Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 21, Number 9, 1 September 2004 — Setting the record straight [ARTICLE]

Setting the record straight

On recent attacks against the Akaka Bill

By OHA Chairperson Haunani Apoliona, on behalf ofthe Board ofTrustees Editor's note: This article originally appeared in The Honolulu Advertiser on Aug. 3, in response to a letter attacking the Akaka Bill written by Thurston Twigg-Smith, former Advertiser owner and descendent of overthrow architect Lorrin Thurston. Twigg-Smith's article quoted. extensively from the July 2004 issue of the "Reservation Rcporl," a media newsletter that he conceded. is "ad.mitted.ly biased. against the growing political power of Iiulian tribes." Shame on Thurston TwiggSmith for claiming the "Reservation Report" will help residents understand the Akaka Bill. The report he cites is old and laced with many flaws, starting with simple errors like the wrong bill numbers. Then there is the ridiculous assertion that federal recognition threatens to "jeopardize Hawaiian statehood." That paranoia serves to feed those who continue to defend the wrongs committed during the 1893 overthrow. Mr. Twigg-Smith knows the vast majority of Hawaiians want to remain proud and loyal Americans. He knows most in the non-Hawaiian community support justice for Hawaiians. In the interest of disclosure, Mr. Twigg-Smith should reveal he is a plaintiff in Arakaki v. OHA, ongoing litigation that seeks to dismantle the state's homestead program and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. If successful, the lawsuit will also attempt to cut off tens of millions in federal dollars that annually flow into the state to benefit Native Hawaiians. The anti-Akaka groups are vocal, but they do not represent the majority opinion on this issue. The Akaka Bill enjoys substantial bipartisan support, including our governor, our congressional delegation and our Legislature, along with dozens of prominent groups, both locally and nationally. Among the Hawaiian organizations supporting federal recognition are the Kamehameha

Alumni Association, the Royal Order of Kamehameha, the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs and the State Council of Hawaiian Homestead Associations. Among the national groups in favor of Senate Bill 344 are the National Japanese American Citizens League, the Organization of Chinese Americans, the Alaskan Federation of Natives, the National Congress of American Indians, the NAACP, the National Council of La Raza, the League of United Latin American Citizens and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund. They support the purpose of the Akaka Bill, whieh simply extends official recognition to Native Hawaiians as an indigenous people, with rights and entitlements comparable to those of Native American and Alaska Natives, and a process for federal recognition. Hawaiians are deserving of the recognition the two other indigenous groups in the United States already enjoy. In recent weeks, readers of The Ad.vertiser have witnessed a vigorous assault on the Akaka Bill. These letter writers blast the reputable work of pollsters who time and again find that the "silent majority" of both the Hawaiian and nonHawaiian community support federal recognition. Now they attempt to further divide those communities by instilling fear that statehood is being jeopardized and that "militant Hawaiian descendants" are seeking a "divorce from all other Americans in the state." If the Akaka Bill passes and a nation-to-nation relationship is established with the United States, it would serve as a shield to thwart the litigious, well-financed and prolific forces who seek to tear down programs that help many Native Hawaiians heeome active and eontributing participants in the growth of Hawai'i and the rest of the United States. Amidst all the emotions and rhetoric involving the events that occurred more than a century ago, and the ongoing battles in our courts and Congress, there are two old sayings that eome to mind: Justice delayed is justice denied, and those who forget history are doomed to repeat it. ■