IS THIS THE FUTURE OF HAWAIIAN NATIONALS CLAIMS AGAINST THE US GOVERNMENT IF THE NATIVE HAWAIIAN REORGANIZATION BILL PASSES IN THE US CONGRESS? -

Title 43 Chapter 33 USC:

"All aboriginal titles, if any, and claims of aboriginal title in Alaska based on use and occupancy, including submerged land underneath all water areas, both inland and offshore, and including any aboriginal hunting or fishing rights that may exist, are hereby extinguished."

"All claims against the United States, the State, and all other persons that are based on claims of aboriginal right, title, use, or occupancy of land or water areas in Alaska, or that are based on any statute or treaty of the United States relating to Native use and occupancy, or that are based on the laws of any other nation, including any such claims that are pending before any Federal or state court or the Indian Claims Commission, are hereby extinguished."

And these Claims in 1978:

(3) by virtue of the approval of such transfers of land or natural resources effected by this subsection or an extinguishment of aboriginal title effected thereby, all claims against the United States, any State or subdivision thereof, or any other person or entity, by any such Indian, Indian nation, or tribe of Indians, arising subsequent to the transfer and based upon any interest in or rights involving such land or natural resources (including but not limited to claims for trespass damages or claims for use and occupancy), shall be regarded as extinguished as of the date of the transfer.

The Above extracted from Title 25 United States Code chapter 19 Subchapter I Part A

THE SO-CALLED "NATIVE HAWAIIAN REORGANIZATION BILL" - S.344, IS JUST AN EVEN MORE DANGEROUS VERSION OF FEDERAL RECOGNITION FOR NATIVE HAWAIIANS THAT WOULD COMPLETE THE BLATANT THEFT OF THE HAWAIIAN NATION, NATIVE HAWAIIAN LAND, RIGHTS AND SOVEREIGNTY FOREVER.

Please see last Monday's post below to see how you can take IMMEDIATE ACTION to help defeat this dangerous bill!

COMING THIS FRIDAY & SATURDAY - PUT THIS ON YOUR CALENDAR!

AN HAWAIIAN INDEPENDENCE 2 DAY WORKSHOP COMING TO THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA -

What: Hawaiian Cultural Practices and The Struggle for Independence

A workshop and talk story about the Akaka-Stevens bill, Hawaiian sovereignty, and the Hawaiian cultural renaissance.

Who: Clarence Kukauakahi Ching, kanaka maoli cultural practioner and activist from Hawai'i and David Ingham, writer, researcher and activist.

When: Friday, May 7, 7-9 PM and Saturday, May 8, 10 AM-5 PM

Where: Language Studies International 2015 Center Street, Berkeley

Cost: $75 for both days, $20 for Fri. only, $55 for Sat. only

Advance registration recommended.
Contact: waihili@aol.com

PUT THIS ON YOUR CALENDAR!

AN HAWAIIAN INDEPENDENCE 2 DAY WORKSHOP COMING TO THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA -

What: Hawaiian Cultural Practices and The Struggle for Independence

A workshop and talk story about the Akaka-Stevens bill, Hawaiian sovereignty, and the Hawaiian cultural renaissance.

Who: Clarence Kukauakahi Ching, kanaka maoli cultural practioner and activist from Hawai'i and David Ingham, writer, researcher and activist.

When: Friday, May 7, 7-9 PM and Saturday, May 8, 10 AM-5 PM

Where: Language Studies International
2015 Center Street, Berkeley

Cost: $75 for both days, $20 for Fri. only, $55 for Sat. only

Advance registration recommended.
Contact: waihili@aol.com

Please come fragrance free to allow people with asthma to breathe freely. Mahalo!

IF THE "NATIVE HAWAIIAN REORGANIZATION BILL" IS NOT THE ANSWER - WHAT IS ?

The Akaka bill (S.344) and Department of Interior are not the answers, so what are?

Can the United States really help us create a bright future for the Hawaiian Nation? What solutions will benefit all residents of Hawai’i?

Hawaiians want and deserve freedom just as much as US citizens do. They want freedom restored to Hawai’i. Some people say, “the illegal act of war that overthrew your Queen can’t be erased . . . like it or not, you’re all Americans now.” But, every day we see people around the world fighting for, and winning back their native and national rights. Their quest, and ours are totally legitimate and very real.

Like everyone else, Hawaiians want four basic things –

FREEDOM – The freedom to decide their own future for themselves. That “freedom” was taken away when the sovereign Nation of Hawai’i was overthrown in 1893. It was taken away again by illegal annexation to the United States in 1898. And, it was taken away a third time by the so-called statehood vote in 1959. According to international law, a new vote must to be taken that offers three options – 1) Independence, or 2) Free-Association or 3) Integration (nation within a nation.)

