Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 25, Number 6, 1 May 2008 — Be careful what you wish for [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Be careful what you wish for

Walter M. Heen TrustEE, O'ahu

The theme of this article is, "Be careful what you wish for; you might get it." In the recent legislative hearings and community meetings regarding the "OHA settlement agreement" many Native Hawaiians strongly opposed the agreement and the supporting legislation. As is usually the case at such meetings, people expressed opposition to the settlement bill for reasons other than the terms of the settlement. Some said: "OHA has not done anything to assist Native Hawaiians, particularly the 50 percent Hawaiians." "We are the representatives of the Hawaiian Kingdom; OHA doesn"t represent us." "Where are these funds going to go?" "It"s very obvious you guys cannot take care of what"s important to us. You are not protecting us." The animosity toward OHA was clear and pervasive. Perhaps some of the most vehement statements were made at the community meeting in Mā'ili. Amid repeated attacks on the overthrow, the loss of Hawaiian governance, and on OHA for not assisting them directly, one person said "OHA should be dissolved; just give eaeh of us $5,000 and go away." Others said, "We are not United States citizens; we are citizens of the Sovereign Hawaiian Nation." Those people would have no truck with OHA; we didn"t represent them. I was not dismayed by the attacks themselves, as unfair and uninformed as they were. But, while those detractors were speaking thusly I thought to myself: "If I were opposed to OHA and to the other programs that give preference to Native Hawaiians, I would seize this opportunity and move again to attack all programs that provide entitlements to Native Hawaiians. These people won"t care, because they

don"t like OHA anyway. In fact they might support us in defeating their own entitlements. They might eome to our side." I thought: "Bill Burgess and his "posse" are bound to seize on the statements of the protestors to support their efforts to eliminate the rights and benefits provided to Native Hawaiians, particularly those afforded through OHA." And it has happened. On behalf of his "usual suspects," this time including Thurston Twigg-Smith, Burgess has filed a suit asking the U.S. District Court to determine that the establishment and operation of OHA are unconstitutional in that they result in unequal treatment of Hawai'i"s citizens. Right up front, Burgess has asked the court to immediately enjoin OHA from any further spending or commitment of funds received from the 5(f) trust and the state from transferring any such funds to OHA. If the court were to so enjoin OHA then, of course, OHA would "go away" as the Mā'ili woman suggested. Burgess" previous actions against Native Hawaiian entitlements have been unsuccessful. But he is driven by a hope that one day one of his cases will get to the U.S. Supreme Court where, with the present lineup of conservative-minded justices, his claims will be upheld, and then, "Goodbye OHA" and all other Native Hawaiian entitlements under federal and state law. I believe that the attacks on OHA and the state administration voiced during the "settlement hearings" emboldened Burgess and his cabal so that they believe they will get Native Hawaiian support for their attack on OHA"s existence and activities on behalf of Native Hawaiians. It is certainly no aeeident that the suit comes so soon after the hearings and while legislative action on the settlement is still pending. The detractors" attacks have given "aid and comfort" to the enemy. Again, unity of purpose and goal has escaped the Native Hawaiian community and we remain scattered and unfocused. Auwē. E