Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 10, Number 1, 1 January 1993 — 25 Year Evolution Proceeds OHA Draft Bills In Redress [ARTICLE]

25 Year Evolution Proceeds OHA Draft Bills In Redress

Three draft bills form the basis of legislation to re-establish the Native Hawaiian Govemment and provide restitution for the theft of sovereignty and land. These draft bills are the product of an extensive, 25-year evolution involving Native Hawaiians, their representative organizations and their Congressional delegation. As drafted, they refiect the expertise and experience of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs" Trustees and staff, plus the views of legal experts and the Hawaiian community. These bills are expected to be introduced into the 103rd Congress sometime during 1993. Paul Alexander, Washington, D.C. eounsel for OHA, said the present movement toward obtaining redress from Congress goes back at least to 1975. In that year, Hawai'i's late Congressman Spark Matsunaga and Congresswoman Patsy Mink introduced two bills designed to mirror the Alaskan Native Settlement Claims Act of 1971. Over the last two decades, numerous efforts have been made by other indi viduals and organizations to advance a legislative plan that would enable Hawaiians to re-establish a Native Hawaiian Government, and obtain redress for the century of dishonorthat followed the betrayal of 1 893. Many of these efforts have contributed to the product now being reviewed by the Hawaiian people. According to Alexander, major milestones in the evolution include: • 1975 — Hawaiian Aboriginal Claims Settlement Act, a draft bill widely circulated in Hawai'i, gave claims concept ample public and community attention. but was never introduced. • 1978 — A near-total laek of response in Congress regarding Ha wai ian initiati ves persuaded Native Hawaiian delegates to state Constimtional Convention to advocate creation of a Native Hawaiian entity whose mission would be, in part, to work on and serve as a conduit for reparations. To implement the provisions of the resulting state Constitutional amendment, OHA was created in 1 980, and has since been at the forefront of efforts to obtain redress. • 1981-83 — Native Hawaiians actively participated in hearings conducted by the Native Hawaiian Study Cominission, established by Congress to review the "culture, needs and concerns of Hawaiians." The dissenting report of the

Commission refiected a consensus of Hawaiian viewpoints. The majority report reflected perspective of the executive branch, whieh repeatedly has denied U.S. responsibility for the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy. • 1984 — Extensive hearings were eonducted by the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on the majority and minority reports noted above. OHA, and other Native Hawaiian organizations and individuals, testified substantively on key issues of the reports. • 1 985 — Ha wai ' i Congressional delegation developed a "proposed legislative program" that was circulated and discussed throughout the Islands in 1 985-86. OHA aggressively participated in discussions. • 1988 — The U.S. Select Committee on Indian Affairs conducted field hearings in Hawaii, focusing on issues related to Hawaiian Home Lands Trust. • 1989 — A "Draft Blueprint for Native Hawaiian Entitlements" was developed by OHA. Prior to adoption by OHA's Trustees, two months of hearings were held (statewide and on the mainland) to allow testimony from Nati ve Hawaiians and the general public. • 1991 — U.S. Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs, in follow-up to its field hearings of 1 988, began a series of meetings to develop federal legislative models. Many Native Hawaiian groups attended the meetings and an understanding evolved that a federal legislative package should include: (1) claims for loss of self-government due to the overthrow of the Hawaiian Monarchy; (2) claims for the theft of nearly two million acres of land without the consent of or compensation to the Hawaiian people; and (3) claims for mismanagement of the Home Lands Trust. • 1993 — OHA draft bills circulated and introduced into 103rd Congress. These draft bills will eominue to evolve as constructi ve improvements are made and as negotiation process gets underway. Alexander said that while Native Hawaiians may disagree on final details of the bills, they generally agree that wrongful acts were committed against their people. Subsequently, the U.S. and the state of Hawai 'i have benefitted from those wrongful acts, and now it is their responsibility to provide redress.