Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 11, Number 9, 1 September 1994 — OHA adopts position on sovereignty [ARTICLE]

OHA adopts position on sovereignty

bv Ellen Blomquist At its regular business meeting Aug. 9, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board of Trustees took an official position on the issue of sovejeignty. It is: To further enhanee the selfdetermination of the Native Hawaiian people and to more fully meet OHA's responsibilities to work for the betterment of Native Hawaiian people, the Board of Trustees hereby adopts and affirms this position statement to support and secure formal aeknowledgement and recognition of: 1. The unique status the Native Hawaiian people bear to the other nations of the world, the United States and the State of Hawai'i; and 2. To foster the re-establish-ment of an indigenous, selfdetermined Native Hawaiian government by providing information related to the governmental options available within the framework of

appropriate international charters, treaties and laws (international models); available within the constitution and laws of the United States (nation-within-a-nation models); and the constitution and laws of the State of Hawai'i (state-within-a-state models). The board noted that the position statement would create the framework for future OHA efforts to assist and effectuate the re-establish-ment of the Native Hawaiian government by: • promoting and enhancing Native Hawaiian and public understanding and support for the inherent Native Hawaiian right of sovereignty; • strengthening and providing for informed self-determina-tion by the Native Hawaiian people; • researching and developing the base of information necessary to a fair presentation of options and possible models of Native Hawaiian self-gov-ernment;

• supporting and providing both the information and the opportunity for the Native Hawaiian people to consider and to discuss the nature of sovereignty and the choices for self-government; and • supporting and securing the recognition and reality of the self-determined Native Hawaiian nation. Although OHA has clearly been supporting sovereignty for many years — endorsing the restoration and recognition of a self-determined Native Hawaiian government since 1989, and participating in the Hawaiian Sovereignty Elections Council — this represents an explicit statement of the board's position on the issue. By adopting this position, the board also made clear that they do not endorse a particular model of sovereignty, but advocate the right of the Hawaiian people to elect a model of nationhood of their own choosing.