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Some are Some Hawaiian community leaders say Gov. Ben Cayetano should not have appointed anyone to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs board.
protesting Cayetano’s
appointments to
OHA board
The governor says he'll finish
the appointment process
by the end of the weekBy Pat Omandam
Star-BulletinAnd they urged the five interim trustees appointed yesterday to step down and for others not to accept the position because it gives the governor control of the OHA board.
"We're very worried that with his appointees, the ceded lands issue will be resolved in favor of the state," said Lilikala Kame'eleihiwa, director of the Center for Hawaiian Studies. "We're also very worried that the money that's in OHA right now will be taken by the state or given over by his appointed trustees."
Kame'eleihiwa said the trustees appointed by Cayetano yesterday should resign and those asked to serve decline the job. She was at a rally yesterday afternoon in front of Washington Place, where about 50 protesters criticized Cayetano for appointing people to the board.
It is a matter that should be left up to Hawaiians, they said.
"I think what's best for Hawaiians is good for Hawaii in general," said Vicky Holt-Takamine. "If you don't take care of native Hawaiians, they're going to be a thorn in your butt."
The kumu hula is spokeswoman for the Ilio'ulaokalani Coalition, which serves as a political arm for many Hawaiian cultural groups. She believes any appointments by Cayetano gives him control of the OHA board.
"The message here is we're not going to sit back and take it. We're going to start taking action. What does it start with? It starts with a demonstration and it builds from there," Holt-Takamine said.Yesterday, Cayetano appointed former trustees Clayton Hee and Hannah Springer, former Big Island Mayor Dante Carpenter, Hawaiian language instructor Ilei Beniamina and Hawaiian community leader Gladys Brandt to the board.
A hour after being sworn in, the five met in an organizational meeting at OHA headquarters and named Hee chairman and Springer chairwoman of the OHA Budget and Finance Committee.
Holt-Takamine has also taken issue with the fact she is running against Hee this November and Hee's appointment gives him an advantage in their Oahu seat race.
"I think Clayton is going to have to think about how he has to answer to the Hawaiian people. ... Is he representing the native Hawaiian or is he representing the governor and the Democratic Party?" she said.
Cayetano said yesterday that most of his appointments are candidates in the OHA elections because many others he asked declined to take the two-month job because of the factious atmosphere on the OHA board.
"We don't have the luxury of thinking about that because it's not easy to get people to serve," Cayetano said.
Former trustee Haunani Apoliona is urging the reorganized board to act on a measure passed by the Budget Committee this month that extends the contract of OHA's investment portfolio managers for a year.
"That is not an issue that should be passed around like a football," said Apoliona, former budget chairwoman.
Cayetano said he will make the other four OHA appointments by Friday. He has hinted that not all of his selections will be of Hawaiian ancestry.
Meanwhile, Hee and other Hawaiian leaders, Native American groups and the U.S. departments of Justice and Interior are expected to testify before the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs tomorrow in Washington, D.C., on an amended Akaka bill.
Paul Cardus, spokesman for U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Akaka, said the bill streamlines the recognition process while it empowers the native Hawaiian community to decide on a native government.
U.S. Public Law 103-150