OHA To Host TV Specials On Akaka Bill

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs will host two live television specials this month focusing on the “Akaka Bill” more formally known as the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act of 2009.

OHA hopes to use the airings as a way to better inform the public about the measure that is now before the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.

While the bill in its various forms and transitions over the years has drawn support an opposition alike, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs has long been a supporter of the measure.  The bill was crafted to provide a process of federal recognition to Native Hawaiians.

“We are hopeful that the final version of the bill will be one that all parties can move forward with,” said Clyde Nämu‘o, OHA’s Chief Executive Officer.

“This is a complicated bill. We want to help both Hawaiians and non-Hawaiians alike understand what this bill means, answer people’s questions, and help everyone prepare for what we believe will be successful passage of this landmark legislation,” said Nämu‘o.

The two live television specials will be produced by OHA and will include participation from community members, legal experts, and panelists.

The first show, which will air on Thursday, January 7, at 8 p.m. on KITV, will feature:

• Lilikalä Kame‘eleihiwa, Professor with the University of Hawai‘i Kamaküokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies.
• Michael Kahikina, Legislative Chair with Sovereign Councils of Hawaiian Homelands Assembly.
• Robin Danner, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement.
• Bruss Keppeler, member of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs.

The second show will broadcast on Thursday, January 14, at 7 p.m. on KITV and will feature the legal implications of the bill before a panel of legal experts.  Both shows will also be streamed live on KITV.com.

OHA has provided an email address for the public to email questions in advance to:  akakabill@oha.org.  Viewers will also be able to call in their questions on the nights of the shows.

(Posted by Wendy Osher; supporting information provided by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs)

AKAKA HOPES BILL ADDRESSES LINGERING ISSUES OF OVERTHROW

U.S. Senator Daniel Akaka offered testimony today in support of the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act, also known as the Akaka Bill.

U.S. Senator Daniel Akaka. File Photo by Wendy Osher.

In his address Akaka called the status of Native Hawaiians unique saying, “Even after the Native Hawaiian government was illegally overthrown, the Native Hawaiian people never gave up their expression of political status through the Royal Societies and later through the Hawaiian Civic clubs.”

Akaka also outlined the intended effects of the bill saying, “This bill DOES NOT allow for private lands or businesses to be taken and DOES NOT permit Hawaii to secede from the Union.  Further, it DOES NOT authorize gaming in Hawaii.  Rather, this bill provides the structure necessary for meaningful interaction between Native Hawaiians and non-Native Hawaiians.  Especially as policies are formed and implemented.”

“Such actions,” he said, “enable us to honor the needs of our state, preserve its cultural heritage, and address issues that have lingered without resolution since the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii.”

Below is a complete transcript of Akaka’s testimony:

STATEMENT OF SENATOR DANIEL K. AKAKA

Senate Indian Affairs Committee Hearing on S. 1011, the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act August 6, 2009:

Chairman DORGAN and Vice Chairman BARRASO thank you for holding today’s hearing.  I welcome our witnesses.

As members of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, we have jurisdiction to examine and address the needs of our country’s indigenous people.  This specifically includes Native Hawaiians, Alaska Natives, and American Indians.

The United States has not always acted honorably in its treatment of our nation’s first people.  However, I am proud that as a country we have pursued actions acknowledging past wrongs and building a mutual path forward.  It has been the work of this Committee and Congress to advance policies that uphold native rights and their ability to exercise self-governance and self-determination.

The legislation before us today provides parity.  It enables Hawaii’s indigenous people to establish a government-to-government relationship with the United States.  This political and legal relationship is the same type of relationship natives of Alaska and tribes in the lower 48 have with the United States.  Further, the process is consistent with the Constitution, federal and state law.

Those that are not familiar with the history of Hawaii may wonder why such a process is needed.  It is needed because in 1893, the Native Hawaiian government led by Queen Lydia Lili‘uokalani was illegally overthrown.  It was done with participation by agents of the U.S. and U.S. military force.  At the time, President Grover Cleveland characterized America’s conduct as an “Act of War” against the Native Hawaiian people and called for the Queen to be reinstated.  The overthrow resulted in generations of Native Hawaiians being disenfranchised from their government, culture, land, and way of life.

S. 1011 provides a structured process to reorganize a Native Hawaiian governing entity to exercise self-governance and self-determination.  Once federally recognized, the Native Hawaiian governing entity can enter into discussions with the State of Hawaii and the United States.  Any agreements reached by the three parties will require implementing legislation at the state and federal level.

