Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 9, Number 3, 1 March 1992 — Hawaiians almost 100 years after the overthrow [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Hawaiians almost 100 years after the overthrow

By Moanikeala Akaka Trustee, Island of Hawai'i

We as Hawaiians should take a long, hard and honest look at our situation, now that we approach 100 years since the loss of our nation. How many of us become so assimilated into the system that has overwhelmed our

Hawaiian nation that we forget what happened 99 years ago? So many have become so mueh a part of this dominant culture that we "forget from whenee we eame" and in our fervor to "succeed and prosper" we ignore the injustice that was done to our Hawaiian nation. This is a legal and moral issue of fairness and justice that must be addressed and rectified; the re-establishment of our sovereign nation will be a vital part of that solution. Our becoming more assimilated into this dominant culture has in many ways worked to the disadvantage of many of our people: today 67 percent of the almost 20,000 homeless of these islands are Hawaiians, mostly women and children. Do we not hear our ancient kupuna eall out to us to help kokua their 'ohana who are suffering and struggling for survival in this our homeland? What does it mean that many Hawaiian families on the waiting list for DHHL lands are homeless on the beach? Those of us who are part-Hawaiian must at times set aside those other bloods and values and reach back to our Hawaiian ancestral roots and remember that these islands are a precious jewel for us to protect for our 'ohana of the present and future. Our ancestors became a part of this 'aina; they, as a race of people and culture thrived — physically, mentally and spiritually — today we Hawaiians have some of the worst social problems and health statistics in the nation. Though a few of us have made it financially, most struggle to get by in this "fast disappearing paradise." How many of us are forced to work two and even three jobs to survive? Our paradise of yesterday is getting to be more and more a playground for the rich of all lands, establishing a caste system with the Hawaiians on the bottom of the heap. We are told we must Iive like the foreigners with his value of greed, turning our 'aina into a commodity in order to succeed. Why must we live by foreign standards? Standards of the industrialized society that have polluted and poisoned a continent through poor land-use practices and disregard for human potential. Aloha 'Aina 'S the Hawaiian way and it is a better way, because it is a caring philosophy. There are American government attitudes we must now contend with. I wrote you some months ago about the threat to our rights and Hawaiian programs that was emanating from the Bush administration and U.S. Department of Justice relating to federal funds for DHHL infrastructure. Several weeks ago, on Feb. 6, the state rep-

resented by Gov. Waihe'e, the Attorney General Warren Price and Hawaiian representatives squared off in Washington, D.C., against the federal government on the federal trust obligation to kokua Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. When the Hawaiian Homes program was transferred to the state from the federal government it arrived as an "under-nourished, neglected stepchild who had been previously left to fend for herself" according to Gov. Waihee in his testimony. Timothy Glidden, Department of Interior representative, stated that the U.S. does not have a trust responsibility to DHHL but "the feds have only a tangential, supervisory role to play" whieh is legalese (double-talk) to remove federal responsibility. Was it not true that it was the same feds that created the Department of Hawaiian Homes Land Act in the '20s that overthrew our Hawaiian nation 30 years earlier? It amazes me how the U.S. continues to take the position of "no trust obDgation" in light of the "Broken Trust" the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights report released last December. It points out the federal abuses in the U.S. disposition and trust management of our Hawaiian Homes and Ceded Land Trusts. If there is no trust obligation, what in hell is their military doing on our Pearl Harbor, Bellows, Schofield, Lualualei and wherever else the U.S. military occupies our Hawaiian lands? Do they really feel they owe us nothing after stealing our country, land, and identity? Now they invite Japan to also eome bomb and play military war games on Pohakuloa, in the middle of the island. Our Hawaiian islands are today importing over 90 percent of the food consumed by our populahon. The tradition of Aloha 'Aina is essentially a thanksgiving prayer in perpetuity for the many blessings bestowed upon us. As a Hawaiian, I am upset and insulted by the realization that we do not support (feed) ourselves from this fertile land. The domination of agribusiness has relegated our rich lands to other than agriculture because there is more money to be made in speculation: in golf courses, eondos, resorts, and the like. This situation, from this Hawaiian trustee's standpoint, constitutes an immoral position and a blasphemy against our tradition of Aloha 'Aina. Along the same lines, I ean not help but wonder if viable agriculture communities would not save us money — by saving some of the lives that are being wasted in prisons around the state. I believe the 'aina ean cure the personality aberration that have afflicted so many of our young Hawaiians. Young Hawaiians who desperately need to be cured of the "mainstream city disease" and reconstructed to serve our fledgling Hawaiian nation. Let us forget that a society is judged first by the quality of the citizens it produces and second by its eeonomie prowess. The disparity is evident here in Hawai'i in this equation. The Office of Hawaiian Affairs has just taken a position on these bills to be introduced into Congress by our Congressional delegation ealling for 1) the right to sue the feds and state for

breach of trusts responsibility; 2) to set up the federal recognition of our sovereign nation and; 3) to begin the process for a settlement of our claims against the U.S. for the illegal overthrow of our Hawaiian nation. As the Honolulu Advertiser stated we trustees of OHA eall for the compensation for the loss of our sovereignty and the suffering it has caused the Hawaiian people. Congress is being asked to return 1.75 million acres of crown and government lands to the native Hawaiian people and plaee $10 billion into a trust fund over 10 years. The lands and monies will eventually evolve into our Hawaiian sovereign nahon. This proposal is a good beginning — while there are those who might say $10 billion is too mueh to give the Hawaiian people — we must again remember that Israel receives over $3 billion yearly and insists on another $10 billion loan guarantee. In comparison, no one should balk at our request for $10 billion plus the return of some of our own lands. There will be those who feel that this sum is not an adequate price to pay for the theft of our nationhood and the subjugation of the Hawaiian people. The eall for and return of most of our government and crown lands and the re-estab-lishment of our Hawaiian nation on our own land base will begin to set into motion the forces that will heal our Hawaiian nahon and people. With good, wise and sound land use (Aloha 'Aina) and sound financial management practices, we will succeed! Malama Pono. Ua Mau Ke Ea O Ka 'Aina I Ka Pono.