an article 73? Nobody. Or those that did didn't talk about it," he said. The only question on the ballot was: Shall Hawai'i immediately be admitted into the Union of the United States? "If you vote yes, what happens? Integration. You become a state. Vote no, what happens? Same thing. You're still under American control. The question: Should we emerge as an independent nation? — was it ever posed to us? Never." Hawai'i should not be content to let others define self-governance and self-determination, he said. "Until we understand the concept of self-determination, we can't talk about sovereignty because we will always be confused," he said. "The Americans are never going to give us back what is rightfully ours until we are ready to take it back. Hawai'i must begin to believe in this dream, otherwise we're leaving the eolonial situation in plaee and we're only talking story with one another."

Other speakers on the Lā'ie panel included Lela Hubbard, speaking for Ka Pākaukau; Louis Agard, who suggested recalling the 1893 legislature out of its 100-year recess, 'Alani Decker, representing Ka Lāhui; and Kamuela Price, who insisted that the state and U.S. live up to their trust responsibilities toward "those of 50 percent Hawaiian blood."

"Until we understand the concept of self-determination, we can't talk about sovereignty, because we will always be eonfused" —Hayden Burgess