Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 22, Number 5, 1 May 2005 — State lawmakers ponder Akaka Bill issues [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

State lawmakers ponder Akaka Bill issues

Ceded lands, blood quantum among questions raised

By Sterling Kini Wong In March and April, the state Legislature held two briefings on the Akaka Bill in order to sort through some of the more controversial issues relating to the legislation, whieh would extend official U.S. recognition to Hawaiians as a distinct native nation. While the legislators generally continued to express support for the measure, some lawmakers expressed concerns over the state's role in issues like blood quantum, ceded lands and citizenship

of the Native Hawaiian governing entity if the bill passes Congress. The legislators' concerns focused on the negotiation process that would take plaee between the Native Hawaiian governing entity and the federal and state governments if the bill, whieh is officially called the Native Hawaiian Reorganization Act of 2005, is passed. The negotiations would determine the resources of the Hawaiian government. Legislators anticipate that ceded lands and the lands of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL), both of whieh

are under state control, would be on the table during negotiations. At a meeting on April 14, Rep. Scott Sakiai, chairman of the House Hawaiian Affairs Committee, asked Attorney General Mark Bennett if the state is prepared to negotiate the transfer of ceded lands. "There are still jurisdictional and title elaim questions relating to ceded lands," Saiki said. "How are we going to resolve those issues?" Bennett responded that the state has done everything that it needs to up until this point. "If the bill does pass, we will have a great deal of time between its passage and the beginning of negotiations to decide as a state how and what we want to negotiate," he said.

Estimates plaee the total acreage of ceded lands between 1.2 million and 1.8 million. A state consultant has estimated that a Geographic Information System survey of the lands would cost about $18.5 million. The state has yet to decide whether to proceed with the inventory. If the Akaka Bill passes, DHHL lands and assets could also be transferred to the Native Hawaiian government. The federal Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1920 set aside more than 200,000 acres for Hawaiians with at least a 50-percent blood quantum to build homesteads. The responsibility for administering the program now falls under the state.

If the transfer occurs, Sen. Colleen Hanabusa asked, would the homestead land then be available to all the citizens of the Native Hawaiian governing entity, presuming that not all of them would be 50 percent Hawaiian? If so, Hanabusa suggested, there is nothing in the Akaka Bill that would prevent the state from being sued by those who do meet the current DHHL blood quantum. Bennett responded that the state should suggest a provision in the bill that indicates that the state is not breaching its trust obligations by participating in the federal recognition process. A recurring eoneem at both meetings was that there were many non-Hawaiian citizens of the Kingdom of Hawai'i, many of whom, especially the Chinese people, lost rights when the monarchy was overthrown in 1893. At a March 31 meeting, Sen. Clayton Hee, former longtime OHA trustee, asked the members of the state's congressional delegation if non-Hawaiians would be prevented from becoming citizens in the Native Hawaiian governing entity. U.S. Rep. Ed Case responded that in the spirit of self-determination, the federal government would first work with Hawaiians, and then later Hawaiians could determine for themselves the extent to whieh they would like their resources and rights opened up to non-Hawaiians. ?J

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At a state legislative briefing, members of Hawai'i's congressional delegation outlined what lies ahead for the Akaka Bill. Photo: steriing Kini wong