Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 22, Number 9, 1 September 2005 — Survival of Hawaiians as a first people is at stake [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Survival of Hawaiians as a first people is at stake

There was onee upon a time a fiercely proud people who sailed the oceans blue with more skill and courage than any other people in the world and who settled in a paradise consisting of eight pristine and pure islands surrounded by the Pacific highway. After hundreds of years inhabiting this land and developing a highly sophisticated civilization, they were visited for the first time by foreigners from far-off lands whose skin color, dress, language, religion, transportation, weapons and motives were strange and unknown to the culture of these first people. These visitors identified the first people as "Indians" as they did the other two first peoples in the U.S., the American Indians and Alaskan Natives. Within a few years, the entire fabric, structure, and consistency of this civilization was consolidated by a chief and thereafter by his heirs and more foreigners, who compelled the removal of many of the customs, knowledge, expertise and traditions of this people, thus removing mueh of their spiritual and

physical bond to their land. As more and more foreigners immigrated to the islands and brought with them disease, destruction and death, more and more of these first people succumbed, and soon their numbers were reduced by 90 percent. While the people were dying, their leaders were forced to contend with foreign and other advisors who dictated to their leaders the conduct of the government, mostly to the benefit of those who were not the first people but nevertheless had taken over their lands by virtue of their wealth and stealth. Then a queen of the first people decided that enough was enough and planned to help the first people first; however, word of this got out, and with the support of the U.S. Marines and Navy the queen was overthrown. Her efforts to convince the U.S. govemment to reconsider and to reinstate her fell on deaf ears in Congress, and soon the newly formed Republic heeame a U.S. Territory - not however, before 95 percent of the remaining first people let it be known to the

U.S. their desire to have their queen restored to her lawful position. Since that time, the land has become the home of over a million people, including more than 200,000 descendants of the first people. The land has lost mueh of its pristine and pure nature but has maintained its special spirit because of the survival of, and appreciation by others for, the descendants of its first people. These first people have been loyal Americans and served with honor in many capacities. Without the existence of these people there could be no spirit, no identity, no distinction from any other state in the U.S. Today, the first people are facing a legal extinction in the courts that will eome about through the combined efforts of some of the descendants of the overthrowers on the one hand and some of the descendants of the first people on the other. The former group seeks to convince Congress that S. 147, the Akaka Bill, should be denied, and thus the first people should be onee and for all done away with and assimi-

lated into oblivion, never again to be referred to as a first people but only as another race among races that live on the first people's ancestral lands. The latter group argues that the first people should be the only people. Neither ean be justified. The other two first peoples in the U.S. have been recognized and maintain their identities, culture, self determination and traditions and are not accused of being racists; not so with this first people. Unless the U.S. Senate on Sept. 6, votes for cloture on S.147, this date will become a day of infamy for a people who have given their land, their nalion, their education and their hearts to the United States only to now face a demand for all that is left - their identity. Native Hawaiians ask for no more than what they have today and the opportunity to survive as have their first people brothers and sisters. Our future is now in the hands of Congress. Will our plea again fall on deaf ears or will we eonlinue to be the first people of Hawai'i?

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Boyd P. Mossman

Trustee, Maui