Indigenous people’s There is a growing sentiment in Congress against the rights of indigenous peoples, say U.S. Sens. Daniel K. Inouye and Daniel K. Akaka.
rights encountering
resistance
So say Inouye and Akaka
at a native Hawaiian conferenceBy Pat Omandam
pomandam@starbulletin.comIn separate speeches this week at a native Hawaiian conference in Waikiki, both senators warned of the difficult challenges facing Hawaiians and other native American groups.
Inouye said earlier this week that the threat against indigenous rights has prompted 25 U.S. senators to form a native American caucus to help protect those rights.
Akaka said that opposition to indigenous people is why a bill that sets up a process for native Hawaiians to gain federal recognition is stalled in the U.S. Senate. Akaka has tried to get that bill passed since 1999.
"There is a growing sentiment in our state and nationally, by those who misunderstand or seek to misrepresent the legal and political relationship between native peoples and the United States, to strip native peoples of their rights to self-determination and self-governance within the federal context," Akaka said.
"It is incumbent upon all of us to acknowledge these challenges, to decide how we should address these challenges and then to move forward together, as a united force, with one common goal: to provide a better future for our children," he said.
The conference, in its first year, is sponsored by the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement.
The nonprofit group's mission is to help trusts, foundations, agencies and groups that serve Hawaiians reach their full potential.
The four-day conference ends today.
On Thursday, Hawaii's four major gubernatorial candidates pledged to conferees that they would work toward federal recognition for Hawaiians if they are elected governor.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Linda Lingle said Hawaii's all-Democratic congressional delegation may have done its best, but those efforts have not been good enough.
She feels being a Republican governor will give her an advantage in seeking support for the bill from the Bush administration.
Meanwhile, Akaka said kupuna with expertise on Hawaiian issues should share their knowledge with the next generation if native Hawaiians are to move forward as a people.
He said far too many people who are working to address long-standing issues of Hawaii's indigenous people see themselves as the unrivaled experts on an issue -- an attitude that hinders solutions to problems.
Instead of waiting for the younger generations to prove themselves, these kupuna -- or seniors -- must listen to what they have to say, he said.
"While I agree that years of experience should not fall by the wayside and that we need not reinvent the wheel, I believe it is important to listen to the younger generation of Hawaiians who have so much to share with us," Akaka said.