RIGHTS – The rights of the independent Nation of Hawai’i were never relinquished. The destruction and denial of these rights must cease. Everyone who descends from citizens of the Hawaiian Nation prior to 1893, Native Hawaiians and all others, are entitled to these rights.

IDENTITY – The political identity of Hawaiians must be acknowledged by the United States. Hawaiians will decide their own future, without interference by the US. Also, only those with any measure of indigenous blood may define Native Hawaiians. A blood quantum imposed by others is an unacceptable means to divide and conquer.

LAND BASE - Hawaiians love their country and lands just as much as US citizens love the US. Therefore, it is only fair and just to take into consideration the ramifications of the overthrow of a people who have never relinquished their rights or abandoned their desire to control their land and resources through their own representative government. Hawaiians want ALL their land back, not just some of it.

One of the biggest lies perpetuated today is that when Hawaiians achieve nationhood again it will be at the expense of everyone else. But no one will be kicked out; their businesses seized or their homes and property confiscated. Instead, everyone, Hawaiians and all others, will be citizens of the sovereign and independent Nation of Hawai’i. The Hawaiian Nation included people of many ethnic backgrounds that were loyal citizens before the illegal overthrow and it will be so again.

The truth is a sovereign Hawaiian nation will need the contributions and talents of all of its citizens to remain viable in the world. Hawaiians would be no better than the very supremacists that overthrew and occupied them were they to divide people by race. Hawaiians have always been inclusive, not exclusive.

How would this be accomplished politically given a civil war resulted the last time a state tried to leave the US?
Unlike the southern US states, the Kingdom of Hawai’i and its citizens never agreed to become part of the United States in the first place. Therefore a move for Hawai’i to secede from the US would be both unnecessary and inappropriate.

Much like removing the top coat of paint to reveal the one underneath, the US Congress, after consultation between Hawaiians and the US at the level of state to state, could simply enact a US federal law that dissolves the entity known as the “state government” in Hawai’i. What would be left in its place is what has existed all along anyway without interruption – the Nation of Hawai’i.

Only at that point, would it be appropriate for the citizens of Hawai’i to decide their future as it relates to a relationship with the United States. Those possibilities would include –

Integration with the US – Becoming a state again or a tribe of the US under federal recognition.

Free Association – Much like Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia.

Independence - Did you know that when Ronald Reagan was president, one of the most conservative US presidents in recent times, his administration actually granted the Marshall Islands independence in 1986, which then lead to a free association relationship with the US?

Precedent for Hawaiian independence exists right now within US law as outlined above. There are no laws that exist today within the US to prevent the US federal government from dissolving a state government. It is only fear and ignorance that holds the status quo in place.

Your Influence Counts! - Please Use It Today! -

THE SO-CALLED "NATIVE HAWAIIAN REORGANIZATION BILL" - S.344, IS JUST AN EVEN MORE DANGEROUS VERSION OF FEDERAL RECOGNITION FOR NATIVE HAWAIIANS THAT WOULD COMPLETE THE BLATANT THEFT OF NATIVE HAWAIIAN LAND, RIGHTS AND SOVEREIGNTY FOREVER.

Please see yesterday's post below to see how you can take IMMEDIATE ACTION to help defeat this dangerous bill!

WARNING! - PROPONENTS OF FEDERAL RECOGNITION WILL BE TRYING TO SNEAK THE BILL THROUGH THE US CONGRESS AGAIN SOON.

HERE'S HOW YOU CAN HELP STOP IT -

Please copy the following letter, sign your name to it, then fax it to ALL of the US politicians below - today!

Dear Congressmen , Senators, Secretaries and President

This note is to inform you that S344, the Hawaiian reorganization bill, is not widely supported in Hawaii and this is true among both Hawaiians and Americans whose opposition to the bill has now grown to a substantial majority in the Islands.

The only support now left for the bill now in Hawaii is the Hawaii Congressional delegation, the governor of the State of Hawaii, and a Handful of NGOs and State Agencies Administering Federal benefits to Hawaiians who seek to transfer responsibility for their failure to meet federally delegated responsibility back to the federal government.

Both Hawaiians and Americans in Hawaii are frustrated that the bill has now undergone 6 or 7 substantial revisions over the last four years owing to the input of everyone except the Hawaiians the bill is supposedly designed to help.

No hearings or public input has been solicited from Hawaiians since the year 2000 when the bill was roundly rejected by Hawaiians in general contrary to press reports.

With the outcome of the Cobell litigation looming, and current federal budget problems raging, would it be wise to allow the Hawaii congressional delegation and Hawaii's governor to transfer responsibility for Hawaiians claims against the State of Hawaii and others to the Department of the Interior via Federal District courts?

Please carefully read the April 7th amendment to this bill, particularly section 8 , the amendment relieves the State of Hawaii of responsibility for their failure in administering a federally delegated trust obligation under the Statehood act and places responsibility to compensate Hawaiians for he States failure squarely on the backs of Hawaiians and the Federal government.

