Akaka bill could mean
end of OHA and DHHLThe proposal calls for assets to
be handled by a new government
Office of Hawaiian Affairs officials acknowledge passage and implementation of the so-called Akaka bill would likely mean the end of OHA and the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.
That's because the federal bill states a certified and recognized native Hawaiian government entity would assume all assets held for Hawaii's indigenous people. Those include OHA's $260 million trust, Hawaiian Homes' roughly 200,000 acres of homestead land and Kahoolawe island, which reverts to state control in November and is being held in trust for a sovereign Hawaiian nation.
"These people that are saying this Akaka bill will get rid of Hawaiian Homes and OHA. They have a valid concern," said trustee Linda Dela Cruz.
A majority of trustees voted Wednesday to continue to support the intent of the Akaka bill, after reviewing amendments made to S 344 earlier this month.
The bill was passed out of the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on May 14, clearing it for a Senate vote.
Basically, the measure calls for a roll of Hawaiians to first form an interim governing council that will draft various documents to create a sovereign entity. These documents would then be voted on by Hawaiians. The council would then finalize these plans, distribute them and hold a ratification vote.
Once ratified, the council's last action would be to hold elections for new officers of the sovereign entity.
A key point to remember, however, is that only Hawaiians who are on the roll will be allowed to participate in this process. To qualify, a person must either prove their ancestors were in Hawaii prior to Jan. 1, 1893, or that they were related to someone who qualified under the Hawaiian Home Lands Act of 1920.
"If for any reason your family left Hawaii before 1893, then you may have a problem in determining yourself to be a native Hawaiian and eligible to be on the roll, unless you can trace yourself to descendants back to 1921," said OHA Administrator Clyde Namuo.
Namuo explained to trustees that once a Hawaiian governing entity is in place, it will begin negotiations with the United States for transfer of all assets held for Hawaiians.
"I think the simple reading (of the bill) ... would suggest that all of the assets that are currently being held by Hawaiian Home Lands and OHA would be subject to these negotiations," Namuo said.
"So I think the answer is yes, it could all transfer over to the nation. Now, would that be a loss to the Hawaiian people? The answer to that is no, because the entity represents all Hawaiians," he said.
Trustee Boyd Mossman, a former state judge, said OHA was never meant to be a permanent organization. He said the elimination of OHA and Hawaiian Homes in favor of a new Hawaiian government is a much better alternative than having the Akaka bill fail.
"If it doesn't get passed, then for sure OHA and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands would be terminated, and all our assets won't go to Hawaiians, it will go to the rest of the people of the state and the nation," Mossman said, referring to the various legal challenges facing government-sponsored programs for Hawaiians.
Office of Hawaiian Affairs