Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 10, Number 4, 1 April 1993 — Kūʻē: to stand in defiance in the face of opposition [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Kūʻē: to stand in defiance in the face of opposition

by Samuel L. Kealoha, Jr. Trustee, Moloka'i and Lāna'i Many had eome to the courtard of 'Iolani Palaee. It was ominiscent of the gathering at le Palaee just a month before. A age in the history of the

awanan people ;as about to turn. i 'ver 500 Hawai- , tns and non- ' lawaiians had 1 ome together to i ū'ē, to stand in j efince in the face ; >f the opposition. Mililani B. Trask, he kia'āina of Ka ,āhui Hawai'i, a iative initiative for

>elf-governance, stood in front of he growing crowd to brief them )f the enormous and seemingly mpossible task at hand. It was aow time to proceed. The march to Mabel Smyth \uditorim began in earnest. The sound of the pū echoed throughout the area to signal its start.

Wave after wave of people slowly made their way up Punchbowl. Nā koa protectively marched on the outskirts of the sidewalks. Traffic was at a standstill, many in cars cheered and honked their horns in a show of solidarity. Linda Delaney, OHA Land and

Natural Resources and Trustee Klna'u Boyd Kamali'i eagerly joined the march. As the last of the people filed into the overflowing parking lot of the auditorium, they were greeted by the electrifying chanting of the hundreds who had gathered,

"Kū'ē," "Kū'ē," "Kū'ē." On Feb. 15, 1993 an historical event took plaee at Mabel Smyth Auditorium. It was attended by a standing-room-only crowd of over 500 concerned Hawaiians and non-Hawaiians. The issue at hand: a joint hearing of the House and Senate pertaining to

Hawaiian affairs. Why was this historical? We have never seen a hearing by both the House and Senate relating to Hawaiian issues. To quote Mililani Trask, "I've been lobbying in this Legislature for 15 years and I've never seen this before, a joint hearing by House and Senate members."

"The time has eome to segregate the native trust lands and to allow the Hawaiian people to work with the government and the private sector to better their own conditions."

On the agenda were five bills. This article focuses on HB 1992 / SB 1639 Relating to a Hawaiian Congress, and HB 1053 / SB 1356, Relating to Native Hawaiians, the Ka Lāhui bill. HB 1992 / SB 1639 establishes a Hawaiian Congress for the purpose of establishing self-determi-

nation and self-governance for native Hawaiians. It also appropriates funds to the Office of the Lieutenant Governor to conduct the election of delegates and a ratification election. Trustees Aiona, DeSoto and Kamali'i supported this bill for obvious reasons. However, over 100 others testified in opposition of this measure. Nevertheless, the "overall" agenda had already been set.

Ka Lāhui Hawai'i has already held three constitutional conventions. This organic instrument, created by and for the Hawaiian people, is the founding document of Ka Lāhui Hawai'i. The work that this bill proposes has already been done three times over! After nearly five hours of testimony, HB 1053 / SB 1356 was finally placed on the floor for discussion. HB 1053 / SB 1356 would have added a new chapter to the Hawai'i Revised Statutes mandating state recognition of Ka Lāhui Hawai'i. It also called for the transfer of the Hawaiian Home Lands and the ceded land

trusts to Ka Lāhui Hawai'i to administrativeiy manage and to distribute the benefits of the trusts. Supporting testimony was given by Mililani Trask, Drs. Haunani-Kay Trask, director of the Center for Hawaiian Studies at University of Hawai'i-Mānoa, and Prof. Lilikalā Kame'eleihiwa, also of the Center for Hawaiian Studies, Ka Lāhui Hawai'i citizens, honorary citizens and representatives of other prominent organizations in Hawai'i.

Although the time has eome to segregate the native trust lands and to allow the Hawaiian people to work with the govemment and the private sector to better their own conditions and to achieve eeonomie self-sufficiency without the interference of state (OHA) or federal agencies, for obvious reasons, the "powers that be" will eonlinue to treat us as wards of the state. Be the one to tum the pages of our history, the time has eome to kū'ē.