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Funds OK’d to
educate Hawaiians
on bill draft

OHA and the civic clubs'
council have approved
$145,000 for the program

By Pat Omandam
Star-Bulletin

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the Oahu Council of Hawaiian Civic Clubs have approved a combined $145,000 to educate Hawaiians about a draft federal bill expected to be introduced into Congress this week.

The educational campaign will help the public understand the measure, which proposes a federal office and task force to determine and coordinate federal policy on Hawaiian issues. It will also provide background to those who intend to testify on the proposal late next month.

"What we are hoping is to give people sufficient information on what's in the bill and what its purposes are and what the bill will do so that when testimony comes around, testimony is not shotgun, all over the place," said Beadie Kanahele Dawson.

Dawson, vice chairwoman of the Hawaiian working group appointed by Hawaii's congressional delegation to provide input on the bill, said the goal is to give a balanced picture of the proposal.

Dawson acknowledged there are concerns by conservative Hawaiians as well as others who favor self-determination without U.S. interference. She said that while obtaining 100 percent consensus on the bill is almost impossible, it is possible to achieve an agreement among a majority of Hawaiians.

The Hawaiian working group recently submitted its second round of amendments to the draft bill, which also gives Hawaiians a framework to gain federal recognition of a sovereign government.

The first chance for people to discuss the bill will be at 6 p.m. July 31 at the state Capitol auditorium, where an informational briefing is planned, said Kinau Boyd Kamali'i, a former state lawmaker and Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustee.

Kamali'i said the discussion is funded by a $2,000 donation from the Oahu Council of Hawaiian Civic Clubs. The money will be used for radio ads to promote what she hopes will become an educational series on the bill.

Next month, OHA begins a major television, radio and print advertising campaign to provide the Hawaiian community and the public with details about the bill, said Ryan Mielke, OHA public information officer.

The OHA board at a Maui meeting last week approved $143,000 for the educational campaign, as well as $100,000 for Project Hawaiian Justice. That project focuses on a strategic plan to educate people about Hawaiian self-governance, and it has proposed steps toward getting federal legislation passed for Hawaiian nationhood.

U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Akaka and others in Hawaii's delegation are hoping to "fast-track" the legislation before Congress adjourns in early October. Observers say one way to gain passage is to "piggy-back" the bill onto a measure that has a strong chance of approval this session.

The delegation's urgency to protect federal programs serving Hawaiians was spurred by the Feb. 23. U.S. Supreme Court decision in the Rice vs. Cayetano case, in which the justices ruled against the state's Hawaiians-only voting restriction.

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