Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 25, Number 9, 1 September 2008 — Onee more, a lawsuit underscores the need for the Akaka Bill [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Onee more, a lawsuit underscores the need for the Akaka Bill

Bnyd P. Mūssman TrustEE, Maui

Aloha nō, The saga of our Hawaiian people and culture continues as lawsuits proliferate against Hawaiians and our very being. Last month I mentioned in this eolumn three lawsuits that were pending in the courts and OHA's success thus far. All are intertwined with who we are as a people and our tie to our 'āina. Now another lawsuit has been filed, this time against the Kamehameha Schools, seeking to overturn their preferenee policy in the name of equal justice for all and aloha for all. This action ignores completely the history, culture and uniqueness of the Hawaiian people. We were not part of the United States when the Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop wrote her will reflecting her wishes to educate in order to preserve her people from the ravages of foreign incursion and all its ramifications. The illegal overthrow in 1893 and U.S. involvement involuntarily required Hawaiians to lose their Hawaiian citizenship and accept U.S. citizenship under its laws. And now Kamehameha faces another lawsuit based upon an 1866 U.S. law passed to help former slaves attain equality against a white majority in specific situations. Plaintiffs twist this law to their advantage by stepping into the shoes of former slaves and arguing equal rights for themselves against the indigenous people of Hawai'i when it should be just the opposite. Their attorneys join those suing OHA with one goal in mind: no special recognition for Hawaiians. The attorneys suing Hawaiians include H. William Burgess, Eric Grant, David Rosen, John Goemans and Walter Schoettle, all with reputations in Hawaiian court issues. These men understand that passage of

the Akaka Bill will undermine all of their lawsuits and preserve Hawaiians another day until we ean obtain a degree of selfdetermination that secures our future. So long as it is not racial or discriminatory to recognize Indians and Alaskans, Hawaiians have every right to demand the same and nothing less. These lawsuits seek to remove our identity as an aboriginal people and have the potential of succeeding unless Hawaiians ean show that they are on a legal path toward recognition by Congress as our Indian and Alaskan 'ohana have already demonstrated. Every recent Hawaiian case has cited the need for federal recognition in order for us to successfully defend against these claims in the courts. Thus these attorneys recognize the urgency of obtaining a favorable court ruling before the poliheal process stops them cold. The Kamehameha Board of Trustees supports the Akaka Bill, and in the face of repeated attempts to bring them down it is time the board step up to the plate and join OHA, DHHL, the Governor, the Legislature, our Congressional delegation, unions, civil rights organizations, numerous Hawaiian organizations, and from repeated poll results the majority of all in Hawai'i and all Hawaiians, in arguing for and supporting enthusiastically the Akaka Bill in Congress and in Hawai'i. Federal recognition will offer all of us a refuge from the relentless efforts to eliminate our education, our housing, our jobs, our heahh, and even our identity as Hawaiians. Now, is the Akaka Bill an absolute guarantee that Hawaiians will be able to eonhnue to exist as a people? No. But, without it, we face a severe uphill battle in the courts. And everyone should understand this. These could be either our last days as a people or the beginning days of our restoration as a nation. Our legal existence is being threatened. If we work together despite differing on our ultimate goals, we will be able to prevail as Hawaiians, as Americans. E3

— LEO 'ELELE ■ TRUSTEE MESSAGES