Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 10, Number 2, 1 February 1993 — U.S. military control of Hawaiian lands [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

U.S. military control of Hawaiian lands

by Moanike'ala Akaka Trustee, Hawai'i As we begin the Ceniennial year of the loss of our Hawaiian nationhood we must examine

honestly and eandidly the role of the United States military today in Hawai'i. A hundred years ago, 162 U.S. military troops landed in Honolulu, bivouacked very near 'lolani Palaee, and by intimidation, forced Queen

Lili'uokalani to surrender her throne. These troops were essential to the illegal overthrow and subsequent loss of the nation of Hawai'i. Today we are thankful the Cold War is over! While there is preparation to close or scale down over 70 military bases on the mainland, here in Hawai'i (other than the transfer of Kaho'olawe island), "We do not expect a substantial movement of lands out of the inventory held by the military," according to Gerald Czarnecki, Chairman of the military affairs eouneil of the Chamber of Commerce of Hawai'i ( Honolulu Advertiser, Nov. 16, 1992). This statement is a blatant example of the military and Chamber of Commerce working hand-in-glove today as they did in 1893 when Amenean businessmen in Hawai'i, along with U.S. Minister Stevens, colluded to overthrow Queen Lili'uokalani. Their mission of betrayal was accomplished when

in 1898 Hawai'i was annexed as a U.S. Territory, part of U.S. policies of expansionism and Manifest Destiny. Today it's said 68 percent of homeless in Hawai'i are

Hawaiians. It is imperative that the U.S. military begin to return our Hawaiian lands for Hawaiian use. I mentioned to you last month that it is unthinkable that Kaho'olawe alone should be all they will return to our

Hawaiian nation. That would be immoral and unconscionable on the part of the United States government-not only to its national integrity, but also to the many Hawaiian-Americans who have served, honored and defended the Constitution of the U.S.A. On December 15, I attended a hearing on military-controlled lands in Hawai'i held by Sen. Dan Inouye, Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee of Defense, and eochaired by Sen. Ted Stevens of AIaska. This was not a public hearing. Sen. Daniel Akaka and U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie were also in attendance. Admirals and generals from the Navy, Army, Air Force, and Marines Pacific Command testified. The hearing was from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. However, only the last half hour was devoted to the subject of Hawaiian land under military jurisdiction. Over 80 percent of the time, the military brass discussed 8,000 hous-

ing units for their own military personnel. We have never had any hearings in Hawai'i to my knowledge, to promote 8,000 housing units for Hawaiians and Hawai'i's other residents, e\er. The Ad\ertiser article quoted above states "the transfer of former crown, Hawaiian government lands ceded to Federal control when the monarchy was overthrown in 1893, at Statehood in '59, and later. In wake of the military downsizing, many people question the military's continuing requirement for the full range of its holdings here."

Last year, I wrote about the Civil Rights Commission findings that the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands is getting pennies for the 65-year military lease at the Pōhakuloa Training Grounds (whieh is rich farmland) that the military bombs, till this day, with joint military maneuvers with Japan planned to start any time now! The military was skillfully intimating eeonomie hlaekmail, especially in view of the present tourist slump. Over a year ago, after the bombing of Kaho'olawe was halted, Sen. Inouye stated that if we don't allow military maneuvers on Kaho'olawe, the military might pull out of this state. He said the same thing about Pōhakuloa. Fat ehanee! We are too strategically located to have the U.S. military pull out on its own. To be honest with you, the less military presenee we have here on these islands the better off we all would be; we would also have a mueh lower crime rate.

A good amount of federally controlled military lands must be returned to the Hawaiian people for civilian use. It is wrong that Bellows Field is monopolized by the military for recreational purposes. Some would have us civilians be thankful to the military for our use of our beach on weekends. It is an insult to our aloha that acres at Bellows were recently put up for sale at auetion by the Feds! However, the sale is now on hold while the Feds negotiate with the Office of State Planning. Admiral Charles Larson, Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Pacific Command, in conjunction with Sen. Inouye, has formed a joint military-civilian task force to plan and coordinate land use among various branches of the armed services. In the Honolulu Advertiser, Larson stated that his staff "has been working closely with the Governor, mayors, Hawai'i eongressional delegation and businesses, Chambers of Commerce, community leaders, for the past year on developing a coordinated approach to land use." Yet, at Sen. Inouye's hearing, this same Admiral Larson stated that this joint task force has only met onee, in October, and plans to meet quarterly for the next five years. That is how unimportant this issue is to those who have set up this task force! We must thank Congressman Neil Abercrombie for raising questions and concerns that no public hearing is being held by this closed select committee. Abercrombie also mentioned that "in view of the upcoming

commemoration centennial of the overthrow ... it is important that there be openness and publie hearings of this joint task force," as in a democracy. At that point, I rose and thanked Congressman Abercrombie for his eoneem, stating that I had been re-elected by 27,300 Hawaiians statewide, yet knew nothing about this committee or its workings; and that there was eoneem not only that Kaho'olawe be retumed, but that lands should eome back on all the islands Hawaiians reside on. That is only fair; we,Hawaiians must regain ceded lands from the state and Feds to annex it onee more to our sovereign nation.

After the hearing, I was informed that Chairman Clayton Hee was a part of the task force, though we trustees had not been informed of this fact. (Clayton Hee later told me he had attended the one meeting in October '92.) I spoke to Sen. Inouye after the hearing on the need for military lands to eome back to the Hawaiian people. It is important this year that we regain some of those ehoiee usable lands for our people. Most of the DHHL marginal lands Hawaiians struggle to obtain are difficult to improve. Honolulu Star-Bulletin headlined, Oct. 5, 1992, "Hawaiians grow old waiting for homes" on DHHL lands. They also die waiting! We must, this year, begin to get Hawaiian lands back into Hawaiian hands. 'Onipa'a! Mālama pono. Ua mau ke ea o ka 'āina i ka pono.