Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 37, Number 1, 1 January 2020 — What if Native Hawaiians Had a Government and We Controlled Mauna Kea? [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

What if Native Hawaiians Had a Government and We Controlled Mauna Kea?

By Dr. Lilikalā Kame'eleihiwa When we look at all of the issues Hawaiians are protesting and trying to protect - Mauna Kea, Kahuku, Waimānalo, Māui Water Rights, and all of the other land and water issues that are dear to Hawaiian hearts, we often consider what would happen if we had a government of our own that governed our own lands. Such a government would require a Constitution and even, perhaps, ināepenāenee. The UH Mānoa Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies Brandt Chair is hosting three Mini-Symposiums on Indigenous Constitutions and United Nations (UN) paths to Independence. Gladys Kamakakūokalani 'Ainoa Brandt (1906-2003), for whom our building is named, was a beloved lifelong Hawaiian educator: Principal of the Kamehameha Schools, Chair of the UH Board of Regents, and a wise leader of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. She bequeathed a legacy at the UH Loundation with the Brandt Chair for Comparative Polynesian Studies, believing that we Hawaiians could learn from our Polynesian cousins. In January 2020, the Kamakakūokalani Brandt Chair will present 'Onipa 'a: PoIynesian Strategies on PoIitical Self-Determination on Māori Constitutions anā Tahitian ejfortsforIndependence through the UN Committee for Decolonization ofFrench Polynesia. Dr. Moana Jackson, founder of Māori Legal Services, who wrote the first draft of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and Professor Margaret Mutu, former chair of Māori Studies at Auckland University who has fought many land struggles, will tell us how for six years they asked Māori Iwi across Aotearoa (New Zealand) to declare what they wanted in their own constitution.

Senator Ari'ihau Tūheiava of the Tahitian Independence Party, Tavini Huiraatira no Te Ao Ma'ohi - L.L.P., will report on his work with the UN Committee on Decolonization of Lrench Polynesia. Does the process really work? Hawaiian respondents are UH Hawai'inuiākea Dean Jon Osorio, UH Humanities Dean Tēvita O. Ka'ili, Professor Kamana Beamer, Makana Paris and Kameha'ikū Camvel. The symposium is presented by current Brandt Chair Professor Lilikalā Kame'eleihiwa, and Brandt Committee members Professors Maile Andrade, Kamana Beamer, Keahiahi Long, Noelani Puniwai and Tino Ramirez, and co-sponsored by the 'Aha Moananuiākea Paeilie Consortium. DATES AND VENUES: Wednesday, January 22: 5 p.m. Pūpū, 5:30-7 p.m. lecture, Hālau O Haumea, Kamakakūokalani Center Lor Hawaiian Studies, UH Mānoa Thursday, January 23: 5 p.m. Pūpū, 5:30-7 p.m. Lecture, Ka'iwakīloumoku, Kamehemaha Schools Kapālama Lriday, January 24: 5 p.m. Pūpū, 5:30-7 p.m. Lecture, Hale A'o, Windward Community College Live Video Streaming available at AVAkonohiki. org! Watch for more Brandt Mini-Symposiums: March 14-28 on Polynesian Stars and Temples; April 5-11 on Polynesian Herbal Medicine; and May 9-16 on Polynesian Visual Arts. Lor more information email Lilikalā Kame'eleihiwa at lilikala@hawaii. edu. ■

Gladys Kamakakūokalani 'Ainoa Brandt

Dr. Lilikalō Kame'eleihiwa

Senator Ari'ihau Tūheiava

Dr. Moana Jackson

- Professor Margaret Mutu