TOTAL SELLOUT!
AHA MOKU ADVISORY COMMITTEE -
"WE WANT TO BE U.S. INDIANS"
The Aha Moku Advisory Committee (AMAC) expresses its mahalo for this historic and long-overdue discussion about reestablishing a government-to-government relationship between the United States and the Native Hawaiian community.
The AMAC is an entity that has re-established the traditional cultural and natural resource management system, called the Aha Moku throughout the eight (8) islands of Hawai’i. In 2012, this system was formally accepted by the Hawaii State Legislature and signed into law by Governor Abercrombie as Act 288.
The Aha Moku has been restored from a traditional land/ocean system used throughout the islands in the 9th century – before the arrival of the Tahitian and the more commonly known alii system.
The Aha Moku is comprised of the forty-three traditional land areas of the eight main Hawaiian Islands and the 589 smaller land districts called ahupua’a.
Those who practice Aha Moku are grassroots Hawaiian communities who are expert practitioners of different disciplines that are spiritually and physically connected to the land.
They are the foundation of the Hawaiian culture and are represented by the Po’o, or spokespersons of each of the main Hawaiian Islands which as a group are called the Aha Moku Advisory Committee (AMAC).
As representatives of the Aha Moku, the AMAC has determined that the reestablishment of a government-to-government relationship between the United States and the Native Hawaiian community is the most viable action that could be taken to protect and expand existing trust assets, federal programmatic funding, federal consultation rights and other self-determination rights under federal law.
Moreover, as a matter of justice and equity, this opportunity should be available for the Native Hawaiian community to pursue. We should not be denied the basic self-governance rights afforded all other major indigenous groups in the nation. We have suffered through colonization and the dispossession of our lands, resources and culture, and the hearts of our people continue to be burdened by these historic injustices, as recent oral testimony made clear.
Our community cannot heal until the federal government shows meaningful respect for our dignity by engaging us as a sovereign Native nation under federal law.
Therefore, the grassroots people who live within the natural and cultural resources of all of Pae’Aina, or lands of Hawai’i STRONGLY SUPPORTS the Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) that has been offered by the federal government and the Department of the Interior that would reestablish a government-to-government relationship with the official Native Hawaiian government formed by the qualified Native Hawaiians on the certified base roll. In accordance with this position, Aha Moku respectfully offers the following specific comments:
RESPONSES TO GENERAL QUESTIONS
Question 1: Should the Secretary propose an administrative rule that would facilitate the Reestablishment of a government-to-government relationship with the Native Hawaiian Community?
Answer to Question 1: YES
Question 2: Should the Secretary assist the Native Hawaiian community in reorganizing its government, with which the United States could reestablish a government-to government relationship?
Answer to Question 2: YES
Question 3: If so, what process should be established for drafting and ratifying a reorganized Native Hawaiian government's constitution or other governing document?
Answer to Question 3: The process for drafting and ratifying a reorganized Native Hawaiian government documents should be left to the Hawaiian people to decide.
Question 4: Should the Secretary instead rely on the reorganization of a Native Hawaiian government through a process established by the Native Hawaiian community and facilitated by the State of Hawaii, to the extent such a process is consistent with Federal law?
Answer to Question 4: YES
Question 5: If so, what conditions should the Secretary establish as prerequisites to Federal acknowledgment of a government-to-government relationship with the reorganized Native Hawaiian government?
Answer to Question 5: A federal policy needs to be established regarding the formal relationship with the Native Hawaiian people.
In conclusion, the Aha Moku wishes to express our sincere Mahalo to all who have come forward to hear the mana’o of our people. We offer our assistance in any way you may need. Please call on us.
Mahalo nui loa!
Leimana DaMate, Executive Director Aha Moku Advisory Committee
Phone: 808-587-1498
Email: Leimana.K.DaMate@hawaii.gov
