ASSOCIATED PRESS REPORTS OPPOSITION WIDE-SPREAD TO FEDERAL RECOGNITION FOR HAWAIIANS
Honolulu Star-Bulletin -Monday, March 7, 2005
By Ron Staton - Associated Press
When Gov. Linda Lingle testified before a U.S. Senate committee last week, she said a bill to give native Hawaiians political status similar to that of American Indians is overwhelmingly supported by Hawai'i Democrats, Republicans and people of all ethnic backgrounds.
In the islands, however, there is an undercurrent of largely ignored opposition to the so-called Akaka bill, even among the people it aims to help: native Hawaiians. A range of opponents were interviewed by the Associated Press in advance of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee vote on the bill Wednesday.
Opposition in the islands ranges from those who favor totally independent government for all of Hawai'i's people to those who object to special privileges for any ethnic group in a state where no one race is a majority. About half of the estimated 400,000 native Hawaiians in the United States live in the islands.
The legislation has also raised concern in other states. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., chairman of the Indian Affairs Committee, has said it could deplete already scarce federal funds for American Indian programs...
"The only ones supporting it are those receiving federal benefits," said Kai'opua Fyfe, a director of the Kauai-based Koani Foundation, an advocacy group that aims to educate Hawaiians and others on "the real history of Hawai'i and the current situation."
The Senate committee heard oral testimony only from bill supporters. Fyfe, who was at the hearing, told the Associated Press that he and other opponents were refused permission to testify and were told to submit their testimony in writing.
"The bill is bad for Hawai'i and bad for the U.S.," said Fyfe, who focuses his opposition on "the dysfunction of the Department of the Interior in serving its wards."
The bill provides a process for native Hawaiians to establish a governing entity. It also would set up an Office of Native Hawaiian Relations in the Department of the Interior to address native Hawaiian issues.
"It is absurd to think of placing Hawaiians under the Department of the Interior," Fyfe said.
Opponents also object to the fact that no hearings on the current version of the bill were held in Hawai'i, saying it has been changed several times.
Fyfe said he hopes to encourage McCain, who has opposed the bill, to come to Hawai'i to show the Senate Indian Affairs Committee chairman there is
strong opposition in the islands.
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