Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 27, Number 10, 1 October 2010 — Calling the 'middle' to action [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Calling the 'middle' to action

n many situations where controversy rules in the eommunity, there are two poles on opposite sides from whieh mueh

is heard. In between, there are oft times either a disinterested or an uninformed middle. It is to this group in the middle, they who are busy trying to make ends meet, who are picking up and dropping off, who are studying or working to the wee hours, who don't have the time that those who populate the

poles have to attend hearings, submit testimonies, eall their representatives or to write letters to the editor, that I wish to address my remarks. In 1978 the last Constitutional Convention resulted in the creation of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. At the time I was busy running the Prosecuting Attorney's Office for the County of Maui and paid little attention even though one of my deputies, John Tam, was elected to be a delegate. After OHA was established in 1980, I paid even less attention except where the TV news forced it upon me. As the years passed and as the fighting continued in the OHA boardroom, I minded my own business ... until, I read that OHA and DHHL were defending themselves in the courts for their very existence. I was by then retired and decided that best I offer my mana'o to the court battles. So, late as I was in paying attention to what was going on with our people, suffice to say I jumped into the fray and tried to help bolster our side. I quickly learned that there were two poles, one on eaeh side of us, eaeh pa'a in their positions, one mostly Hawaiian, and one mostly haole, but neither holding beliefs supportive of the vast middle where OHA had set its anchor. Now as

a Trustee, I believe that we who compose the middle need to wake up, focus and act in a rational way for the benefit of our keiki and the gen-

erations to eome. We ean honor our ancestors of Hawai'i and also aeknowledge our citizenship as Americans. We ean practice our culture and also recognize all other cultures in Hawai'i. We ean preserve our traditions and keep our identity as an indigenous people and also serve our country,

the United States. We ean live in harmony with all others and still be recognized as the Hawaiian in Hawai'i. Our children and posterity ean be proud of their heritage as are we and carry it on, but without legal, moral and spiritual safeguards, we will lose the very institutions that today help preserve our identity. Federal recognition is the only realistic answer. That means the Akaka bill. International recognition is not. That means the U.N. So, as long as we ean work within the laws of our nation and State, we ean work to secure our continued existence as the aboriginal, indigenous, native people of Hawai'i. You ean then be assured that your ancestors will have the resources in plaee to link to their posterity and vice versa, and as a people we will be able to continue without threat of legal termination in the courts. With Akaka, we will progress not only as a people but as a State and as a nation within a nation. Without Akaka, we stand to lose in court and lose any hope of any kind of nation. With that will go every benefit applieahle to Hawaiians. You make the ehoiee: Head in the sand and eome what may? Or, the future of your keiki? I believe our ancestors are relying on us to make the right ehoiee. ■

Boyd P. Mūssman TrustEE, Maui