Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.

The Star-Bulletin gathered 10 Hawaiian
leaders for a timely dialogue about what's next for
Hawaiians in the wake of Rice vs. Cayetano.

Representing various views within the Hawaiian
community, the participants were provocative and
candid during a 90-minute discussion last Monday.

Inside today's special section, we present
what they had to say, and more.

Hawaiian leaders
agree on need
for teamwork

Their major goals are to save
native Hawaiian programs and
form a consensus on sovereignty

SPECIAL SECTION

By Christine Donnelly
Star-Bulletin

MOVING quickly to preserve programs for native Hawaiians while simultaneously building consensus in the sovereignty movement emerged as critical goals during a round-table discussion of Hawaiian leaders.

"The success of the effort will be, in my view, dependent on the success of Hawaiians in carrying the initiative to non-Hawaiians," said Office of Hawaiian Affairs Chairman Clayton Hee, one of 10 native Hawaiians the Star-Bulletin invited to discuss the future of sovereignty in the wake of the Rice vs. Cayetano ruling. The U.S. Supreme Court decision made it illegal to exclude non-Hawaiians from voting in Office of Hawaiian Affairs elections.

By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
A group of Hawaiians prominent in the search for Hawaiian
self-determination, gathered last Monday at the Star-Bulletin.

The March 13 conversation included people with diverse opinions from the fields of politics, law, education, community service and grass roots and militant activism -- all committed to expanding the rights of native Hawaiians. Some have been critical of each other's efforts in the past and this marked the first time all 10 sat down face-to-face.

Here are a few major themes that emerged during the 1-hour conversation (see special insert for expanded coverage):

Eight of the 10 participants favored seeking federal legislation to define Hawaiians as a politically sovereign indigenous people, rather than simply a racial minority. Such status, similar to that of Native American tribes, would give Hawaiians wide latitude to run their own affairs and protect special government funding from further legal challenges.

It would be based on the 1893 overthrow and subsequent annexation of the Hawaiian kingdom by the United States, for which the federal government apologized in 1993.

But two participants who want total independence for Hawaiians opposed seeking federal recognition, describing it as a trap that leaves native Hawaiians wards of the government. "We are a colonized people and nation ... and therefore don't come under U.S. domestic law at all, but international law," said Kekuni Blaisdell, coordinator of Ka Pakaukau, a coalition of pro-independence groups.

All 10 participants agreed the U.S. Supreme Court ruling leaves numerous other programs favoring Hawaiians ripe for legal attack and that all Hawaiians, regardless of whether they are pro-sovereignty or politically active, need to learn more about what is at stake. The eight favoring federal recognition say that is the best way to protect the programs. Several stressed the need to build consensus and unity, saying the heightened sense of urgency should not be used as an excuse to avoid that time-consuming effort. One idea was to have a "beneficiaries conference" open to all native Hawaiians to talk about programs and services, not just politics and sovereignty.

"Let's get our leadership to really take a stand, to be fearless, and to say I'm not afraid of my Hawaiian people. I am not afraid to hear their mana'o (ideas). ... Having differences is not a negative thing. We need to have the great debate," said Robin Danner, a Hawaiian homesteader and author of Project Hawaiian Justice, an educational and strategic initiative.

Robert Klein, recently retired as an associate justice of the Hawaii Supreme Court, agreed that it was important to educate and build consensus -- but said it was equally crucial to move quickly in the state Legislature and the U.S. Congress to preserve millions of dollars worth of programs for native Hawaiians.

'This is not about us vs. them' A few quotes from the Hawaiian round-table discussion: "If Hawaiians have billions of dollars in cash and assets, and millions of acres of land, then why are we the worst economically distressed community in America? OK, why? Now, that only says that whoever's supposed to take care of the piggy bank, they're not passing on to the rest of the family." -- Dennis "Bumpy" Kanahele NATION OF HAWAII FOUNDER, WHO WOULD LIKE TO FOCUS MORE ON AN ECONOMIC BASE FOR HAWAIIANS AND LESS ON THE QUESTION OF POLITICAL STATUS, WHICH HE CONSIDERS A POSSIBLE TRAP BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT "This is not about us versus them ... because as we become better, society becomes better. As society becomes better, we benefit by it." -- Clayton Hee OHA CHAIRMAN, WHO SAID THE SUCCESS OF THE SOVEREIGNTY MOVEMENT DEPENDS ON GAINING THE SUPPORT OF THE NON-HAWAIIANS WHO MAKE UP THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE STATE. "No one ... myself included and anybody here, can actually say that we speak for all the Hawaiian people. Because the Hawaiian people have never been asked. I want the Hawaiian people to make this choice." -- Charles Rose CHAIRMAN OF THE NATIVE HAWAIIAN CONVENTION.

"Our programs that exist presently are endangered," said Klein, describing the Rice ruling as one in a series of recent U.S. Supreme Court decision opposing affirmative action. "There's a lot of backsliding on programs that help minorities. And that's the danger that we risk when we talk until the cows come home. We need action."

Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustee Mililani Trask said the two goals were complementary, not conflicting. Consensus had been building in the Hawaiian community prior to the Rice ruling, and the basis had been laid for a grass-roots gathering of all Hawaiians, she said.

"If we're serious about building a consensus, working together to get to the congressional level, it will not be achieved with a handful of trustees and politicians calling the shots for Hawaiians. That is not going to fly at this point," Trask said.

Dennis "Bumpy" Kanahele, founder of the self-proclaimed Nation of Hawaii and a pro-independence delegate to the Native Hawaiian Convention, urged those at the table to focus more on grass-roots economic initiatives, and less on gaining federal recognition. "That is much, much safer. ... It doesn't put our political status on the line," he said.

The discussion also included Keali'i'olu'olu Gora, lieutenant governor of the political action group Ka Lahui Hawai'i; Davelyn Noelani Kalipi, legislative assistant to U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii; Lilikala Kame'eleihiwa, director of the University of Hawaii Center for Hawaiian Studies; and Charles Rose, chairman of the Native Hawaiian Convention.

On starbulletin.com To read a full transcript of the Hawaiian Roundtable discussion, log onto our Web site at starbulletin.com You can also hear the audio recording of the discussion as well as view a panoramic photo of the participants.