Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 17, Number 7, 1 July 2000 — A worst case scenario [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

A worst case scenario

ALOCAL newspaper has surveyed401 Hawaiians regarding their opinions on some issues impacting upon our future. We note 72 percent support Hawaiians' deciding their own future selfgovemance, and 78 percent prefer to wait until they are more comfortable about what form of government to choose. As the newspaper observed, this is the same response made more than 20 years ago in a similar survey. The "we need more time" response may be understandable during normal times, however, these are not normal times for Hawaiians. The Office of Hawaiian Affairs and its Hawaiian constituency are facing turbulent times. OHA has to be constantly alert to ensure Hawaiians have meaningful input in environmental impact statements in light of increasing development of lands

in this state. OHA has not yet assembled the brightest and best people on staff to implement the OHA Board of Tmstees' policies and mission priorities. OHA may be losing, or may have already lost, some of the expertise it did have. OHA has not yet, in eollaboration with other Native Hawaiian organizations, developed a comprehensive master plan for Native Hawaiians, to address collectively the identified needs in the community. OHA's attempts to reorganize the agency with limited preliminary preparation and evolving guidelines to meet al2-month, self-imposed timehne, is causing this quasi-state organization to flounder in white-water rapids and head toward more turbulent waters. Our httle wooden eanoe may be destroyed, dashed to pieces upon four large pōhaku (rocks). OHA wih be no more in the year 2001. Why do I think about this

"worst case scenario"? • The state legislative auditor is preparing a eiiheal report on OFlA for the 2001 Legislature, whieh may inehne the Legislators to insist on imposing more controls over OHA's priorities. • A new paradigm for use of

general fund dollars, if proposed by OHA for approximately $2.5 million, may be rejected by the newly elected state Legislature as not responsive to beneficiary needs nor Act 147 appropriations. • The bih, introduced by United States Senator Akaka, whieh recognizes the special status of Native Hawahans and estabhshes a federal Offīce of Native Hawauan Affairs, may result in the perception of OFIA as unneeessary and its replacement by another non-state form of Hawauan self-govemance. (The newspaper survey indicated that 51 percent of the respondents felt that the govemance not be created out of the OfBce of Hawauan Affairs.) • Private citizen suits, supported by corporations whieh have been waiting in the wings for many years, wih multiply their efforts and resources to obtain control of Hawaiian lands by chaUeng-

ing and, if necessary, destroying the Hawaiian trasts, particularly the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. Bob Krauss in a newspaper article some 40 years ago said, "Hawai'i is a plaee the Chinese own, the Japanese mn, the tourists enjoy and the Hawaiians - they remember how it was." The last observation about Hawaiians may be interpreted in this worst case scenario as, "People in Hawai'i wiU remember how OHA was" after it is gone. My point is this: if we plan for the worst case scenario now and get the creative ideas and human resources flowing, we ean transform that scenario into a far brighter one for our coUective future weU-being. E hele kākou i mua me ka no'ono'o nui i ka hopena. ( Let us pmeeeā and consider well the consequences.) ■

^ [[i|iimiii HHI TRUS TEE MESSAGES

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