Maui Weekly - January 13, 2011
Native Hawaiians moving forward with their government is an issue that needs widespread community discussion. I support a sovereign Hawai`i, but not based on race. The overthrown Kingdom of Hawai`i was not based on race, and I’m glad the federal government didn’t pass the Akaka Bill.
How can someone else allow you to be sovereign? Either you’re in charge of your own destiny or you are not. Did early settlers in America wait for Britain to pass a law to give them independence? No—they themselves declared independence from Britain.
Hawai`i is at a major crossroads right now—our infrastructure is aging, our landfills are overflowing and our resources are dwindling. We need to declare independence from Mainland practices that are not benefiting us and bargain with access to our land as a most isolated place on the planet. We are islanders who need to realize we cannot continue to live with a continental mentality....
...Leaders of Hawai‘i, please lead us to a future where we who actually live here determine our own fate and treasure our ancestral abilities to live in balance with the land and ocean....
Kaimiloa Wright
Kahului, Maui
