Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 21, Number 12, 1 December 2004 — Native Hawaiians living in inelian country "doubly screwed" [ARTICLE]

Native Hawaiians living in inelian country "doubly screwed"

We are a Native Hawaiian family relocated on the mainland in pursuit of a better and more affordable lifestyle after too many years of not being able to get ahead and own our own home. We live in the midst of "Indian Territory"; there are eight Indian nations headquartered in our county. There are many federally funded programs available to all tribes, most notably free food distribution administered by the Inter Tribal Council. The food comes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, who says it is only for Native American Indians, and not for Native American Hawaiians. I work at an Indian owned casino and my employment status is that of Native American (minority). Whenever it benefits Indians or the federal government, I am, as a Native Hawaiian, included, but for programs that I could benefit personally from, I am excluded. Being on the

mainland we are not able to participate in any Native Hawaiian programs, so this is why I say we are "doubly screwed." Among all the free food from the USDA for the Indians is ground buffalo meat and, ironically, Hawaiian pineapple juice. I am curious if Indians living in Hawai'i qualify and/or participate in any Native Hawaiian programs. Mahalo for hearing our frustrations. We are doing our part to write and email our Congress members to support the federal recognition bill for Hawaiians. If there is anything I ean do in support of OHA from my location on the mainland, I would be pleased to do so. Fred Boothe Via email

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