Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 19, Number 12, 1 December 2002 — It's time for us to paddle our canoe [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

It's time for us to paddle our canoe

Mele Kalikimaka a me ka Hau'oli Makahiki Hou. VIay we all enjoy our bleessings throughout the comiing year. E hoe kākou ikawa'a! It is time for us to paddle our eanoe. Just as our ancestors paddled their canoes centuries ago to elaim title to the Hawaiian islands, so must we onee again paddle our canoes in unison toregain the rightful entitlarnents of our ceded lands. Under paragraph 5(f) of the Hawaii Admissions Act of 1 959, the United States conveyed the bulk of its Hawaiian land holdings to the newly formed state, with the instruction that the lands and all property subsequently conveyed by the United States be held by the state as a public trust; the lands that had already been reserved for disposition by the Hawaiian Homes Commission under the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1920 were included also. The Admissions Act defined the State as trustee for these lands and defined five purposes for its use: 1 . Support of public schools and other public educational institu-

tions. 2. For the betterment of the eonditions of native Hawaiians as defined in the Hawaiian Hom.es Commissions Act of 1920 as amended. 3. For the development of farm and home ownership on as widespread a basis as possible. 4. For the making of public improv ements. 5. For the provisions of lands for public use. In 1980, the Legislature defmed OHA's share of ceded lands as 20 percent. The five purposes above comprising 100 percent, and onefifth for the betterment of the conditions of native Hawaiians as defmed in the Hawaiian Homes Commissions Act of 1920 as amended being 20 percent. In 1990, the Legislature passed Act 304 determining OHA's pro rata share of the public land trust proceeds to be 20 percent of all proprietary ceded land ineome derived from business ventures and section 1 0-13.5 of Hawaii Revised Statutes made it retroactive to 1980. However, the State Supreme Court rendered Act 304 invalid

because it provided for payment of airportrevenues. No ineome may be derived from governmentfunctions. The Constitution of the State of Hawaii of January 1995 in Article X VI - Laws pertaining to lands and cultural preservation in Section 3 - Communal Land Tenure states, "No person or groups of persons, or entities or groups of entities, may own or dispose of national land, all national land being held in trust for the Kanaka Maoli Nationals by this government ..." Section 4 states, "All nahonal lands and resources heretofore, lawfully claimed by the Kanaka Maoli nationals are held in absolute eommon undivided interest held in perpetuity for the Kanaka Nlaoli Nationals forever." Public trust, or ceded lands, eomprises approximately 1.8 million acres throughout the state. I emphasize approximately, since there are no concrete figures of the total acreage. However, the 2000 Legislature adopted Act 125 to establish a eomprehensive information system for inventoiying and maintaining information of ceded lands. In addition, OHA has awarded

$1.525 million to the Unfrersity of Hawaii Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies for Native Hawaiian cultural courses and surveying all of the states ceded lands. With this group's determ ination, we should soon have status, location and inventoiy ofceded lands. The State Supreme Court invalidated Act 304 and OHA has received no ineome from ceded lands since July 2001 . Estimates of the monies owed OHA by the State range from $300 million to $1 billion. The Admissions Actand our State Constitution clearly delineate the guidelines as to how ceded lands and revenue from it are to be used. It is clear that there has been footdragging on the part of the State to approve funds that are rightfully due OHA. Pressure must be brought to bare and insure these revenues are quickly remunarated for ceded lands. When we are all paddling together in the same direction, we will get back what is rightfully ours. The eall is out. We needyour help. E hoe kākou i ka wa 'a! It is time to paddle our eanoe. ■

Donald Cataluna

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Trustee, Kaua 'i and Ni'ihau |