Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 30, Number 8, 1 August 2013 — ACT 195 & ACT 77: LEFT OUT WHAT'S AT STAKE? [ARTICLE]

ACT 195 & ACT 77: LEFT OUT WHAT'S AT STAKE?

Don't be left out. Sign up for the official roll using the Kana'iolowalu form on page 8. Act 195, the 201 1 state law that directed the Native Hawaiian Roll Commission to create an official roll of Native Hawaiians, declares that: "the members of the qualified Native Hawaiian roll, and their descendants, shall be aeknowledged by the State ofHawai 'i as the indigenous, aboriginal, maoli populahon ofHawai'i." This suggests that Native Hawaiians who are not on the official roll, and are not descendants of anyone on the roll, will not be acknowledged by the state as part of the indigenous, aboriginal, maoli populahon of Hawai'i. Unacknowledged Native Hawaiians could potentially lose access to important Native Hawaiian rights and privileges under state law. In addition, Native Hawaiians whose names do not appear on the official roll may not be eligible under Act 195 "to participate in the organization of the Native Hawaiian governing entity." For these reasons, OHA strongly supports Act 77, a 2013 law that protects the rights of all verified Native Hawaiians registered with OHA to be included on the official roll and to receive all the rights and recognitions of membership. Under Act 77, OHA will transfer all verified Native Hawaiians from its Kau Inoa, Hawaiian Registry and Operation 'Ohana registries to the Native Hawaiian Roll Conimission to be included on the official roll. OHA strongly urges all Native Hawaiians to ensure that their names appear on the official roll, for themselves and the future generations of their 'ohana. If, however, any OHA registrants want OHA to withhold their names from the Act 77 transfer, they ean simply hll out and retum the form on page 35, no later than September 15, 2013.