Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 5, Number 9, 1 September 1988 — Sonny Kaniho, Hawaiian hero, and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Sonny Kaniho, Hawaiian hero, and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands

By Moanikeala Akaka Trustee, Hawai'i

"Kaniho Opts For Jail In Land Policy Fight" — Honolulu Aduertiser, Saturday, June 23, 1988. I had the pleasure of meeting Sonny Kaniho in the summer of 1974 in Hilo. There had been an article in the Hawaii Tribune Herald stating that this fellow Sonny

Kaniho was holding a meeting at Keaukaha, on Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) land to discuss DHHL problems— a long waiting list and an action he wanted action on at Waimea. I and others attended and learned that Sonny who had retired from the military after 20 years, had eome home to Waimea, Hawaii, to discover that although he had his name on the waiting list for DHHL land for over 10 years, the commission had lost his name along with countless other Hawaiians throughout the years — lost while in service to protect the people and institutions of the U.S.A.

At that meetmg I could see that Sonny was a very humble man and although he was concerned about getting his own lease, it was obvious to me that this man was truly concerned about enabling , others of our people to exercise their right, not their privilege as Georgiana Padeken, former DHHL Chairperson put it to me, to obtain Hawaiian Home Lands. Presently there are 18,000 families on the waiting list for DHHL. Sonny felt that in order to draw attention to the plight of our people relating to DHHL it was necessary to go up to Pauahi tract, leased to Parker Ranch and be arrested if necessary in an act of civil disobedience. He asked at that Keaukaha meeting for support to go up to Waimea with him on behalf

of Hawaiians being able to utilize our Hawaiian aina. An act of civil disobedience whieh this arrest symbolizes is what Gandhi, Martin Luther King and others of wisdom and vision have been forced to do in order to prove a point. It is sometimes necessary to break unfair and unjust laws in order to focus attention, "to right a wrong." It is not a simple matter to stand by one's convictions in the face of possibly breaking a law and eonfronting adverse, unenlightened, and sometimes hostile community reaction. We are trained and conditioned to do what is morally right — to conform — whieh is also supposed to mean abide by the law, etc. However, there are certain times in one's life when acts of civil disobedience in the spirit of peaee, aloha and justice are necessary. If people are to move forward and improve their

situation, moral, ethical right in these instances takes precedence over legal or lawful right. This is how a civilization advances towards justice — unjust laws are challenged. Rosa Park, a black American woman refused to sit at the back of the bus in Montgomery, Alabama in 1954, and was arrested. Her action sparked the Civil Rights Movement to the betterment of all America. Please believe me when I tell you I do not go around looking for confrontational kinds of situations. Acts of civil disobedience are serious and F>otentially dangerous situations. I do piek and choose my battles. Kalama Valley, Hilo Airport on

Labor Day 1978 are instances of other times necessary to take a stand to save our aina! In 1971, a group eame together called "The Hawaiians" who were concerned about Hawaiian Home Lands. We of the Kalama Valley struggle helped kokua their first public meeting at Waikiki Shell. Pae Galderia was the president of this hui. Some of their members flew in from Oahu to sup-

port Sonny while others of us had eome over from Hilo. About 20 of us went up to Waimea with Sonny to Pauahi tract on the mauka road to Kohala that Saturday morning in May. One kupuna that was with us and also arrested that day was celebrating her 58th birthday. She is now a DHHL commissioner, and was so proud that day as were we all as to how she was spending her birthday — fighting for Hawaiian aina. Those people arrested with Sonny in Waimea that day were "standing up for the aina before it's too late." Two others arrested with us became county corporation counsel attorneys. A kupuna from Keaukaha gave pule after we got through the fence off the Kohala road. We then continued mauka onto this 255 acres parcel. Shortly after we arrived on the aina an unaccompanied, considerate, pleasant-mannered poliee officer informed us that we were trespassing and that he would have to arrest us if we didn't leave. We of course, refused

