Support Builds for Akaka Bill

Lawmakers consider federal recognition bill before U.S. Congress urgent to survival of Native Hawaiians.
Foes denounce unconstitutional racial bias.

The Maui Weekly
June 19 – 25, 2003 Vol. VII, No. 22

Cort Gallup

The Akaka Bill, otherwise known as the Native Hawaiian federal recognition bill, is ready for action by the U.S. Senate. Much is at stake. According to Hawaii State Senator J. Kalani English, if the bill is not passed it would mean the immediate end of all Hawaiian entitlements including native homelands, education programs, economic development programs and human service programs. English said the state government is "pushing the bill" because if the bill were not passed "it would greatly disrupt society on Hawaii. It's do or die"

U.S. House of Representative Ed Case, who has introduced a similar version of the Akaka bill in the House, said the passing of the bill is "necessary for us all to preserve, enhance, protect and advance our native culture over time and to assure the survival and prosperity of the Native Hawaiian people." Foes of the bill claim it would establish unconstitutional racial segregation. Vocal critic Paul Sullivan, a Honolulu attorney, authored a booklet on the subject entitled "Killing Aloha", stating why it would be wrong for the Native Hawaiian recognition bill to be passed.

"The bill is supposed to prevent legal challenges to the 160 or more state and Federal laws that give benefits to 'Native Hawaiians'. It was introduced in Congress on the heels of the U. S. Supreme Court's February 2000 decision in Rice v. Cayetano that the State of Hawaii could not restrict voting for Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustees to 'Hawaiians', defined in the law as people with at least one ancestor who lived in Hawaii before Captain Cook set foot on Hawaii in 1778," he said. Sullivan said the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that this definition, based on ancestry alone, was "racial" and violated the U. S. Constitution's 14th Amendment which forbids racial segregation in the U.S.

"Racial segregation is a bad idea and is not consistent with America's best and highest aspirations," Sullivan said. Sullivan acknowledged that the U. S. Supreme Court has upheld laws giving special treatment to Indian tribes and their members on the grounds that these are based on a political rather than racial classification. State Senator English, who says he is the "only Hawaiian" in the state senate, said the bill is not relative to the 14th Amendment but concerns the 'Indian Clause' of the U.S. Constitution. "It is about being recognized as a political entity, as government, not as a race," English said. He said the Native Hawaiian community wants the same rights granted to the native tribes of North America; the right to their own defined land, the right to their own formal government, the right to tax and the right to enforce their own laws.

English said a Hawaiian is defined as anyone who has an ancestor who lived on Hawaii before the British explorer Captain James Cook arrived in 1778. However, English predicts that the Hawaiian Government will be very liberal in defining who will be citizens of the nation of Hawaii.

"On the mainland you have black Cree (tribe), white Cree, whoever the tribe selects. Hawaii will be the same, mostly because Hawaiians often marry non- Hawaiians. The Maori (of New Zealand,) for example, accept whoever lives their style and accepts the culture wholeheartedly."

English said the Hawaii Kingdom was a successful, highly advanced, complex society before it was "illegally" annexed by the U.S. on August 12, 1898. Hawaii had its own currency and stamps. English said the U.S. wanted to cede Pearl Harbor because of its great military and economic value, much like Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, but the Kingdom of Hawaii rejected them. The U.S. proceeded with a military invasion and set up a puppet government until the annexation, he said.

"Hawaii never gave up its sovereignty," English said. "And we do not live like they do in North America" in terms of Hawaiian beliefs and lifestyles.

U.S. Congressman Case said he believed most people living in Hawaii support federal recognition of Native Hawaiians. "Basically federal recognition is about Native Hawaiians being able, within our current government structure, to determine their own future, and that is what it will ultimately take for the Hawaiian people to survive and prosper. That is my view," he said, "and I think most people in Hawaii agree with that; I would say 70, 80 percent, so definitely our mainstream."

Case said Congress must overcome one hurdle to pass the bill. "That hurdle is the opposition of some members of the Bush administration and some Republican members of Congress to advancing the bill. Now that obstacle may be a difficult obstacle to overcome, and the person that's key to overcoming that obstacle is Governor Lingle. And the reason is because Governor Lingle, as we all know, is a Republican, and the Bush administration is very much a Republican administration.

"Governor Lingle during the campaign supported federal recognition for Native Hawaiians; she stated her belief that it was necessary for Hawaii, a belief that I very much agree with and advocate. If the Bush administration supports federal recognition, federal recognition will go through, but if it doesn't support federal recognition, it is more of a problem. So it is very much incumbent on Governor Lingle at this point to pick up the oar and go with it right now."

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