This bill DOES NOT allow for private lands or businesses to be taken and DOES NOT permit Hawaii to secede from the Union.  Further, it DOES NOT authorize gaming in Hawaii.  Rather, this bill provides the structure necessary for meaningful interaction between Native Hawaiians and non-Native Hawaiians.  Especially as policies are formed and implemented.  Such actions enable us to honor the needs of our state, preserve its cultural heritage, and address issues that have lingered without resolution since the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii.

The United States recognized and maintained a trust responsibility for the welfare of Native Hawaiians.  To date, Congress has enacted more than 160 statutes to address the needs of Native Hawaiians.  This includes a measure I sponsored, commonly known as the Apology Resolution that was enacted into law in 1993.  In the Resolution, the United States apologized for its involvement in the overthrow, as well as committed itself to acknowledge the ramifications of the overthrow and support reconciliation efforts between the United States and the Native Hawaiian people.

Reconciliation is a means for healing, enabling an ongoing dialogue that empowers us to address the political status and rights of Native Hawaiians.  In order to implement the reconciliation process, in 1999, Attorney General Janet Reno and Secretary Bruce Babbitt designated officials to represent the Departments of Justice and the Interior in the reconciliation process between Native Hawaiians and the federal government.  These officials traveled throughout the State of Hawaii, held public meetings with the Native Hawaiian community, and produced a report titled, From Mauka To Makai:  The River of Justice Must Flow Freely.

This comprehensive report identified crucial steps that the federal government should take to continue the process of reconciliation, including the recommendation to extend federal recognition.  Specifically the report stated,  “As a matter of justice and equity, the Departments believe the Native Hawaiian people should have self-determination over their own affairs within the framework of Federal law, as do Native American tribes.”

The legislation we are considering today, allows us to take the necessary next step in the reconciliation process.  S. 1011 is constitutional and provides a framework respectful of the needs of Native Hawaiians and non-Native Hawaiians.  Their combined efforts will be needed, as each will play an active role in reaching agreements and enacting implementing legislation at the state and federal levels.

Federal recognition of Native Hawaiians is supported by a majority of people in Hawaii, including the Governor, State Attorney General, State Legislature, and numerous native and non-native organizations.  In Washington, D.C., S.1011 is a bipartisan bill with the support of national organizations including the American Bar Association, National Congress of American Indians, and Alaska Federation of Natives.

I look forward to building upon the established record as we proceed with the 10th hearing this Committee has held on the issue of Native Hawaiian governance.

(Posted by Wendy Osher; Information provided by the office of U.S. Senator Daniel Akaka)

INOUYE TESTIFIES ON AKAKA BILL & STATUS OF NATIVE HAWAIIAN RECOGNITION

U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye offered testimony today in support of the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act, also known as the Akaka Bill.

U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye. File photo by Wendy Osher.

In his address during today’s hearing, Inouye said that reconciliation is long overdue.

“As one who has served the citizens of Hawaii for over 50 years, as a member of the Territorial Legislature, a member of Congress, and now a member of the United States Senate, I believe that there is broad based support in our State for what the Native people are seeking, full restoration of the government to government relationship they had with the United States,” said Inouye.

Inouye went on to say that there has always been an understanding that Native Hawaiian people have a status that is unique in the state.  “Even after the Native Hawaiian government was illegally overthrown, the Native Hawaiian people never gave up their expression of political status through the Royal Societies and later through the Hawaiian Civic clubs,” Inouye said.

Below is a complete transcript of Inouye’s testimony:

STATEMENT OF SENATOR DANIEL K. INOUYE BEFORE THE AUGUST 6, 2009 HEARING ON S. 1011:  THE NATIVE HAWAIIAN GOVERNMENT REORGANIZATION ACT

I would like to thank Chairman Dorgan and Vice Chairman Barasso for scheduling this important hearing today on a bill that Senator Akaka and I have worked tirelessly on for the past 10 years.

So much of what we are here to consider today arises from events that took place long ago. On January 16, 1895, the United States Minister John L. Stevens, who served as the Ambassador to the court of Queen Liliuokalani, directed a marine company on board the U.S.S. BOSTON to arrest and detain Queen Liliuokalani.