Thank you for your continued opposition to this bill.

Then sign your letter and fax today to the following -

Bill Frist:
Phone (202) 224-3344 Fax: (202) 228-1264

Craig Thomas
Phone: (202) 224-6441 Fax: (202) 224-1724

Jon Kyl
Phone: (202) 224-4521 Fax: (202) 224-2207

James Inhofe
Phone: (202) 224-4721 Fax: (202) 228-0380

Trent Lott
Phone: (202) 224-6253 Fax: (202) 224-2262

Don Nickles
Phone: (202) 224-5754 Fax: (202) 224-6008

John McCain
Phone: (202) 224-2235 Fax: (202) 228-2862

Richard Lugar
Phone: (202) 224-4814 Fax: (202) 228-0360

James Jeffords
Phone: (202) 224-5141 Fax (202) 228-0776

Richard Shelby
Phone: (202) 224-5744 Fax: (202) 224-3416

Mitch McConnell
Phone: (202) 224-2541 Fax: (202) 224-4482

Kay Baily Hutchison
Phone: (202) 224-5922 Fax: (202) 224-0776

Chuck Grassley
Phone: (202) 224 3744 Fax: (202) 224-6020

Larry Craig
Phone: (202) 224-2752 Fax: (202) 228-1067

Robert Bennett
Phone: (202) 224-5444 Fax: (202 228-1168

Christopher Bond
Phone: (202) 224-5721 Fax: (202) 224-8149

Jeff Sessions
Phone: (202) 224-4124 Fax: (202) 224-3149

Chris Dodd
Phone: (202) 224-2823 Fax. (202) 228-1683

Joe Lieberman
Phone (202) 224-4041 Fax (202) 224-9750

Richard Pombo
Phone202) 225-1947 Fax: (202) 226-0861

Pete Domenici
Phone: (202) 224-6621 Fax: (202) 228-0900

Kent Conrad
Phone: (202) 224-2043 Fax: (202) 224-7776

Byron Dorgan
Phone: (202) 224-2551 Fax: (202) 224-1193

Dennis Hastert
Phone: (202) 225-2976 Fax: (202) 225-0697

Tom Delay
Phone:(202) 225-5951 Fax: (202) 225-5241

James Sensenbrenner
Phone: (202) 225-5101 Fax: (202) 225-3190

John Ashcroft
Phone: (202) 514 2000 Fax: (202) 307 6777

Gail Norton
Phone: (202) 208-7351 Fax: (202) 208-6956

George Bush
Phone: (202) 456-1414 Fax: (202) 456-2461

HERE'S HOW NATIVE HAWAIIANS FEEL ABOUT FEDERAL RECOGNITION AND THE OVERTHROW OF THEIR COUNTRY -

Let's pretend I visit your house. You offer me food and rest. I decide to stay.

Then, I order you and your family around, use your things and rearrange the rooms. I take down your photos and religious symbols, replace them with my own and make you speak my language.

One day, I dig up your garden and replace it with crops that I can sell. You and your family must now buy all of your food from me.

Later, I invite my father and his buddies over. They bring guns. We take your keys. I forge a deed and declare my father to be the owner of your house. I bring more people. Some work for me. Some pay me to stay in your house. I seize your savings and spend it on my friends. You and your family now sleep on the porch.

Finally you protest. Being reasonable, I let you stay in a corner of the house and give you a small allowance, but only if you behave. I tell you, "Sorry, I was wrong for taking the house." But when you demand your house back, I tell you to be realistic.

"You are part of this family now, whether you like it or not," I say. "Besides, this is for your own good. For all that I have done for you, why aren't you grateful?"

"Mai maka'u, e kupa'a ma ke aloha i ka 'aina,a e lokahi ma ka mana'o. E ku'e loa aku i ka ho'ohui ia o Hawai'i me Amerika a hiki i ke aloha 'aina hope loa."

"Do not be afraid, be steadfast in aloha for your land and be united in thought. Protest forever the annexation of Hawai'i until the very last patriot."

- James Keauiluna Kaulia, President, Hui Aloha 'Aina in 1897

DID YOU KNOW -

The Akaka/Stevens Bill, the so-called Native Hawaiian Reorganization Act could legitimize the illegal overthrow of the sovereign Hawaiian Nation as well as settle all lands claims in Hawai'i in the US's favor?

You can get the full story on www.stopakaka.com.

WHO REALLY OWNS THE LAND TODAY IN HAWAI'I ?

