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OHA looks to
remake itself
A proposal would create a
By Pat Omandam
separate entity to carry on
OHA's mission until there
is sovereignty
Star-BulletinThe Office of Hawaiian Affairs is pushing a draft bill in the state Legislature that could eventually lead to the re-creation of OHA as a separate entity no longer considered a public agency governed by a public trust.
The proposal surfaced just as Hawaii's congressional delegation this week agreed to set up a task force to see if a consensus can be reached on a possible federal bill to address the self-determination and political status of Hawaiians.
Already, some non-Hawaiian individuals and groups have rallied in support of Hawaiian, or kanaka maoli, self-governance.
"The rest of us in the community who are also concerned with justice for kanaka maoli will stand with them in lokahi (unity), and together we will continue on in order that the wrongs may be rights and things may once again be pono," said Larry Jones of the Hawaii Ecumenical Coalition.
U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka yesterday said the top priority of the four-delegate task force would be to develop a "legislative response" to the two main issues stemming from the Rice vs. Cayetano decision issued by the U.S. Supreme Court on Feb. 23, self-determination and political status.
Akaka said the Rice decision -- which declared the state's Hawaiians-only OHA elections are unconstitutional -- underscores the need to resolve these issues in a timely manner.
"The underlying issue remains, How do we best fulfill the responsibility of the federal and state governments to native Hawaiians?" Akaka said.
Paul Cardus, Akaka's spokesman, said yesterday there are no bills in Congress now that address these issues. He said the Hawaii delegation filed a friend-of-the-court brief in support of the state in the Rice appeal, and following last month's Supreme Court ruling, felt the best way to proceed was to set up a task force, with Akaka taking the lead.
The task force will work with the state, the Hawaiian community and the community at large in an attempt to reach a consensus that can be taken to Congress, where the delegation has some influence, he said.
"The view of the senator and the other members of the delegation is that they are well situated with respect to their position in Congress, their contacts and dialogue with the executive branch, and the state of Hawaii and OHA ... to try to bring people together on this issue to address the issues that the Rice decision raises and move forward," Cardus said.
OHA trustees have also taken the offensive since the Rice decision. Trustee Haunani Apoliona and OHA administration officials were at the state Capitol this week distributing a confidential draft OHA bill to certain lawmakers. A copy of the proposal was later obtained by the Star-Bulletin.
The draft bill states it is in the best interest of the general public to explore and discuss the possibility of re-creating OHA as a separate entity. Although this entity would not be sovereign, it would serve as a "transitional vehicle" to carry on OHA's mission and hold its assets in trust until there is a federally recognized sovereign Hawaiian nation.
But the proposal states there is "insufficient time" for full discussion by the Hawaiian community and the general public on the issue, and calls for OHA to prepare a transition plan to convert the office into a private entity.
Trustees would have to hold public meetings on the plan before they could submit it to the Legislature, where a joint House-Senate committee would consider and act on OHA's recommendations.
The draft bill, however, has no standing in the Legislature unless lawmakers agree to insert the proposal into an existing OHA bill. Only then could this plan be fully debated by lawmakers and testified on by the public.
State Rep. Sol Kahoohalahala (D, Lanai-Molokai-West Maui) said yesterday he had not seen the OHA proposal. The representative recently introduced a resolution supporting the rights of Hawaiians and recognizing the need to develop a government-to-government relationship between a Hawaiian nation and the United States.
Meanwhile, a diverse group of about 40 non-Hawaiians met at the state Capitol yesterday in support of native rights and entitlements in the wake of the Rice decision.
Alan Murakami, a board member of the Honolulu chapter of the Japanese-American Citizens League, said his group is deeply concerned about the turmoil and disruption caused by the Rice decision because it has a broader impact on the community.
In light of the experience of Americans of Japanese ancestry and other minorities in fighting racism and unjust laws, Murakami said the league joins Hawaiians in fighting the "injustice" imposed by the Supreme Court's interpretation of the U.S. Constitution.
"We oppose the use of civil- rights rhetoric and principles as the tool used to disenfranchise and deny self-governance to Hawaiians," Murakami said.
The Rev. David Hansen, conference minister at the Hawaii Conference of the United Churches of Christ, said the church -- which sent missionaries to Hawaii in the late 1800s -- has formally apologized to Hawaiians for its role in the 1893 overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy.
The church strongly supports their effort toward reconciliation, he said.
Vanessa Chong, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union-Hawaii, said the ACLU supports native self-governance throughout the United States.
In response to the Rice decision, the local office has prepared a pamphlet printed in English and Hawaiian that explains the people's right to protest under the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights.
OHA trustee Mililani Trask and others have called for nonviolent civil disobedience following the Supreme Court ruling, which they consider another attack on native rights and entitlements.
A sleep-in protest is being planned for Wednesday at the University of Hawaii Campus Center to oppose the Board of Regents' policy regarding the Mauna Kea observatories site, an area that is considered sacred by native Hawaiians.
U.S. Public Law 103-150
