Akaka Bill backers
set for D.C. trip

OHA trustees are "cautiously optimistic"
about the measure's future

Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustees are leaving this weekend to lobby in Washington, D.C., for a bill giving federal recognition to the sovereignty of native Hawaiians, a measure they call the most significant act since statehood.

"We are very pleased and we are cautiously optimistic," Haunani Apoliona, OHA chairwoman, said.

The bill would formalize the relationship between the federal government and native Hawaiians similar to the relationship with American Indians and native Alaskans.

"This bill provides justice and fairness, but not at the expense of others and certainly not to the detriment of Hawaii," Apoliona said yesterday at a news conference.

The bill, dubbed the Akaka Bill for its chief sponsor, U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, does not enjoy complete support among native Hawaiians.

Clyde Namuo, OHA administrator, said some Hawaiians oppose the bill because it does not go far enough for Hawaiian independence.

"This bill is not for the independents," Namuo said, "but we believe a majority of native Hawaii and non-native Hawaiians in Hawaii, the silent majority, support the bill."

The bill is scheduled to be debated Monday and Tuesday in the Senate, which has refused to handle the issue in past years. The measure was first introduced by Akaka in 2000. It has been approved in past sessions of the House, but Republican opponents in the Senate have blocked the bill.

Akaka and senior U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, convinced the GOP majority in the Senate to agree to debate the bill this summer.

"It is a historic step in the reconciliation process providing the opportunity for a native Hawaiian governing entity, designed by native Hawaiians, to sit at the same table with the state and federal governments to resolve long-standing legal political issues," Apoliona said.

But the bill continues to face Senate opposition. Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., plans to introduce an amendment requiring a statewide referendum before the U.S. government could recognize native Hawaiians as a separate entity. The referendum is among several amendments Kyl said he plans to propose during the debate next week. He declined to discuss the other proposed amendments.

Honolulu attorney H. William Burgess, an opponent of the bill, supports Kyl's proposal.

"I think it's an excellent idea," he said. "After all, this bill would allow state officials to surrender jurisdiction of part of Hawaii without the consent of the people of Hawaii."

Kyl had put a hold on the bill earlier, preventing it from going to the Senate floor for a vote, and said he will urge senators to vote against the bill.

Also attending the debate will be Gov. Linda Lingle and Mayor Mufi Hannemann.

Lingle has been instrumental in helping bring GOP senators to support the bill and has lobbied the Bush administration not to actively oppose it.