Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 26, Number 9, 1 May 2009 — Aiona on ceded lands [ARTICLE]

Aiona on ceded lands

The Lingle administration has been criticized for their actions in the ceded lands case, and Native Hawaiian Lt. Gov. Duke Aiona answers critics in a kūkākūkā eolumn in the April edition of Ka Wai Ola Loa. "As a person of Native Hawaiian ancestry, the Apology Resolution is significant to me," Aiona wrote. "Those who diminish the role of the Apology Resolution as being merely a 'symbolic' gesture are wrong. ... However, despite what the Apology Resolution means to me as a Native Hawaiian, I simply could not agree that it had any effect on the legal status of ceded lands." Legalities notwithstanding, Aiona writes that he does not think ceded lands should be sold. "From the onset of this controversy, my position has remained consistent. I will not support the sale or transfer of any particular ceded lands." Read his eolumn at oha.org/kwo/loa/2009/04/. If you don't already receive Ka Wai Ola Loa in your inbox, subscribe today at oha.org.