The Maui News
Letters to the Editor
Sunday, April 18, 2004

Land titles issued today are very much in doubt -

"Clear Title," regarding legitimate legal ownership of land in Hawai'i is a topic quickly becoming an issue in the political and
commercial areas. With more lands being "quiet titled" in the courts by unscrupulous characters with the aid of foreign laws (USA and state of Hawai'i) illegally imposed against the rightful/legal owners of these lands and a judicial system aiding and abetting in these crimes; its no wonder developers want to build 1,100 new luxury homes
in Makena and elsewhere.

Land titles in Hawaii continue to carry the original "royal patent" from the mahele. If the U.S. Government or state of Hawaii and their citizens rightfully have "clear title" to these lands, then why has the U.S. patent not replaced the royal patent as it was done in 49 other states. Answer: Each royal patent has been "adjudicated," making them all a legal decree.

When purchasing land, a "warranty deed" is issued, not a clear title per se. Shouldn't a clear title be guaranteed? Unless, of course, there is no clear title to the land.

Each royal patent originally pertains to the ahupua'a of the land, not the tax map key or the community plans of a foreign country which dismantle the ahupua'a.

Ask your Realtor, Legislature, county and state government, attorneys, etc. In the end, be prepared to do your own research for the truth. I ended up doing so when no one gave me a straight answer.

Foster Ampong
Lahaina. Maui

A NEW TELEVSION SERIES ON HAWAIIAN INDEPENDENCE AIRS IN HAWAI'I -

"Voices of Truth", brought to you by The Koani Foundation, will air on 'Olelo in Hawai'i -

This series features a half hour show, each with a different profile of Hawaiian Independence activists and their contributions to Native Hawaiian Issues with inspiring and moving interviews.

On 'Olelo Television Starting This Saturday Evening-

Voices of Truth: Huaka'i - A Personal Voyage 4/24/2004 - 8:30 PM

Voices of Truth: Huaka'i - A Personal Voyage 4/28/2004 - 2:00 PM

Voices of Truth: Huaka'i - A Personal Voyage 4/28/2004 - 11:00 PM

Don't Miss It !

FreeHawaii.Info IS PROUD TO PRESENT, IN SERIALIZED FORM, "AMERICA'S TIBET," BY DAVID INGHAM, AMY MARSH AND KUKAUAKAHI CHING.

The Full Story Of Why The Illegal Overthrow And Continued Illegal US Occupation of Hawai'i is America's Tibet!

Now published in April 1-15, 2004 issue of Hawai'i Island Journal, and eventually will be viewable online at http://www.hawaiiislandjournal.com.

And now, here's the conclusion...

Hawaiians don't want to be cheated any more than they have been already. They are now aware of the history of unfair outcomes and permanence of claims settlements that have resulted from negotiations similar to that offered in the later versions of the Akaka bill. Given these facts, why should we expect Hawaiians to trade their present status as full citizens for a secondary citizenship (or wardship) that the bill would also accomplish? Hawaiians are wise to reject the federal offer in favor of full restoration of the national rights they have been denied.

The tragic plight of the Tibetan people and the spiritual leadership of the Dalai Lama has inspired the creation of Free Tibet chapters in many universities and communities in the U.S. But the plight of Native Hawaiians is no less dire, and the cultural traditions and practical and spiritual wisdom of Hawaii are no less inspiring. Citizens of a sovereign Hawaiian nation will have much to offer the world, as they reconstruct their society based on their rich cultural heritage. For them, the spiritual legacy of Queen Lili`uokalani is a guiding light.

Those of us who combine American citizenship with a commitment to humanitarian and progressive activism are strangely blind to the Tibet on our own doorstep. This must change. This is our opportunity to oppose passage of the Akaka-Stevens bill and support the Hawaiian Kingdom's just struggle for independence. Free Hawaii. Now.

FreeHawaii.Info IS PROUD TO PRESENT, IN SERIALIZED FORM, "AMERICA'S TIBET," BY DAVID INGHAM, AMY MARSH AND KUKAUAKAHI CHING.

The Full Story Of Why The Illegal Overthrow And Continued Illegal US Occupation of Hawai'i is America's Tibet!

Now published in April 1-15, 2004 issue of Hawai'i Island Journal, and eventually will be viewable online at http://www.hawaiiislandjournal.com.

Here's the fifth installment...

If the Akaka-Stevens bill is passed, Hawaiians will be negotiating a claims settlement agreement in a process that has historically resulted in grossly unfair settlements. For example, the Alaska Native Claims settlement act resulted in Alaskans relinquishing 9/10ths of their homeland for less than three dollars an acre. Should the Akaka bill turn the Hawaiian nation into a domestic dependent government, Hawaiians can expect any portion of their homeland they are allowed to use and occupy (as a result of negotiations) to be held in federal trust, with the Department of the Interior managing the account. This hardly seems desirable or rational, given the Department's record.

