Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 29, Number 10, 1 October 2012 — Q&A: John Waiheʻe, Native Hawaiian Roll Commission chairman [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Q&A: John Waiheʻe, Native Hawaiian Roll Commission chairman

From the courtroom to the Capitol, former Gov. John D. Waihe'e III has been championing and supporting Native Hawaiian rights and initiatives for more than 35 years, including his current role as chairman of the Native Hawaiian Roll Commission. We sat with the governor for some straight talk on questions surrounding Kana'iolowalu, a yearlong project to register Native Hawaiians who will participate in the organization of a governing entity.

Q: Why is Kana'iolowalu so important? Why this? Why now? A: All that we have accomplished as a people in holding on to, protecting and strengthening our Native Hawaiian rights and status over the past 120 years have been stepping stones for reclaiming our self-gover-nanee. Pressures and attacks as well as opportunities are upon us. We must maintain this foothold and now use a political power to holo i mua (progress). This power will only eome as we unite as Hawaiians and have our collective voice be heard. That time is right now. And that is the purpose of Kana'iolowalu - to reunify the sovereign identity of Native Hawaiians through self-recognition. Our Hawaiian nahon exists today because our Queen Lili'uokalani, our kūpuna and all of us have refused to let it die. We never relinquished our sovereignty. The Kana'iolowalu petition and registry are puhlie statements of our collective self-recognition of this unrelinquished sovereignty and our commitment to moving forward together. Q: Act 195, whieh authorized the roll commission, mentions the state's support of federal recognition. Is Kana'iolowalu going to aulomaliealh lead to federal recognition?

A: There is nothing automatic about federal recognition. The purpose of the Kana'iolowalu registry is for Native Hawaiians to put their names on a puhlie roll, or list, of those who will be involved in moving towards self-governance. Those who sign up will have the kuleana of determining, among other things, what form of government to pursue. Whether that is federal recognition or not is up to those who take a stand now and sign up to be on the roll. That is why signing up is so important. Q: What are the iinplka(ions of the recent mark up of the Akaka hill that now includes a direct reference to the Native Hawaiian Roll Commission? A: Kana'iolowalu does not automatically lead to any particular

form of self-governance. Gaining federal recognition through the new version of the Akaka bill will still require an action by those who are on the Kana'iolowalu registry to organize in order to move forward to pursue federal recognition. This revision to the Akaka bill means that if the bill passes and those of us on the registry choose federal recognition as our option for selfgovernance, then that path is there for us to pursue. Simply put, the Akaka bill opens up another option for us to consider when those of us on the roll convene.

Q: What is your message to Hawaiians ahout signing up or not signing up with Kana'iolowalu? A: Our nahon remains. Our sovereignty remains. Now we need to act as a unified collective, committed to working together to determine what our future as a nahon is going to be. Whatever your view is about how to move forward or what form of government to pursue - or even if you don't have a really strong opinion at this point - do not give up the opportunity to be involved and have your mana'o be heard. Our Queen Lili'uokalani would want all of us to be counted. ■

Those who sign up will have the huleana of determining, among other things, what form of government to pursue. Whether that is federal recognition or not is up to those who take a stand now and sign up to be on the roll. That is why signing up is so important."

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