Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 21, Number 12, 1 December 2004 — The forgotten half of our archipelago [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

The forgotten half of our archipelago

Kekuewa Kikiloi is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Anthropology aī the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa and is one of three Native Hawaiian representatives on the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Reserve Advisory Council. The views expressed in this community discussion forum are those of the writer anā do not necessarily reflect those ofthe Office of Hawaiian Affairs. While the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands are often characterized as small and remote, they and their surrounding reefs and waters make up over half of our homeland. Comprising all the coral islands, seamounts, banks and shoals that extend for 1,759 kilometers northwest of our 'main' Hawaiian islands, this region of our archipelago contains a vast wealth of marine and cultural resources. Most of us were never taught about these islands when we were growing up, but today it is important for us to expand our sense of homeland to include this forgotten half of our archipelago. As Kānaka Maoli, we have a deep ancestral connection with these islands, the eldest in the Hawaiian ehain. From our oral traditions, we know that Native Hawaiians onee occupied and regularly traveled to and from this area. Today, the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands constitute the majority of what are commonly called "ceded lands." Collectively these islands comprise a mere 3,328 acres of emergent land, while their submerged land and reefs, along with the surrounding pelagic waters, cover an enormous 3.5 million acres of

geographic area. Despite their significance, these 3.5 million acres are rarely mentioned in discussions pertaining to ceded lands and compensation owed to Native Hawaiians. A legal history of our entitlement to this area begins in 1822, when Queen Ka'ahumanu visited Nihoa with the help of Capt. William Sumner, who took several ships to search for the island. Onee there, she took possession of the island for the Kamehameha dynasty. In 1857, Kamehameha IV Alexander Liholiho continued the push to reclaim these islands, sending Capt. John Paty up the northwest ehain on the schooner Manuokawai. Paty visited Nihoa, Necker Island (Mokumanamana), Gardner Pinnacles, Laysan, Lisianski, and Pearl and Hermes Reef. Upon his return, the kingdom's Privy Council passed resolutions declaring the islands of Nihoa, Laysan, and Lisianski to be included in kingdom's domain. In 1886, Kure Atoll was the final island annexed to the kingdom by authority of King David Kalākaua, who sent a steamer to rescue the stranded sailors of the British ship Donnotter Castle that had wrecked there. Kalākaua appointed Col. James Harbottle 'A'alapuna Boyd as a "Special Commissioner of the

Hawaiian Government" to help in the rescue work and take formal possession of the island. The remaining islands of Necker, French Frigate Shoals, Gardner Pinnacles, Maro Reef, and Pearl and Hermes were never officially annexed but still fell within the 200-mile Exclusive Eeonomie Zone (EEZ) defined by international law, so all their natural resources were therefore subject to Hawaiian Kingdom law. The only island never under Hawaiian jurisdiction was Midway Atoll, whieh has been under the control of the United States since 1859. Currently, the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and their waters are under the jurisdiction of multiple state and federal agencies. A puhlie process is now underway to designate mueh of this region as a national marine sanctuary. When it comes to discussions about ceded lands, we must expand our scope of understanding to include the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. It is critical that any negotiations concerning ceded lands consider the whole Hawaiian archipelago in the equation. As Kānaka Maoli, we have ancestral and legal rights to these lands and waters, along with the kuleana to care for them. We must take a proactive role in the management of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands as our national trust lands, a natural and cultural legacy to cherish forever. With the return of Kaho'olawe for eventual control by a recognized Hawaiian sovereign entity, we should ask ourselves: why can't a similar provision be created for the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands? Furthermore, how are we going to start giving Native Hawaiians a meaningful role in management decisions about this area? These are critical issues that need to be looked at in the near future. ■

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