Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 24, Number 11, 1 November 2007 — Akaka Bill opinion [ARTICLE]

Akaka Bill opinion

This responds to the summary about me in your recent "Who's Who." No one at the Commission on Civil Rights asked, and I have not expressed, my opinion on the Akaka Bill, an opinion whieh is now evolving as a result of puhlie hearings being conducted by the Hawai'i Advisory Committee. I particularly appreciated hearing the perspectives presented by your trustees, Haunani Apoliona and Boyd Mossman, and attorney Iustice Robert Klein at the Sept. 5 session, as well as from other members of the puhlie, pro and eon, at that and other meetings. To put my background into better perspective, I am a keiki hānau o ka 'āina in a family of Hawaiian subjects and citizens since the 1840s. An ancestor of our family (J.S. Walker) was a royalist, advisor and minister to Hawaiian monarchs until, according to Queen Lili'uokalani's book, his death in May 1893 "by the treatment he received from the hands of the revolutionists. He was one of many who from persecution had succumbed to death." I recall my grandfather saying all his older royalist brothers were incarcerated in the Armory during the revolution. I provide this background to assure you that whatever opinion I may reach about the Akaka Bill will have a unique sensitivity to and appreciation of Hawai'i's history and her people. I also offer it to debunk false opinions related to a convicted murderer whose cruel treatment of citizens and even fellow convicts was so incorrigible he had to be incarcerated in the federal prison system's highest security facility, Marion. The debate about the Akaka Bill is important in part because

it educates the puhlie about Hawaiians, their history and the plight of their neediest constituents. Hawai'i would not be Hawai'i without Hawaiians. Whether the Hawai'i Advisory Committee ever votes to express an opinion — or not — on the Akaka Bill is for it to decide in the future after full puhlie input on and thoughtful consideration of this most important civil rights issue. Miehael A. Lilly Chairperson, Hawai'i Advisory Commiffee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights

KA LEO KAIĀULU - LETTERS ĪO ĪHE EDIĪ0R

OHA reserves the right to edit all letters for length, defamatory and libelous material, and other objectionable content, and reserves the right not to print any submission. All letters must be typed, signed and not exceed 200 words. Letters cannot be published unless they include a telephone contact for verification. Send letters to Ka Wai Ola, 71 1 Kapi'olani Blvd., Ste. 500, Honolulu, Hl 96813, or email kwo@oha.org.