Under Akaka-Stevens, the lands that will be given up by Hawaiians to the United States through the Department of Interior will be quiet titled by removing the present cloud (of Hawaiian claims) on them. Conversely, those lands "held in trust" will forever be susceptible to further seizure by the United States, at its whim, at any time, and without compensation.

Our Series Concludes Tomorrow...

FreeHawaii.Info IS PROUD TO PRESENT, IN SERIALIZED FORM, "AMERICA'S TIBET," BY DAVID INGHAM, AMY MARSH AND KUKAUAKAHI CHING.

The Full Story Of Why The Illegal Overthrow And Continued Illegal US Occupation of Hawai'i is America's Tibet!

Now published in April 1-15, 2004 issue of Hawai'i Island Journal, and eventually will be viewable online at http://www.hawaiiislandjournal.com.

Here's the fourth installment...

The Apology Resolution was a top story in Hawaii, but only a blip in the mainland press. Nevertheless, some policy makers began to take note of the resolutions implications. Perhaps to undermine growing international awareness of Hawaii's true status or perhaps as a last ditcheffort to retain control of Hawaii's assets, Congress and the Departments of the Interior and Justice began a process in 1999 to implement a superficial semblance of the reconciliation called for in the Apology Resolution. This process has produced six versions of what are known as the Akaka bills and most recently as the Akaka-Stevens bill. These bills propose a federally recognized "domestic dependent" Hawaiian government that would eventually negotiate Hawaiians's claims with the Federal government through the Department of the Interior.

It's important to note that many Hawaiian organizations and State agencies are dependent on federal benefits and have thus undertaken an expensive lobbying and educational pro-Akaka-Stevens campaign to gain Congressional, Hawaiian, and Native American support for the bill. This well funded campaign, led by the Office of Hawaiian affairs and the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement (among others), gained extra momentum by (so far unsuccessful) attacks on Hawaiian benefits in the courts. Unfortunately the ambitious lobbying and educational campaigns conducted by these federally dependent agencies is profoundly tainted by misinformation, half truths, and outright lies.

Grass roots efforts by Hawaiian nationalists have exposed the deceit embedded in the promotion of the Akaka bills. They have also exposed unethical relationships between some of the officers of these agencies and Alaska Native organizations seeking to secure oil deals in congress. In addition to exposing this corruption, grass roots legal efforts have also exposed ongoing malfeasance and misfeasance within the Department of the Interior.

The Department of the Interior has been deemed an unfit trustee by a federal judge. Secretaries of the Interior, under both Clinton and Bush administrations, have been cited for contempt of court and for perpetuating fraud on the court in the disappearance of as much as $137 billion dollars in Indian assets and 40 million acres of Indian land (in the ongoing Cobell vs. Norton case).

Part Five Tomorrow...

FreeHawaii.Info IS PROUD TO PRESENT, IN SERIALIZED FORM, "AMERICA'S TIBET," BY DAVID INGHAM, AMY MARSH AND KUKAUAKAHI CHING.

The Full Story Of Why The Illegal Overthrow And Continued Illegal US Occupation of Hawai'i is America's Tibet!

Now published in April 1-15, 2004 issue of Hawai'i Island Journal, and eventually will be viewable online at http://www.hawaiiislandjournal.com.

Here's the third installment...

Few American citizens are aware of the true status of our vacation paradise. We are oblivious to the consequences of our colonization and economic and cultural rape of Hawaii. We are ignorant of the devastating price Hawaiians continue to pay as inhabitants under occupation.

After the overthrow, the United States quickly transformed its once self sufficient, prosperous, and independent ally into a floundering, unsuccessful commercial and military venture. Whereas the Hawaiians had ingeniously managed and sustained their limited island resources, fisheries, and agriculture for nearly two thousand years, the Western usurpers quickly replaced these proven agricultural and social systems with those better suited to American interests. Such practices accelerated the depletion and degradation of Hawaii. Residents became dependent on American imports, a burgeoning tourist industry, and a growing dependence on the military economy. This in turn increased commercial, military and residential development, which caused still further degradation and depletion. This vicious cycle continues unabated.

The United States finally admitted some of its culpability a century after the overthrow. In 1993, Congress formally apologized to Hawaiians (spurred by uncertainty over title to nearly half the land in Hawaii). The Apology Resolution PL 103-150 included a commitment by Congress to reconcile with Hawaiians. Congress also admitted the illegal nature of the damagedone to the Kingdom of Hawaii. And, of paramount importance, the Apology Resolution acknowledged that Hawaiians have never given up their rights to sovereignty or relinquished title to their land.

Part Four Tomorrow...

SPECIAL REPORT -

FreeHawaii.Info IS PROUD TO PRESENT, IN SERIALIZED FORM, "AMERICA'S TIBET," BY DAVID INGHAM, AMY MARSH AND KUKAUAKAHI CHING.

The Full Story Of Why The Illegal Overthrow And Continued Illegal US Occupation of Hawai'i is America's Tibet!