to leave, I started telling him that this was Hawaiian Home Land, our land, and that we were not trespassing. He nicely told me that he was "just doing his job" and that if he didn't arrest us, then a second wave of people would eome and that he (the officer, a Hawaiian) might be on the third wave to eome up and elaim his Hawaiian Homes aina. It was obvious that this poliee officer was not the enemy and that he seemed to be more for us than against. The Kohala Poliee seemed to be very sensitive to the situation possibly because Captain Charlie Rose had been a part of the Aloha Association. Poliee officers even donated to our victory celebration after the judge found us "not guilty." The late Judge Norman 01ds ruled in our favor because the attomey for most of the 18 arrested with Sonny presented to the court that Parker Ranch had not signed their Iease — it had Iapsed in January. We were arrested in May, and went before the court in August. Although we had

been occupying Pauahi tract whieh was 225 acres, the judge ruled that over 100,000 acres of land, ceded and DHHL be!onged to the people because Parker Ranch had forgotten to renew the lease for that year. This made headlines in newspapers statewide the next day. I go into such detail about this incident to not only make you our beneficiaries understand how important this action (the first on DHHL) was, but also to show the importance of "seizing the moment." And also make you aware of what we missed out on gaining for our people as a result. Timing and action is so very important. Snooze we lose, an expensive lesson. We left the Waimea Courtroom, ecstatic at our victory; we were found not guilty and the judge ruled 100,000 acres of aina belonged to the people not to Parker Ranch. Walking outside I mentioned that since the judge stated that the aina belonged to the people we should go on radio, tv, get up there to that aina with tents so our people could elaim the land before Parker went and resigned the lease. The men treated what I said as a joke (the bitter fruit of machismo?). I told them let's

at least do a media blitz so that our people could elaim those cows on our land. Many of us Hawaiians find it difficult to afford good stew meat, mueh less any other part of the eow. The men eontinued to treat it as a joke, but it was decided that as soon as Pae Galderia and Francis Kauhane returned to Honolulu they would hold a press eonference and tell our people "to eome elaim their aina". That never happened. These were lands that could have been opened up to not only natives but also other residents of these islands. It's too bad the macho-mentality was closed to moving immediately to open up those 100,000 acres and cows to our people. What a tragic case of missed opportunity for our people. That's why we say "snooze you lose." Then to add insult to injury, the haole attorney told us a year later we could have

gone and picked up all the unmarked cattle. This incident happened in 1974 and since then Sonny Kaniho has persevered in trying to get DHHL homestead lands leased out to our people. He has written countless letters to our governors and continuously gone before the DHHL commissioners. He aIso organized a group called "Aged Hawaiians" whieh is made up of kupuna that have waited for 35 years or more for those Hawaiian trust lands.

Countless times through the years Sonny has taken actions to draw attention to the dismal Hawaiian Homes situation. I was fortunateenough on Kamehameha Day 1986 to be in Waimea in support of Sonny and the Aged Hawaiians as they and others moved Parker Ranch cows from DHHL lands. Again Parker Ranch had let the Iease lapse. I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate the King's birthday, reclaiming Hawaiian aina. Because of this and three other similiar incidents Sonny was in court in July. The judge wanted to give him community service, but Sonny had refused it and is willing instead to go to jail. He sees what little progress there has been at DHHL all these years despite his and others' persistent efforts. As he has stated before, Parker Ranch cows have more priority on DHHL land then the Hawaiians whom these lands are designed to benefit and uplift.

So Sonny Kaniho who has served America for over 20 years, whom many of ys consider as a Hawaiian hero is willing to go to jail for 35 days, a day for eaeh year his members have been waiting for their aina. It is shameful how DHHL and the State have ignored Sonny and the pleas of our people all over these islands. As for fair treatment the Parker Ranch is allowed to re-lease our Hawaiian lands after their lease has lapsed time and again while 18,000 Hawaiians remain on the waiting list. Some Hawaiians on the DHHL waiting list are forced to live on the beach (some even arrested there) or in their cars because they cannot afford the high rent and land costs. Meanwhile the DHHL aina intended for them, goes to others who live in relative comfort.

For these reasons Sonny has opted to service. He is a fine example of Hawaiian pahenee at an end — Sonny Kaniho is indeed a Hawaiian hero of the people doing battle against a numb and insensitive bureacracy. He as well as others of us are disgusted and disappointed with the inability of DHHL to serve our people. DHHL should immediately put those having waited the longest to the front of the DHHL list. Malama pono. Ua mau ke ea o ka aina i ka pono.