Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 9, Number 10, 1 October 1992 — Entitlements -- It is justice -- It is our right [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Entitlements -- It is justice -- It is our right

by Rev. Moses K. Keale, Sr. Trustee, Kaua'i & Ni'ihau

What is the public land trust? To put it quite simply, the public land trust is one of the two major assets stolen from the native people of these islands, stolen from the Hawaiian. The other asset was our sovereign government, our heritage, our identity.

Nothing and no one ean keep us from regaining our sovereignty, our heritage, our identity. If that is what we desire, then our desire ean and will prevail regardless of who or what tries to prevent us from achieving that goal. The main ingredient of true sovereignty is our state of mind — our spirituality and our determination. On the other hand, the second asset, our land, is a tangible asset. It is an asset we ean touch, see, feel,

smell and most importantly, it is an asset we ean inventory. It is what is known in the business world as a

l"fixed asset." It has a temporal value as well as spiritual value. It is the commodity to whieh western society affixes monetary value. It is the commodity to whieh modern society affixes a tradable value. I speak today about that asset. I speak about that asset as

it relates to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. I speak about that asset as it relates to the future of all Hawaiians no matter where they live. Last month I promised to discuss two topics dear to my heart! The first is the state's continued practice of trading or selling the lands that make up the public land trust. The second topic is the practice of using the public land trust assets for a greater public purpose without

equal compensation to aid the beneficiaries. In addressing the practice of selling, trading, or exchanging chunks of land from the public land trust we must first realize that every time the state makes a land exchange, or sells land from the public land trust, or diminishes the assets of the trust through trades or encumbrances, those actions affect eaeh and every Native Hawaiian. The law is quite specific. It says that Native Hawaiians are entitled to 20 percent of any revenue generated by those assets. Well, it does not take a genius to know that if you have a house that has four bedrooms, one bath, a kitchen and a living room, and someone decides to take away the bathroom and kitchen and give them to your neighbor, you no longer have a functional house. If such a thing happens, then the value of that house will be mueh less than when it had a kitchen and bathroom. When the state makes any kind of trade, that trade should ipvolve a trade of equal value, not diminished value. For instance, when the state traded land in West Kaua'i in order to complete its plans for housing, it traded that land for a cemetery. Both projects fulfilled an important public need. However, was the exchange of equal value so that the assets were not diminished? After the exchange took plaee, the property was developed by private developers for a housing project. The land was sold to the new owners, and the state effectively transferred public land to private hands. Now, what happened to the monies exchanged? The developer got his share and the state got, oh yes, a cemetery! And what exactly did the trust beneficiary get? Did the Hawaiian get any of the money? No. Did the state and developer set aside any of the homes for Hawaiians to purchase? No, not exactly. Has the state set aside burial plots for the Hawaiians? No, not exactly. Of course the state will argue that Hawaiians are citizens of this state and benefit through the many programs set aside to help all citizens. This is the same argument that the provisional government used when it usurped the Kingdom of Hawai'i. Examples of detrimental land exchanges abound and eontinue in today's market plaee at a rapid paee. There is also the argument that land used for public purposes need not be made a part of the eompensation package to Hawaiians. For example, more than 90 percent of the land under the public schools was taken from the public land

trust. The value of this 3,683.7 acres, as established by the county tax assessors in 1991, exceeds $2,088,889,000 (There's $2.1 billion). Based on market lease values, the Hawaiian share of that lease rent should be $16.7 million annually. Well, Hawaiians do not get any revenue from this land because the state conveniently pays nothing for the use of this land. They do not provide monies in the education budget to pay the rent owed to the Hawaiians for use of the lands. The state budget for the Department of Education was recently reported to be $770 million. The lease rental owed to Hawaiians would amount to only 2 percent of that total budget. I say the state should pay the rent! They use the land so pay the rent. I am sure that my fellow trustees would be happy to earmark some of these revenues for Hawaiian education. Then there is the University of Hawai'i. With more than 1,879.4 acres of land originally part of the public land trust, worth over $534,289,000 under their control, the Hawaiian is owed more than $4 million in annual lease fees. This is the same University whieh opposes tuition waivers for Hawaiians. This is the University whose attitudes and practices attract only a 4 percent Hawaiian student enrollment! This is the University whieh has not yet built the Hawaiian Studies Center after a decade of planning. If you use the land then you should pay the rent. This University has no problem finding $30 million to build an Earth and Oeean Science Center, but can't pay the rent? What is the problem?

These are just two examples of the injury done to Hawaiians when the public land trust is used "for a public purpose." Our duty as trustees is to act responsibly in monitoring the revenue emanating from the public land trust. We are obligated to see that the assets are protected and to take a strong stance against any erosion of that asset. We are obligated to see that fair and just compensation is returned for any use of these assets. There are two classes of people defined by the public land trust. They are the Native Hawaiian and the general public. OHA's responsibility is to protect the Native Hawaiian beneficiary. The state's responsibility is to protect all the people of Hawai'i including the Native Hawaiian beneficiary. The law requires that 20 percent of all revenues generated from the public land trust shall be set aside as a continued page 23

Trustee Keale frompage 20

trust for the Native Hawaiian and shall be administered by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. It is under these provisions that we lay elaim to 20 percent of the revenues that should be generated from the use of the lands for government operations. It is about time that the state take on its full burden. Does all this really matter? You bet your life it does! If we collected the revenues from leased land under the Department of Education and University of Hawai'i as well as our present ineome settlement, the total entitlements eompensation would approach $30 million yearly. If we look at all other government operations occupying lands from the public land trust there would be mueh more. If you factor in the back payments for rents for these lands the total back rent could exceed $300 million. Let' s stop playing games. Let us get down to a settlement of all the issues surrounding the revenue entitlements of the public land trust. Let us work out the details, settle on the amounts, and decide on a method of compensation. Let us settle

this issue and get on with the other issues whieh need to be addressed. If you believe that Hawaiians should receive their full entitlements then speak out — loudly and clearly. Inform your legislative representatives of your eoneem. Inform the Governor of your concerns. Inform your trustees of your desires. Then let us all work together to make it happen. God bless eaeh and every one of you. Let's pray that God shall give us the strength and wisdom to endure and persevere. Imua e no 'ohana, a inu i ka wai 'awa'awa! (Go forward the family and drink the bitter water.) A ī mana'o kekahi e lilo i po'okela i waena o 'oukou, e pono no e lilo 'ia i kauwā nā 'oukou. Nā ke akua e mālama a e alaka'i iā kākou apau.