Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 16, Number 9, 1 September 1999 — Blood quantum [ARTICLE]

Blood quantum

In the Iulai Ka Wai Ola I found very disturbing articles on the "blood quantum." I was struck that the Hou Hawaiians have asked the Supreme Court to limit qualification for voting to Hawaiians of 50 percent blood quantum as they do not feel those of less quantum should benefit from the puhlie land trust. Two interviews of Hawaiian high school juriiors again confirmed the poisoned attitudes and saddened me deeply. Too many of our people buy into the greed established by foreigners who set up the blood quantum a longtimeago. Our beloved Queen Lili'uokalani must be reeling in her plaee of rest, seeing her own people turning against one another. She loved all her people and did not consider them less valid if they were of "mixed" blood. How ashamed we should be to have adopted such an attitude. How many of our people are we willing to throw away because their hearts led them to marry and procreate with those not of our blood? How many are we going to alienate in the name of a rule made up by those who sought to divide and conquer, and seem to be doing so even now from their graves? J. PualaniMcBee jmcbee@mgfairfax.rr.com