Now published in April 1-15, 2004 issue of Hawai'i Island Journal, and eventually will be viewable online at http://www.hawaiiislandjournal.com.

Here's the second installment...

Our motives for acquiring Hawaii were similar to China's motives for acquiring Tibet. We could, therefore we did. Like China, we justified our aggression by the pretense of modernizing a backwards people. To this end, the U.S. relied on policies of deceit and decades of legal and social repression. Hawaiian children were taught that they were lazy and no good. The beautiful Hawaiian language, hula, and other sacred cultural practices were made illegal. Like Tibetans, Hawaiians are second class citizens in their own home. Native Hawaiians suffer from denial of human and national rights that have resulted in the poorest health, employment, education, incarceration, youth suicide, and economic statistics of any group in Hawaii.

Due to the recent renaissance of Native Hawaiian culture and a new emphasis on historical accuracy, Native Hawaiians (na kanaka maoli)now know that the substantial theft of their nation and most of its land and assets was unjus tified, illegal, and in violation of treaties promising perpetual friendship between the United States and the Kingdom of Hawaii. On the mainland we might say all in the past but this matter is hardly a done deal for Native Hawaiians and descendants of Hawaiian nationals. They want their country back. Native Hawaiians are, and have always been, emotionally and spiritually connected with their aina (the land). Now they reclaim their rightful political connection. As far as theyre concerned, the Kingdom still exists, though illegally occupied. They are its subjects.

Experts who are familiar with legal aspects of the case for Hawaiian independence agree with their assessment. For example, three years ago a citizen of the occupied kingdom presented a Hawaii case to the international Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague. After consideration of the case, the court recognized the continuity of the Kingdom of Hawaii and flew the Kingdom's flag among those of other nations.

Experts say the overthrow and annexation are both in clear violation of international law. Even the 1959 Statehood vote violated United Nations rules under which the vote was supposedly conducted. First, American citizens and the military occupation forces should not have been allowed to cast ballots. Second, eligible voters should have been given at least three choices, such as: independence (including free association as an independent member of a commonwealth); remaining an occupied territory; or incorporation into the United States. But on the ballot, statehood was the only option.

Part Three Tomorrow -

SPECIAL REPORT -

FreeHawaii.Info IS PROUD TO PRESENT, IN SERIALIZED FORM, "AMERICA'S TIBET," BY DAVID INGHAM, AMY MARSH AND KUKAUAKAHI CHING.

The Full Story Of Why The Illegal Overthrow And Continued Illegal US Occupation of Hawai'i is America's Tibet!

Now published in April 1-15, 2004 issue of Hawai'i Island Journal, and eventually will be viewable online at http://www.hawaiiislandjournal.com.

Here's the first installment...

AMERICA'S TIBET
By David Ingham, Amy Marsh & Kukauakahi Ching

In 1959, as the Chinese massacred civilians in its violent annexation of Tibet, another powerful country was putting the finishing touches on its takeover of a peaceful former ally. That ally was a constitutional monarchy which had declared its neutrality as early as 1850, a country accepted and recognized by over fifty other nations. That ally was the Kingdom of Hawaii.

On January 17, 1893, Queen Lili`uokalani was forced from her throne by American businessmen and business-minded missionary sons, with the help of John L. Stevens, the American Minister to the Hawaiian Kingdom, and the American navy. The overthrow was violent, unjustified, insulting, and in complete violation of international law. U.S. President Benjamin Harrison apparently gave unofficial encouragement to the conspirators in 1892 and after the overthrow he presented their annexation petition to the U.S. Senate. But incoming President Grover Cleveland was appalled. He withdrew the petition before the Senate could act, called for an investigation, and issued a powerful statement to reinstate the queen and the rightful government. But the treasonous provisional government refused to comply. President Cleveland was also opposed by powerful interests within the United States who were loathe to part with their juicy prize.

In 1898, approximately 29,000 Hawaiians--more than half the adult Hawaiian population--signed and presented a petition protesting annexation to the United States. Congress ignored them. Despite the petition evidence to the contrary, it was far more lucrative for Congress to accept the assurances of missionary lobbyists who claimed the Hawaiians were eager for annexation.

Part Two Tomorrow -

LOOKING FOR A DYNAMITE READ ?

DISMEMBERING LAHUI by Jonathan K.K. Osorio

This book, published by University of Hawai'i Press, tells the gripping story of the independent nation of Hawai'i's gradual loss of political control despite the often heroic efforts by its people to retain it.

But more importantly, it is the first book written by a Native Hawaiian to explore fully the complexities of Hawaiian nationhood and identity in a historical context.

A gripping read !

