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Clinton officials
say they back
Akaka bill

A Tribal Justice official says
the bill can give Hawaiians
more control

---

By Pat Omandam
Star-Bulletin

Clinton Administration officials told a joint Congressional committee in Honolulu this morning that they support a bill that clarifies the political status of native Hawaiians.

Jacqueline R. Agtuca, acting director of the Office of Tribal Justice, U.S. Department of Justice, said the department is committed to working closely with Hawaiians and Congress to provide Hawaii's native people with the steps needed for federal recognition, self-determination and self-governance.

Agtuca said the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom frustrated the rights of native Hawaiians, who have not had control of their own affairs since 1893.

Olelo will televise hearings Star-Bulletin staff Olelo, the Corporation for Community Television, will televise the Akaka bill hearings being held this week at the Blaisdell Center. The broadcasts will be shown tape-delayed, Monday through Friday, at 11:30 a.m. on Channel 53. Olelo is also video-streaming the programming simultaneously with the broadcasts at http://www.olelo.org because the hearings will be held only on Oahu and neighbor island residents do not receive Channel 53. Olelo will rebroadcast and video-stream the hearings in their entirety beginning at 10 p.m. every evening.

She said passage of the so-called "Akaka bill" would enhance the government-to-government relationship between Hawaiians and the United States, and could ensure Hawaiians have greater control over their rights and resources.

Today is the first in a weeklong series of Congressional hearings on the bill. Members of Hawaii's delegation, who are spearheading a hastened effort to pass the measure before Congress adjourns in early October, said today the perceived "rush" to pass this legislation has in fact been a long time coming.

"This is not a new issue," said U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Akaka.

"The political relationship between native Hawaiians and the United States goes to the heart of many of the longstanding issues facing native Hawaiians, including ceded lands and self-determination."

U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye said there are 556 native governments that have a government-to-government relationship with the United States, and there are another 160 native groups petitioning the federal government for such recognition.

This bill gives Hawaiians their opportunity to set up such a government, he said.

"These bills have been developed by native Hawaiians for native Hawaiians following extensive consultation, not only with the native Hawaiian community, but with representatives of other interested governments -- federal, state and native governments," Inouye said.

"Ultimately, however, it is the people of Hawaii who will decide whether these measures should be enacted into law," he said.

If all goes as planned, the bill could be voted on by the committees in mid-September. But there are only 22 days of Congressional session left after the Labor Day weekend.

Akaka spokesman Paul Cardus said that both Houses of Congress are behind in passing spending and budget bills and that negotiations on them have not yet begun in earnest with the Clinton Administration. The target date for the end of session is Oct. 6, but that may get extended by a week or two, he said.

Inouye is leading the talks on S. 2899 and H.R. 4904 for the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, while Rep. Neil Abercrombie heads the House Resource Committee on this issue. U.S. Rep. Patsy Mink and Congressman Eni Faleomavaega (D, American Samoa) are also in attendance.

The hearings were moved to Honolulu since Akaka was not cleared for air travel by his doctors. Akaka is recovering from hip replacement surgery, and today thanked Neighbor Island residents for making the trip to testify.

Still, Hawaiian activists on Kauai, angry at being cut out of the official hearings, held their own today at Lydgate Park. They plan to videotape their testimony and air it on public television.

Akaka believes conditions are favorable in Congress for the bill's passage, and the recent release of the Clinton Administration draft report on proposed reconciliation for Hawaiians shows an understanding and willingness to work on these issues.

"The clarification of the political relationship between native Hawaiians and the United States is one that has been long in coming and is well-deserved," Akaka said upon the bill's introduction in July.

Local Hawaiian leaders agree that last week's release of the reconciliation report gives strong backing to the Akaka bill. Clayton Hee, chairman of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, said last week that the bill represents "cutting-edge legislation" in gaining federal recognition for native people because it is a departure from how American Indians and Alaskan Eskimos attained it.

"This draft report, dove-tailed with Sen. Akaka's proposal, is a new effort and it's really one that's never been tried before," Hee said. "And if people thought fast-tracking existed, this beats all fast-tracking that ever was anticipated. ..."

"What you have here are two moving parts of a three-legged government. The Congressional, Administration and the Judicial. You have two of the three legs that appear to be almost lock-step in tandem before the Congress," he said.

Meanwhile, most of the sentiment within the Hawaiian community on the Akaka bill has been favorable, although there will be some very vocal opposition to the measure.

Kekuni Blaisdell of the Kanaka Maoli Tribunal Komike has sent Sen. Inouye a 10-page rebuke to the bill. Blaisdell cites the top-down, exclusive process in which the measure was drafted, and fears Hawaiians won't have total independence but will be under permanent wardship.

"Current federal programs and funds are meager, promote colonial dependency and are now being used to woo kanaka maoli support for the Akaka legislation," said Blaisdell, who was not included in the Hawaii delegation`s task force discussion of the bill.

Non-Hawaiians such as Kenneth R. Conklin, who believe raced-based programs are unconstitutional, oppose the Akaka bill because it divides the people of Hawaii along racial lines.

"One of the most troubling aspects of the Akaka bill is its attempt to create an Indian tribe where none currently exists," Conklin stated on his web site. "It would be the first time in history when Congress recognizes a currently non-existent political entity and then puts in place a procedure to populate it," he said.

Objections like these may not be the only obstacles for the proposal. There is concern a Republican Administration might not be as receptive to it as the Clinton Administration has been.