Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 12, Number 10, 1 October 1995 — Ciaims of conscience: land claims [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Ciaims of conscience: land claims

by Klna'u Boyd Kamali'i Trustee-at-Iarge Last month, I wrote about the elements of a "fitting" land claims settlement to Hawaiians. In summary. such a settlement would be an inalienable trust, include all Hawaiians as beneficiaries, and represent the land base of a restored native govemmenL More difficuli to describe are the elements of a "fair settlemenL"

The ideal and perfect justice would be to ask for and to receive "all of it" back. But practicality — both political and eommon sense — argue persuasively that too many others would see that ehoiee as "unfair." Such a perfect land settlement wouId require that Hawaiians be either willing to use force to take back these lands, or become the dominant

electoral blcx; of Hawai'i. And given that the others have both more bullets and more ballots than Hawaiians do, such a sense of unfaimess makes the ideal ehoiee, in my opinion, impossible. What OHA has endorsed, then, is: 1, That all crown and government lands still retained by the federal government — including submerged lands — be returned to the Hawaiian nation and be held in trust for the benefit of all Hawaiians; 2, Military lands needed for nalional security will be leased back to the United States al fair market value; and 3, Nalional patks lands will be jointly managed and leaseback arrangements are possible, again at fair maiket value. A substantial cash award would be paid by the United States as damages for its role in the overthrow, for the illegal taking and uneompensated use of the crown and government lands for nearly a hundred years. This money would be paid to the Hawaiian nation and limited to use for any governing purpose as set forth in the native constitution. Cash paid or all ineome derived from properties transferred to the native nation should be

exempt from state and federal taxes. At the stale level. the lands settlement should provide: 1. For the transfer of the Hawaiian home lands and additional properties representing the equivalent of 20 percent or any other agreed upon percentage of the appraised value of all former crown and govemment lands now held by the state; and 2. That the state would continue to pay the native Hawaiian nation 20 percent of the rev-

enues generated from the ceded lands whieh are not selected for retum to the nation. The broadly remarkable success of the Hawaiian people in winning the attention and support of all the people of Hawai'i to the claims for land and sovereignty ean be attributed to a number of factors — better understanding by the public and increased advocacy by Hawaiiam eome to mind. But the one factor

whieh was ovemding in this entire process was the window of politicaI opportunity opened first by the election of Govemor John Waihe'e. Timing and poliāeal opportunity occur and then vanLsh. No poliūeal solution is ever perfect — it is after all, a human process. But the saving grace of that process is that no poliūeal solution is ever final. Flaws and omissions ean be addressed and set right in other years by other generations. All things ean be amended or forgiven in the poliūeal process — except cowardice. We must remember again the order given by Kamehameha to his warriors as they faced what seemed insurmountable but unavoidable odds in battle: '1 mua e nā pōki'i a e inu i ka wai 'awa'awa," "Move forward and drink the bitter waters." For too long, Hawaiiam have only been prepared for failure. We visit and revisit the dark chapters of Hawaiian history — altemating between moods of "mad" and "sad." We must end this century of dishonor, "we must end the mouming for a stolen nalion." I mua. The battle will be bitter. But the victory will be sweeL