Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 11, Number 10, 1 October 1994 — TV town meeting on sovereignty set for Oct. 14 [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

TV town meeting on sovereignty set for Oct. 14

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs will present a special one-hour televised "town meeting" to provide discussion and answer questions about basic sovereignty choices facing Hawaiians. The statewide electronic town meeting will be broadcast live on Channel 13 from 9-10 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 14. It will open with a 15-minute OHA video called "Sovereignty Hawai'i," whieh describes the three basic sovereignty alternatives available to Hawaiians: • the international sovereignty model, • the "nation-within-a-nation" model. and • the "state-within-a-state"

model. "As Hawaiians, we are born with the right of sovereignty," explained OHA trustee Klna'u Boyd Kamali'i, chair of OHA's Committee on Land and Sovereignty. "It is an inherent right of all native Americans to determine for themselves how they want to decide certain issues that are unique to them as indigenous peoples," she said.

"But many Hawaiians and nonHawaiians are uncertain what a restored Hawaiian nation would

look like. This video, and this program, are intended to help clear up some of those uncertainties." The video was produced for the Land and Natural Resources Division of OHA by Juniroa Productions. It is narrated by Kanoe Miller. Following the video, viewers

will be able to eall Channel 13 (KHNL) to ask questions about

the different models. On hand to answer these questions will be a fourperson panel moderated by OHA land officer Linda Delaney. Panel members will include K a m a 1 i ' i , M ā h e a 1 a n i Kamau'u, executive director of the Native Hawaiian

Legal Corporation and president of Hui Na'auao; Sol Kaho'ohalahala, president of the Hawaiian

Sovereignty Elections Council; and Judge Walter Heen, chair of the Native Hawaiian Bar Association's Ad Hoe Committee on Sovereignty. "This is not intended to be a debate on whieh model is best," Delaney said. "Rather, we will concentrate on factual similarities and differences among the three models so that Hawaiians ean decide for themselves whieh

model they prefer." Delaney said the program is part

of OHA's efforts to assist with the sovereignty eleetion process. OHA trustees have officially adopted a position in support of sovereignty in an effort to facilitate the process for all Hawaiians. However, the board did not eommit to any particular model, prefer-

ring to leave that decision up to the democratic process.

WHAT: Televised OHA town meeting on sovereignty. Viewers will be able to eail in with questions about the various sovereignty modeis. WHEN: Oct. 14,910 p.m. CHANNEL: KHNL-13

"Many Hawaiians anel non-Hawaiians are uncertain what a restored Hawaiian nation would look like. This is intented to help clear up some of those uncertainties." - Kīna'u Boyd Kamali'i

Kīna'u Boyd Kamali'i