Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 18, Number 5, 1 May 2001 — Untitled [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

On April 18, Pat Zell of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs briefed OHA staff and trustees at the Legislative and Governmental Affairs Committee on the changes in S. 746, known as the "Akaka Bill," seeking federal recognition of Native Hawaiians. She explained that "in the true spirit of selfgovernance," the section describing the process of how the Hawaiian political entity is to be formed, was removed. Additionally, reference to the "U.S. Office of Hawaiian Affairs" was change to the "Office of Native Hawaiian Relations." The bill's re-write also affirms that federal funds set aside for Native Americans would not be channeled to Hawaiians. This has always been the understanding during the tenure of Sen. Inouye, however, the measure was inserted so that there would be no question years from now. Aside from S.746, there are 100 pending petitions in Congress for federal recognition by indigenous entities. The federal government currently counts 556. Photo: Monu Boyd. ■