You may order it online at www.uhpress.edu

The Maui News
Sunday, April 11, 2004

ISLAND A BEACON FOR HAWAIIANS

Kahoolawe, known as the Target Island for a half century, was one of the primary touchstones in the Native Hawaiian renaissance that began flowering in the 1960s and 1970s.

During the early part of the 1900s, Kahoolawe was considered a wasteland, although a 1910 Territorial Forester's report noted trees on the island caught clouds that backed up to Ulupalakua and produced rain. At various times, the
Territory of Hawaii leased the island to ranchers - largely to control depredations from wild goats - and at one point, the territorial Legislature considered selling the island outright.

In 1941, the 45-square-mile island was commandeered by the U.S. Navy. For the next 49 years, Kahoolawe was a bombing range, pummeled by aircraft and naval guns. In the years after World War II, the island was used as a training site for not only the United States but by Pacific allies during annual joint exercises.

While the Navy was in control, access to Kahoolawe and it waters was strictly controlled. In an irony of colossal proportions, the fact the island and its waters were off limits helped preserve what wasn't hit by bombs and artillery
shells and the marine life that flourished on the reefs around the island.

In 1976, the grass-roots, largely Native Hawaiian Protect Kahoolawe Ohana began protests that included clandestine landings on the island, arrests and the deaths of two involved in the protests lost at sea. The protests, supported by
many non-Hawaiians in the islands, served notice that Hawaiians were willing to risk their lives to regain their historic place in Hawaii.

Friday, the U.S. Navy marked the end of a $280 million cleanup effort that removed 12.9 million
pounds of scrap metal from Kahoolawe and made at least 2,650 acres safe for major cultural and educational activities. The Navy remains responsible for disposing of any unexploded ordnance that might be found on the 28,800 acres
of land and in the waters around the island in the future.

Kahoolawe is more than one of the four islands that make up Maui County. For non-Hawaiians, Kahoolawe is a living symbol of what Native Hawaiians have achieved and of the future challenges they face. For Native Hawaiians, Kahoolawe is a spiritual link to their past and the target for a future they can claim as their
own.

Copyright © 2003 - The Maui News

US NAVY COMPLETES WITHDRAWAL FROM BOMBING OF SACRED HAWAIIAN ISLAND OF KAHO'OLAWE

Much Work Left For Native Hawaiians To Do

The U.S. Navy expects to remove all personnel and equipment from Kahoolawe on Thursday, according to the state's Kahoolawe Island Reserve Commission.

The commission will assume control of the reserve, which consists of the island and surrounding two-miles of ocean.

"Kaho'olawe" in the Hawaiian language means "the taking away."

The U.S. government has controlled the island since World War II and used it as a bombing range until 1990.

The island, whose names in ancient times were Kanaloa and Kohemalamalama, was reknown anciently as a training center for celestial navagation between Hawai'i and Tahiti.

The Navy was responsible for cleanup of more han 22,000 acres, or 77 percent of the island. The Navy will fund and continue to remove any newly discovered ordnance on the island.

The Navy's departure from Kahoolawe marks the end of a 63-year era.

"We have much to do and much to learn about the island, operating the facilities, controlling access and utilizing our resources in the most efficient manner," said Stanton Enomoto, acting executive director for the commission.

Under state law, access to Kahoolawe is restricted unless authorized by the commission.

For more information go to www.kahoolawe.hawaii.gov or contact (808) 243-5020.

THEY CAN'T HAVE IT BOTH WAYS!

EITHER HAWAI'I IS A FOREIGN COUNTRY WITH ITS OWN FOREIGN LANGUAGE, OR IT'S NOT!

The Maui News
Letters to the Editor
Friday, April 09, 2004

Hawaiian language forbidden in Hawai'i prisons

The use of the Hawaiian language is a traditional and customary right affirmed and protected by the state of Hawai'i Constitution in Article XII, Section 7.

Hawaiian and non-Hawaiian inmates in our state prison system are taught the Hawaiian language but are not allowed to speak it outside the classroom.

If the Department of Public Safety feels this is a security problem by ruling that "no inmate shall converse in a foreign language," then I submit that Hawaiian is not a foreign language in the state of Hawai'i and that if the security concerns are valid, the staff should learn to speak it.

Michael Spiker
Wahiawa Correctional Facility
Honolulu

HERE'S HOW YOU CAN SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR HAWAIIAN INDEPENDENCE!

E Kokua mai - Your Help Is Urgently Needed Right Now! -

There is a Hawai'i House Concurrent Resolution (HCR 67) in the state legislature that was introduced by State Rep. Helene Hale (from Moku o Hawai'i) titled: ACKNOWLEDGING THE ILLEGAL OVERTHROW OF THE KINGDOM OF HAWAI'I.

Its passage would be helpful to the cause for independence.

HCR 67 was referred to 2 committees: the House Judiciary Committee (JUD)and the Water, Land Use and Hawaiian Affairs Committee (WLH). In order for the resolution to pass, it has to be heard by and pass both committees, then be
voted on by the entire legislative body.

