Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 20, Number 04, 1 April 2003 — Federal recognition 'foothold' urgently needed [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Federal recognition 'foothold' urgently needed

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Legal experf roundtable:

By Sterling Kini Wong With Native Hawaiian entitlements and programs under constant attack in the courts, a panel of Native Amenean and Native Alaskan leaders and legal experts emphasized that the time is now for federal recognition. "There is a lot of knowledge and there is a lot of talking about what to do," said Loretta A. Tuell, Esq., Monteau & Peebles. "But it is time to eome forward to do something." The five-person panel was participating in OHA's "Native Hawaiians and Self-Determination: Nationhood and Governance Models," a 90-minute discussion held at Kapi'olani Community College on Jan. 8. The panel agreed that the 1996 t U.S. Supreme Court decision on Rice vs. Cayetano, whieh declared the Office of Hawaiian Affairs' elections unconstitutional based on the 14th Amendment, whieh says that state-sponsored elections must not be based on race, set the precedent and opened the flood gates for future attacks on Native Hawaiian entitlements. The Arakaki et. al v. State of Hawai'i case currently challenges the existence of OHA and the Department of Hawaiian Homes Lands on the grounds that Hawaiian entitlements are race-based and so discriminatory against nonHawaiian state taxpayers. Whichever party prevails, an appeal is destined for a Supreme Court ruling within two years. With that inevitable outcome on the horizon, the panel said that Native Hawaiians must act now to work towards a form of recognition with the United States that establishes a Native Hawaiian governing entity that ean work directly with the federal government to protect Native Hawaiian entitlements.

Robert N. Clinton, Esq., professor, college of law, Arizona State University, said Native Hawaiians are able to structure that goveroing You don't have the luxury ofdebating it for another 20 years. If you do, the ehanee will be gone. ^ — Harry R. Sachse, Esq. entity in a number of different ways and the governing entity ean be changed. But he said the important thing is that Native Hawaiians eontrol their own destiny. "Having a poliee force, having a body of laws, having a judiciary to enforce them and using a tribal eouneil to enact laws is all part of that self-determination process," Clinton said. "Self-determination is the ability to control your land and resources." The panel acknowledged that a segment of the Native Hawaiian community favors the reestablish-

ment of the Kingdom of Hawai'i as i a separate independent nation from : the United States over federal ( recognition. But the panel stressed i that action must be taken now — or i risk the loss of all programs currently serving Hawaiians. ; "You don't have the luxury of ; debating it for another 20 years. I If you do, the ehanee will be gone," 1 said Harry R. Sachse, Esq., i Sonosky, Chambers, Sachse, : Enderson & Mielke. ' The discussion was a part of the 1 consumer legal education series i "You and the Law," whieh is pro- ! duced by Robert J. LeClair, profes- i sor and department chair of the KCC Legal Education Department. ] Julie E. Kitka, president of the 1 Alaskan Federation of Natives, said 1 native Alaskans consider their land i claims to be a "living document" - a relationship between the native i people and the federal government. i She said that the federal legislation I is not perfect and that not everyone i within the Native Alaskan eommunity agrees with it. However, she l said that every year for the past 30 years the bill has been amended to ; accommodate the needs of Native Alaskan community. i Kitka said similar to the Native : Alaskan situation, not everyone 1 within the Native Hawaiian eommu- i

nity will agree with everything about federal recognition. But she emphasized that federal recognition a starting point and that nothing carved in stone. "The Hawaiian people might take a look at that kind of model that you are never going to get everything that you want in one pieee of federal Kitka said. "But you need to get a foothold. You need to start somewhere." Kitka also said the entire Native community must be in the process of choosing form of recognition or self-deter-minaūon. "As many of the grassroots people need to be involved as possible whatever you go forward with you need to have the credibility of your own people," Kitka said. Kitka said that without self-deter-minaūon, native people remain marginalized within their society. She said although there are still problems within the Native Alaskan community, they control their own destiny. "We are making progress and we are creating our own future. It is very mueh a grassroots-driven effort all over the state from the smallest village to our largest city. is a very positive growth among our native people," Kitka said. ■

OHA attorney Robert Kleln, retlred Supreme Court Justlce (center) modefated the panel of (l-r) Robert N. Cllnton, Esq„ Julle E. Kltka, Loretta A. īuell, Esq„ and Harry R. Sachse, Esq„ in a forum belng alred on 'Ōlelo. Photo- Manu Boyd