She was placed under house arrest in her bedroom at Iolani Palace for nine months.  This event was engineered and orchestrated by the Committee of Public Safety, which consisted of Hawaii’s non-Native Hawaiian businessmen, and with the approval of Minister Stevens.

President Grover Cleveland appointed James Blount to conduct a special investigation in Hawaii and write up his findings.  His report was the first report that provided “evidence that officially identified the United States’ complicity in the lawless overthrow of the lawful, peaceful government of Hawaii.”  In contrast to the Blount report a year later the Senator John T. Morgan, Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations also issued an investigative report that said the United States did no wrong.  This was clearly written to exonerate the parties involved.

On January 17, 1895, Queen Liliuokalani temporarily yielded her authority to the United States.  A new government, the Republic of Hawaii, was established and requested annexation by the United States.  But after examining the circumstances and events leading to the illegal overthrow, President Cleveland refused to annex the Republic.  In 1898, President McKinley, unable to obtain the necessary Senate consent to ratify a treaty of annexation, signed a Joint Resolution annexing Hawaii as a United States’ territory.

As part of the annexation agreement, former crown lands were transferred to the United States.  Discussions on the status of Native Hawaiians immediately began throughout Hawaii, for this was their land, their government, and their people, but they were now outcasts.  In 1921, Hawaii’s delegate to Congress, Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole, led Congress in enacting the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1920.  In adopting this Act, Congress compared its relationship with Native Hawaiians to its relationship with Indian tribes and relied on this special relationship to return certain crown lands to the Territory for the benefit of Native Hawaiians.

For those of us born and raised in Hawaii, as I was, we have always understood that the Native Hawaiian people have a status that is unique in our State.  This status is enshrined in our State Constitution and is reflected in the laws of our State.  It is found in well over 188 federal statutes including the Hawaii Admissions Act.  This unique status reflects our deep gratitude to the native people who first welcomed us to their shores and who gave us the opportunity to live in their traditional homelands.

Mr. Chairman, in my 30 years of service on this committee, I have been fortunate to learn a bit about the history of our country and its relations with the indigenous, native people, who occupied and exercised sovereignty on this continent.

As a nation we have changed course many times in the policies governing our dealings with Native people.  We began with treaties with native people, and then we turned to war.  We enacted laws recognizing Native governments, and then we passed laws terminating our relationships with those governments. We repudiated our termination policy and restored our relationships with Native governments.  Finally for the last 39 years we adopted a policy of recognizing and supporting the rights of this nation’s First Americans to self-determination and self-governance.  We have been firm in our resolve to uphold that policy.

Native Hawaiians have had a political and legal relationship with the United States for the past 183 years as shown through treaties with the United States and other sovereign governments and entities, and scores of federal statutes.  But like tribes whose federally recognized status was terminated, Hawaii’s monarchy was also terminated.  Even after the Native Hawaiian government was illegally overthrown, the Native Hawaiian people never gave up their expression of political status through the Royal Societies and later through the Hawaiian Civic clubs.  Through these groups cultural, political, social and activities and relationships unique to the Native Hawaiian people were kept in tact.

As one who has served the citizens of Hawaii for over 50 years, as a member of the Territorial Legislature, a member of Congress, and now a member of the United States Senate, I believe that there is broad based support in our State for what the Native people are seeking, full restoration of the government to government relationship they had with the United States.

Lastly, the courts have concluded that termination can only be reversed by an act of Congress.  Reconciliation is long overdue and I look forward to continuing to work with the Administration and my colleagues to ensure that the Native Hawaiian people are given their right to self-determination and self-governance back.

(Posted by Wendy Osher, Information provided by the Office of U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye)

HAWAII DELEGATION REINTRODUCES VERSION OF ‘AKAKA BILL’ APPROVED IN 2007

The Hawaii Congressional Delegation today reintroduced a version of the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act which passed the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, the House Natural Resources Committee, and the full House of Representatives in 2007.

Senators Daniel K. Akaka and Daniel K. Inouye introduced the bill in the Senate, and Representatives Neil Abercrombie and Mazie Hirono in the House.

The delegation issued the following joint statement explaining today’s action:

“We have been working together to enact the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act which is critical for the future of our state.  After careful consideration, we have decided to move forward with the version of the bill which was approved by the relevant Congressional committees and the full House in 2007.”

This version of the bill contains a prohibition on gaming by the Native Hawaiian Governing Entity.  All forms of gambling are already illegal under Hawaii State law.

(Posted by Wendy OSHER © 2009)

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