the Akaka bill

[8/9/10] Akaka will offer substitute amendment

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[7/30/10] When the revered kupuna and master educator, Gladys Kamakakuokalani Ainoa Brandt, gave her name to the UH-Manoa Center for Hawaiian Studies, she did so with the proviso that we Hawaiian academic activists needed to find a peaceful resolution to the political conflict between the American government and the Hawaiian people.

U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka's Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act is one step in that peaceful direction, and I ask all people of America to support its passage.

Yes, we had hoped that the Akaka Bill would follow the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, which gave Alaska natives both money and land in compensation for taking their homeland, and it does not.

However, our federal recognition bill allows native Hawaiians to form their own government and negotiate for lands and monies over time, and in harmony with our neighbors.

Alaska natives have amended their bill more than 30 times; no doubt we will do so, too. So let's support equity for Hawaiians and pass the Akaka Bill.

Lilikala Kameeleihiwa
Professor, Kamakakuokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies

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[7/27/10] The state Hawaiian Homes Commission has voted to support a new version of a native Hawaiian federal recognition bill and is urging the bill's passage in the U.S. Senate.

"It gives us that right to exist. But most importantly, it also helps to protect our trust and our trust assets moving forward," said Kaulana Park, chairman of the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, which is governed by the commission.

The commission joins the state Office of Hawaiian Affairs, the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs and other Hawaiian groups that back the bill, known as the Akaka Bill for its main sponsor, U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii.

The bill would create a process for native Hawaiians to form their own government and negotiate with the federal and state governments on land use and cultural issues. Akaka has agreed to amendments to win back the support of Gov. Linda Lingle. The amendments protect the state's regulatory powers over health and safety activities while the negotiations are in progress.

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The drafting of the Akaka Bill has been a challenging 11-year process, but we now have a carefully written piece of legislation that should be enacted into law. Its passage will benefit everyone in the state by establishing a formal process to address the injustices resulting from the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii and the continuing disenfranchisement of native Hawaiians. By officially recognizing native Hawaiians as indigenous people of the United States, it will protect the federal programs for native Hawaiians that bring millions of dollars into the state annually.

The Akaka Bill -- formally called the native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act -- was passed by the U.S. House of Representative in February and now awaits passage by the Senate. It will provide a framework to allow native Hawaiians to create a government similar to the 562 federally recognized indigenous groups in the United States. After that phase is completed, negotiations will begin for the return of land and resources currently held in trust by the state and federal governments.

- by John Waihee, staradvertiser, July 21, 2010