Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 12, Number 2, 1 February 1995 — The plebiscite: a scam and an insult [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

The plebiscite: a scam and an insult

by Samuel L. Kealoha, Jr. Trustee, Moloka'i & Lāna'i Native Hawaiians and their descendants

need to know that the statecreated "plebiscite" is an attempt by the Legislature to resolve the so-called "Apology Bill." According to the federal Apology Bill (PL 103-150), "... the indigenous Hawaiian people never direct-

ly relinquished their claims to their inherent sovereignty as a people or over their national lands to the United States,

either through their monarch or through a plebiscite or referendum. ..." This plebiscite is proposed to be the Hawaiian consent needed to justify U.S. and State of Hawai'i control.

Secondly, the state plebiscite is not selfdetermination. According to the "Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples," "Indigenous peoples have the

nght to self-determmation. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and institutions and freely pursue their eeonomie, social and cultural development" (emphasis mine). Obviously, this plebi- —

scite is not determined by the I indigenous

peoples - the process itself was created by the state Legislature, the members were appointed by the previous governor

of Hawai'i, John Waihe'e, and Hawaiian Sovereignty Elections Council members are not accountable to their people. Not only is the state plebiscite clearly a created scam, it is an insult to our kūpuna who have struggled to right the injustices bestowed upon our people. According to State House Bill 3630, "Nothing arising out of the Hawaiian Convention provided for in this Act ... shall be applied to supersede, conflict, waive, alter, or affect" the

governmental structures and mechanisms of the State. Native Hawaiians and their descendants must educate themselves about our history and the issue of sovereignty. We also need to be aware of the offensive attacks that are being advocated by the state and the U.S. to extinguish our claims to our inherent rights. We must remain steadfast and walk proud as KA LĀHUI HAWAI'I.