Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 31, Number 8, 1 August 2014 — FEDERAL RECOGNITION WOULD PAVE A NATION-TO-NATION PATH [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

FEDERAL RECOGNITION WOULD PAVE A NATION-TO-NATION PATH

Eia Hawai'i, he moku, he kānaka 'O Hawai'i kūkahi E 'auamo kākou 'Imi i ka nā'au Here is Hawai'i, the land, the people We are a people, unique to these islands Let us bear this ancestral legacy proudly on our shoulders Look deep within ourselves for the foundation n opening, I would like us to reflect upon the above theme for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) in 2012, whieh was provided to us as a challenge by the renowned kumu hula and Hawaiian scholar

Dr. Pualani Kanaka'ole Kanahele. Act 195, whieh set up the Native Hawaiian Roll Commission, had passed the year before and the Native Hawaiian Roll Commission had just been appointed by Governor Neil Abercrombie. In 2012, we were taking the first step toward re-establishing a sovereign Native Hawaiian governing entity by supporting the development of a certified base roll of qualified Native Hawaiians to elect deleaates for an

'aha that would draft a governance document for approval by those participating Native Hawaiians. The challenge, then and now, is for eaeh of us, as Native Hawaiians, to look deep within the cultural legacy of our kūpuna and work together to be sure that the contemporary Native Hawaiian governing entity is rooted in our ancestral wisdom. As I listened to the voices of eoneem raised throughout our islands in reaction to the iniīiative of the Department of the Interior to begin a rulemaking process that will open a pathway to re-establish a government-to-government relationship between Native Hawaiians and the U.S. government, I sensed a deep feeling of mistrust and fear that the process will result in another betrayal of our self-determination as Native Hawaiians. My heartfelt mana'o is that we ean only overcome this mistrust by making a commitment to eaeh other as Native Hawaiians that we will stay true to our ancestral traditions. In the past few decades our community has looked to such core cultural concepts and practices as aloha 'āina and mālama 'āina, revived by

and spiritual healing; organizing as hui, 'ohana, lāhui and 'aha and living as kua'āina to protect our lands and resources throughout our islands, especially our kīpuka. As Kānaka 'Ōiwi, we have a deeply rooted and resilient cultural, spiritual and 'āina-based foundation. If we keep connected with our ancestral foundation, we will build a strong sovereign governing entity whieh will be embraced by all of our people. Such an entity will set the terms for the re-establishment of the government-to-government relationship with the U.S. government. Since the Rice v. Cayetano decision in 2000, the system of law out of whieh OHA was created has been challenged in numerous lawsuits aimed at preventing OHA, the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and our Ali'i Trusts from providing services to our Native Hawaiian people. Such lawsuits have attempted to dismantle our Hawaiianserving institutions. While we have successfully defeated these lawsuits, OHA strongly believes that in the long term, the most viable way to protect and

expand existing Native Hawaiian programs, trusts and rights is to re-establish a govern-ment-to-government relationship between a contemporary Native Hawaiian government and the United States. OHA's primary strategy to protect all of these Native Hawaiian organizations and the services that we provide had been the passage of the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act or the "Akaka Bill." OHA spent 12 years pursuing the passage of the "Akaka Bill" and dealt with muhiple obstacles along every step of that path. Now, we weleome the initiative taken by the administration of our keiki o ka 'āina, President Barack Ohama, to move Native Hawaiian governance forward by

starting federal rulemaking that could provide a process to re-establish a government-to-government relationship with Native Hawaiians, through the Department of the Interior. The issue of further reconciliation through international redress is an important but separate question. The federal rule should open a path for re-establishing a domestic govern-ment-to-government relationship that will not, as a leaal matter, affect paths

for international redress. Now is the time for all of us to lay down our spears, embrace with aloha and move forward together by re-establishing a govemment-to-government relationship with the United States. Let us be guided by the wisdom of our kūpuna who taught us: E kaupē aku no i ka hoe a kō mai. Put forward the paddle and draw it back. Go on with the task that is started and finish it If you feel, as I do, that it is time for us to take charge of our own destiny as a Native people, please submit supportive written comments directly to the Department of the Interior at www.bit.ly/HAWAII-ANPRM or via mail to: Office of the Secretary, Department of the Interior, Room 7329, 1849 C Street NW, Washington, D.C., 20240. ■

Colette Machado is chairperson ofthe Board ofTrustees ofthe Office of Hawaiian Ajfairs. This op-ed originally appeared in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser on July 20.

OHA strongly believes that in the long term, the most viable way to protect and expand existing Native Hawaiian programs, trusts and rights is to re-establish a government-to-governmentrelationship between a contemporary Native Hawaiian government and the United States."

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By Colette Machado

George Helm and the Protect Kaho'olawe 'Ohana; traditional wayfinding revived by Master navigator Mau Piailug and the Polynesian Voyaging Society; educating, writing and publishing in our 'ōlelo makuahine, our mother language; the composition and performance of oli and hula kahiko perpetuated by our many hālau of hula; lā'au lapa'au traditional herbal