Hawaiians pleased If native Hawaiians are allowed to form their own government, that government should be able to negotiate claims to ceded lands directly with the U.S. and Hawaii state governments, according to a U.S. Senate committee report outlining the intent of the so-called Akaka bill.
with report on Akaka bill
A U.S. Senate panel has added
language that allows for
ceded lands negotiationsBy Christine Donnelly
cdonnelly@starbulletin.comThe report was praised by native Hawaiian leaders who had objected to earlier language they feared could limit any future native nation's ability to build a land base.
"We were very adamant about having this clarification and are so pleased that it is included in the report. Our (congressional) delegation has been enormously helpful and responsive to the native Hawaiian people," said Beadie Kanahele Dawson, a lawyer and businesswoman who was among native Hawaiian leaders that last year helped draft the original bill.
The bill seeking federal recognition for native Hawaiians was first introduced to Congress last session by Democratic Sen. Daniel Akaka of Hawaii, after several public hearings in Hawaii. But that bill failed last year and was altered, without additional public hearings, before being reintroduced to Congress this session.
In August, Dawson and others sent a letter to Hawaii's congressional delegation expressing their objections to some of the changes and asking for more public input.
"What they assured us was that our objections would be addressed in the committee report and they have done that. We support the bill very enthusiastically," Dawson said yesterday upon seeing the Sept. 21 report from the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs.
The bill's earlier language could have limited any native Hawaiian government to controlling Hawaiian Homelands and the island of Kahoolawe, Dawson said. But the committee's report details the bill's much broader intentions, saying that once recognized a native Hawaiian government could negotiate for control of "lands, resources and assets" including, but not limited to, ceded lands and lands set aside under the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act.
An inventory of ceded lands should be done if necessary to facilitate negotiations and the definition of ceded lands includes submerged areas, the report said.
Ceded lands in Hawaii include roughly 1.8 million acres of crown, government and public lands ceded to the U.S. government after the Kingdom of Hawaii was overthrown in 1893 and annexed in 1898. How much of the land, and profits from its use, should be dedicated to native Hawaiians has long been in dispute.
Dawson and others had also objected to language giving the Hawaii state government a role in approving a native Hawaiian government.
The committee report said that provision was included in the bill only to reassure the U.S. government that the state of Hawaii supports federal recognition for native Hawaiians, and noted "the committee does not intend that the state of Hawaii have any role in determining the native Hawaiian governing entity that is to be recognized by the United States."
The federal recognition bill has cleared committee in both the House and the Senate, and it could come up for a full Senate vote anytime between now and the end of the session.
Paul Cardus, spokesman for Sen. Akaka, refused to speculate on the bill's chances for passage, especially with Congress giving most of its attention to bills related to national defense, security and recovery efforts following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
If approved, the bill would grant federal recognition to native Hawaiians, giving them a "nation-within-a-nation" political status. Native Hawaiians would be able to form their own government and institutions and would have a direct government-to-government relationship with the United States.
The bill has faced opposition from some Hawaiian nationalists who want total independence from the United States and from some non-Hawaiians who say granting native Hawaiians special rights would make non-Hawaiians second-class citizens in the islands.