Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 18, Number 3, 1 March 2001 — KŪKĀKŪKĀ [ARTICLE]

KŪKĀKŪKĀ

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs' discussion forum is at www.OHA.org, and is open to all. Participants ean access existing messages, post their own message or set up a new topic to be discussed. To enter the discussion, go to www.OHA.org. Sovereignty/Recognition Anonymous, 02/11 The Akaka Bill intent is good. When will people realize that the bottom line is we seek to find justice for our own survival, and that some kind of recognition be given to us as we are the descendants of the original inhabitants of these islands? It is our inherent and vested right that is ours to elaim, so you haoles out there, who are always

preaching and fighting for your rights and justice you feel that is due you when someone steals from you, what would you do? Anonymous, 02/19 As a native Hawaiian, I oppose the Akaka Bill because it will treat the native Hawaiians different from all the other native American tribes, pueblos, clans, rancherias and Alaskan native villages. Under the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, those who are "onehalf or more" native American descent are allowed to be reorganized into federally recognized tribes, etc., and the IRA applies to all the states, except Hawai'i. This is a denial of the equal protection of the laws. Rather than support a bill whieh

Inouye and Akaka know will be declared unconstitutional, the smarter way would be to amend the 1RA of 1934 to include the State of Hawai'i. To those that fall for the trap of the Akaka bill, I say this: You are being played for a fool. Unite, and demand that Akaka introduce a bill to amend the IRA of 1934. The traitorous ruling elite and their cronies of the Democratic Party of Hawai'i are responsible for the genocide of the native Hawaiians still waiting on their State of Hawai'i Department of Hawaiian Home Lands waiting list. Down with the Akaka bill ... again. Anonymous, 02/25

The United States Supreme Court avoided the "difficult terrain" of deciding whether Congress may treat native Hawaiians as an Indian tribe in the Rice decision. Today, the Carroll and Barrett lawsuit tread upon this difficult terrain, and this area may no longer be avoided. For the Section 4 federal-state compact, the HHCA and Section 5(f) to survive, native Hawaiians must achieve federal recognition through the application of the IRA 25 U.S.C. §§ 473 and 473a; 25 C.F.R. § 83.1. This is the largest boulder stuck right in the middle of Ihe, "difficult terrain" the US Supreme Court referred to. However, Federal Judge Ezra will not allow this issue to be raised nor decided. ■

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