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I am having great difficulty understanding the rationale of several provisions contained in a bill introduced in Congress and scheduled for hearings later this month. I am specifically concerned with its provisions calling for the establishment of a roll and controlling the creation of a Hawaiian government. Interior seeks
control of processIn 1998, at the request of several Hawaiian health providers, Sen. Daniel Inouye's office circulated to Hawaiian organizations and agencies a proposed draft bill. It called for Congress and the president to develop a procedure for recognizing the Hawaiian people once they have created their own government.
The proposed bill did not contain any process for creating a Hawaiian government.
There was a large hue and cry from some Hawaiians who misunderstood the intent of the proposal. As a result, nothing further was done at that time.
In December 1999, the U.S. government sent to Hawaii two representatives to hold hearings on the matter of reconciliation. These hearings were conducted throughout the state by Assistant Secretary of the Interior John Berry; representing the Department of Justice was Mark Van Norman of the Tribal Justice Division.
They promised a report in February 2000. But their report has yet to be issued.
On Dec. 11, 1999, at a hearing in Honolulu, Berry promised to the Hawaiian people that neither he, the Department of Interior nor the United States of America would interfere with the Hawaiian people's attempt to develop a Hawaiian government of our choosing.
Both the Republican and Democratic parties in Hawaii have included in their year 2000 platforms language that supports the right of the Hawaiian people to choose their own form of government.
The original draft of the congressional bill provided for the recognition of the Hawaiian people. The draft bill contained no process for creating a Hawaiian government.
Since the first draft, major changes have been made. In the bill introduced, someone has inserted a detailed process for establishing a roll and creating the Hawaiian government. The bill also places the process under the control of the Department of the Interior.
I have asked several members of the Hawaiian working group of the task force whose idea it was to add the process provisions to the bill. They have indicated that it was not a decision of the working group. It appears that these provisions were developed at another level by parties not publicly identified.
In view of these facts, I am deeply concerned that these provisions take away from the Hawaiian people our right to control our own destiny. It also places our future in the hands of the Department of the Interior, an entity that is six months behind in submitting a report that was promised us.
AS an alternative, I will be recommending to our congressional delegation and to the joint committee holding the hearings that they seriously consider eliminating the provisions establishing a roll and creating a government from the legislation, and consider either the 1998 Inouye draft proposal or the original draft proposal by Sen. Dan Akaka.
I urge all Hawaiians who believe that it should be the Hawaiian people making the choices to join me in attempting to persuade the committee that the bill before them is seriously flawed.
Charles Rose is past president of Ha Hawai'i
and past chairman of the Aha Hawai'i 'Oiwi
(Native Hawaiian Convention.