Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 11, Number 1, 1 January 1994 — Public lands studied in preparation for future [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Public lands studied in preparation for future

by Jeff Clark To prepare for the future resolution of native Hawaiian land claims, OHA has contracted PBR Hawai'i, a Hawaiian-owned landscaping, architectural, and environmental studies firm, to conduct a study of puhlie lands. The "puhlie lands" covered by the project are those lands that were taken by the U.S. at annexation and transferred in fee to the state in 1959 by the Admission Act. These lands also include some under county jurisdiction and total about 1.2 million acres of the 1.8 million that were taken after the overthrow of the kingdom. Federal lands and Hawaiian Home Lands are not included in the survey. About 2 percent of the public lands are parcels acquired by eminent domain or purchase by the Territory or the counties during the Territorial period, and whieh are used for water pumping stations, county roads, and the like. Rather than merely identifying parcels, the inventory is eoneen-

trating on what types of uses would be most beneficial to the Hawaiian people and most appropriate for the land. PBR's work "will provide us with information whieh will enhanee our efforts to identify

those lands whieh should belong to the eventual sovereign nation of Hawai'i," said OHA chairperson Clayton

Hee. "I don't see the PBR study as the final authority - it is really a beginning," and the next step would be to take PBR's analysis to the community, Hee said. Kūpuna, in particular, will be able to offer advice on cultural sig-

nificance, and both Hawaiian and non-Hawaiian businesspeople should be invited to share input on the eeonomie potential of properties, he added. Hee also

said that some properties — such as Hawaiian fishponds - offer both eeonomie and cultural value. PBR has identified four categories of use, or selection criteria to apply to land, in accordance with OHA goals and objectives: • traditional use and cultural significance, • ineome production or potential, • agricultural use, and • housing development. OHA land and nat-

ural resources officer Linda Delaney said the criteria plaee appropriate emphasis on keeping a cultural component, adding that income-producing properties carry the most monetary value and would probably represent the

least acreage, while culturally significant lands have the least monetary value but would

encompass more acreage. It would not be beneficial for Hawaiians to settle land claims and end up like the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, with

poor land and no money, or like OHA, with no land and some money, Delaney said. Delaney said we ean never give up total elaim to the lands, "But I think that we all recognize that there has to be some adjustment to a changed Hawai'i, that we know of no native land-claim settlement that gave it all back. ... We're looking at public lands, knowing that some of the ceded lands are for all intents and purposes beyond the potential for return. ... This is even more conspicu-

ous with the federal lands," including parcels such as Pearl Harbor, Delaney explains. On the state level, "The property that

'Iolani Palaee sits on is very valuable, urban, in-the-heart-of-Honolulu property, but I don't think anyone

could ever forsee wanting to tear down the Palaee and build an enormous office e o m p 1 e x there. And so it's that kind of offsetting that we're trying to keep in mind." Another important part of PBR's work has been conducting a survey of native neo-

ples on the Mainland to see what types of land management systems are in use, and whieh are most effective. The system managed by the Passamaquoddy tribe

in Maine was reported as attractive, and "many Eastern tribe land claims whieh were settled in the 1970s are potential models

for developing a native nation from scratch, since they were not federally recognized until about 20 years ago," says PBR's report. The system run by the Cherokee of Oklahoma was also noted. The report eont i n u e s , " C o u p 1 e d

with strong leadership, housing programs and sophisticated use of modern technology, the Oklahoma Cherokee stand out as a model for native Hawaiians to review." The next phase of PBR's work will be to provide OHA trustees and staff with working maps showing the locations of public lands. "The settlement of native Hawaiian claims is inevitable," said OHA trustee Kīna'u Boyd Kamali'i, who chairs the board's land and sovereignty committee. "I think the public has an awareness and a basic understanding of what went wrong and what will be required to make it right. And I think basically, as with everything else - whether it's the rebuilding of the nation, whether it's the settlement of land claims, whether it's the assertion of native rights - the community keeps asking, 'What is it exactly you want?' "So I think that as we get more detail to what it is that we want,

that surge of understanding ean then be transformed into a support for, 'OK, if that's what they want then give it to them.' But

we have to have that kind of detail. We can't just say, 'I want land,' because people are saying, 'What does that mean? Do they want my house?' And the answer is, 'No. The claims are against the public lands, not against private homes.' As this clears up in the public mind, I think we also need that momentum of understanding within the Hawaiian community," Kamali'i said. Land claims will have to be settled through legislation, Delaney said, but added that some legal hurdles stand in the way because "the thief no longer has the stolen property" - the U.S. transferred the lands to the state at statehood.

Housing development is one of the criterion PBR is using to evaluate land. Photo courtesy of PBR

Mauna 'Ala, the Royal Mausoleum in Nu'uanu, is an example of property holding both historic and cultural significance. Photo courtesy of PBR

Urban Honolulu includes parcels that would generate revenue for Hawaiians. Photo courtesy of RM īowill