FREEHAWAII.INFO PRESENTS A FOUR-PART SERIES -
Hawaiian Patriot Keala Kelly's Opening Statement At The Akaka Bill Forum, Aug. 23, 2005 Held At The Japanese Chamber Of Commerce, Honolulu, Hawai`i
Mahalo to the organizers of this event for inviting me to be here.
Aloha Kakou: I apologize in advance for speaking quickly--- too little time and too much to say.
This legislation is primarily about money--- it's about using American laws to control the land and resources of Hawai`i and the political and cultural destiny of Kanaka Maoli [Native Hawaiians] who are the rightful heirs to the 1.8 million acres of Crown and Government lands.
We are told that it will protect 70 million federal dollars per year and millions of dollars in trust assets, but there's no guarantee for any of that in the bill--- and truth is that if we controlled our own land and collected rent and taxes on that land we wouldn't need any federal money and would be well on our way to self determination.
I agreed to participate on this panel because I believe there needs to be a perspective here that represents Hawaiian voices that are outside of the American agenda.
I am not a member of any sovereignty or kingdom group. And unlike the others on this panel, I am not a lawyer and I am not being paid to be here.
Before these gentlemen get off to the races about legal this and constitutional that, I want to remind all the Kanaka Maoli in this room that law was created to serve the needs of human beings, not the other way around.
I believe that from the beginning of American imposition of laws in Hawai'i to the present, our experience with the US has been dehumanizing.
The work I do as a journalist puts me in contact with maka'ainana [average, everyday people] who are not invested in the economic system of non-profits and state agencies that are pushing this bill.
Part Two Tomorrow...
