Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 24, Number 11, 1 November 2007 — Akaka Bill key to preservation of Hawaiian assets [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Akaka Bill key to preservation of Hawaiian assets

Aloha nō. I have just returned from New York, where I had occasion to attend a financial seminar given by one of our investment managers. Let me say to those who question our trips that I did not fly first class, stayed only one day, saw no shows, and sat in the middle seat from New York to San Francisco. Now, as I was saying, as trustees with a fiduciary duty to our beneficiaries, we need to understand and ensure that our investments are being made wisely and for the benefit of our Hawaiian people. OHA trustees are unfortunately also polihcians, and politicians have no requirements whieh would qualify them to be trustees of any kind of trust; thus, OHA has a spotty history of board fulfilhnent of fiduciary responsibilities because of the envelopment of politics, whieh has seemingly often blocked their vision heretofore. For politicians to be making decisions regarding hundreds of millions of dollars in trust is scary, especially if they are uneducated and ignorant of complex hnaneial principles and strategies. Thus it is that we trustees are able to be further educated and infonned today by attending these seminars and visiting with our investment managers on a regular basis to keep them on target and ensure the security of the trust. With trustees who are now all at least college educated and conunitted to the mission of OHA, our trust fund has nearly doubled in the last five years, despite our use of substantial amounts for grants, land purchases and other large ticket items. Future expenditures ean be expected in the area of affordable housing, as well as health, education, business and economics,

governance, and conununications. And as OHA gains more respect and appreciation from the connnunity, our influence will continue to grow and Hawaiians will be able to prepare for a governing entity within the United States whieh will give them back some of that whieh they lost in 1893 and preserve for their posterity a degree of self-detennination by whieh Hawaiians ean help themselves and eontinue to receive benefits as the indigenous people of Hawai'i. Now, if we should lose in the courts because we did not get the Akaka Bill passed, so mueh for trustees, or benefits to Hawaiians, or the continued legal existence of an entire indigenous people. We have taken a firm stand for federal recognition because of this and have the best interests of our beneficiaries in mind. Not only do we have the vote of the people of Hawai'i, we have the confinnation of muhiple legitimate polls, the support of every legislator and county elected official in Hawai'i with the exception of two, the strong support of the state administration and the governor, and the strong support of our congressional delegation and Congress. We do, however, have the opposition of Hawaiians who want only complete independence and others who accuse us of race discrimination - both groups who would deny to Hawaiians any benefits being received today from the government. So what of the continued existence of programs such as the Hawaiian Cultural Center whieh I saw in Utah, funded by the Administration for Native Americans, the lands recently acquired by OHA, Hawaiian Homes lands, Kamehamehalands andassets, all the programs and help given by Alu Like, the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation, Nā Pua Noeau, language schools, the census, gathering and access rights, our identity as "Hawaiians," and all other OHA programs? Contrary to our opponents, OHA will defend these programs in the courts, and with the help of the Akaka Bill will win. □

Boyd P. Mossman TrustEE, Maui