Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 26, Number 9, 1 May 2009 — Reject the U.S. Supreme Court's ceded lands ruling [ARTICLE]

Reject the U.S. Supreme Court's ceded lands ruling

We, the Hawaiian people, who are born from the Hawaiian land and who have resided here for more than 100 generations, reject forever the decision of the Supreme Court of American injustice! That court only has the "right" to rule because its military is illegally occupying our country, it does not have the moral right! Remember that was the court that onee found slavery legal, and that was the court that eventually had to find that slavery was illegal. They did so because of the moral outrage of the American people. No doubt one day that same court will find that they have erred yet again, and that we as Hawaiians have a moral and legal right to deny sale of the "ceded" lands, as that land is our land. Our sovereign rights to those lands were acknowledged and affirmed by the 1993 Apology Law and were even acknowledged by the 1959 State of Hawai'i Constitution that stated such lands were held in trust for two beneficiaries, the Native Hawaiians and the general public. When the State of Hawai'i proposes to sell "ceded" lands, they are abusing that trust for both beneficiaries, as onee land is sold, the public loses use of that land forever. Over the course of time, history has taught us that wrongs conunitted

against humanity in the name of law are wrongs forever, and eventually wrongs are righted by the overturning of bad law. Just as slavery and genocide have been overturned by human rights, so too will the decision of the American Supreme Court of Injustice be overturned. We Hawaiians will always have the moral right to our lands, now and for the next 100 generations. As for Linda Lingle, who has stabbed us in the heart with her abuse of our trust, she has now earned her plaee in history with other mo'o niho 'awa'awa such as John L. Stevens, Lorrin Thurston and Sanford Dole. Too bad for her; she could have been remembered as our friend. Lilikalā Kame'eleihiwa, Ph.O. Professor Kamakakūokalani (enter for Hawaiian Studies Hawai'inuiākea Scbool ofHawaiian Knowledge University ofHawai'i at Mānoa