It is bogged down because the House Judiciary Chairman, Rep. Eric Hamakawa(D) from Hilo has not scheduled it for a hearing. If it does not get heardand passed by the end of next week, HCR 67 dies.

To get it going, there needs to be a ton of phone calls made and faxes sent to Rep. Eric Hamakawa (emails are not as effective). His contact numbers at the state capitol are:

phone 808-586-8480; fax 808-586-8484
From Hawai'i Island, toll free 974-4000 + 68480
E-mail rephamakawa@Capitol.hawaii.gov

When you call (or fax), be cordial and courteous, but be insistent about having a hearing HCR 67 scheduled.

There also needs to be a lot of pressure put on Rep. Ezra Kanoho, the chairof the Water, Land Use and Hawaiian Affairs Committee.

At this late date, there is not enough time to have two separate hearings, so there needs to be a push for either a joint hearing of the two committees, or get one or the other to waive its hearing.

Even though its a long weekend, start your calls and faxes right away.

Call again on Monday to make sure they got your messages over the weekend.

If we are successful in getting a hearing, there need to be a lot of people show up to testify in favor of the resolution. So get your thoughts together and write them down so you're prepared at a moment's notice.

ALOHA MAI!

Welcome if you're visiting FreeHawaii.Info for the first time! Free Hawai'i means returning the Hawaiian Islands back to an independent, sovereign nation status, like it was before it was illegally overthrown by US marines and rich sugar barons in 1893. In 1993, President Clinton formally apologized for that act and publicly acknowledged the illegality of the overthrow.

Did you know -

98% of all Hawaiians living at the time opposed the illegal overthrow!

Today, less than 20% of all land in Hawai'i is in Hawaiian hands. Over 60% is in non-Hawaiian hands.

A few individuals, who are non-Hawaiian, lease an amount of land in Hawai'i that is greater than all land leased to all Native Hawaiians!

Currently, only 72 landowners control 95% of all land in Hawai'i.

Native Hawaiians make up the largest percentage of homeless in Hawai'i today.

Native Hawaiians have the worst social, educational and economic indicators of any ethnic group in the US.

Native Hawaiians currently have the worst health profile of any ethnic group in the US.

Descendants of the Hawaiian Nation want their country and land back so they can grow their own foods, become healthy once again, and control their own destiny.

In other words, they want the same things that most others already take for granted!

MORE PROOF WHY FEDERAL RECOGNITION IS BAD FOR NATIVE HAWAIIANS!

Indian suit investigator criticizes U.S., resigns

Wednesday, April 7, 2004
Washington -- A court-appointed investigator has resigned from his job probing the federal government's management of hundreds of millions of dollars owed Native Americans and charged that the Department of Interior blocked his work in order to conceal its deals to enrich energy companies and cheat American Indians.

In his resignation letter, made public Tuesday, Special Master Alan Balaran said the Bush administration worked to thwart him beginning last summer after he uncovered a 2-decades-old practice by Interior officials of negotiating leases with oil and gas companies that gave Indian landowners a small fraction of the royalties that private landowners received in similar deals.

Balaran accused the Department of Justice and the Interior department of trying repeatedly to have him removed from the case "to prevent any further investigation" of the lopsided deals.

"A full investigation into these matters might well result in energy companies being forced to repay significant sums to individual Indians," Balaran wrote to the judge overseeing a multibillion-dollar lawsuit by Native Americans against the Interior Department. "Interior could not let this happen. ... Billions of dollars are at stake."

Interior officials released a statement Tuesday calling Balaran's charges "preposterous" and "based entirely on innuendo, supposition and baseless speculation -- just the sorts of things to which a competent judicial officer would give no credence."

Justice officials declined comment.

In August, Balaran reported that the Interior Department's chief appraiser in New Mexico had repeatedly negotiated for energy companies to pay Indians less than market value for use of their land and that he destroyed evidence of his longstanding practice. In the case of one San Juan basin pipeline, the appraiser arranged for a gas company to pay $4.50 a yard to run pipeline across Indian-owned lands that Interior managed, while the same energy company paid private landowners $104 a yard for running the same pipe on their adjoining land.

Soon after his report, Balaran said Justice officials ordered him to leave a Department of Interior repository in Dallas where he planned to review gas and oil audit files.

"The reason for this dramatic shift in policy is obvious," Balaran wrote of the government's action. "The consequences of (my) findings could cost the very companies with which senior Interior officials maintain close ties millions of dollars." Balaran praised U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth, who is overseeing the Indian trust case, as "courageous." Lamberth wrote in a court order Tuesday that he accepted Balaran's resignation "with profound regret."

The Indian trust lawsuit, filed in 1996 on behalf of more than 300,000 Indians, alleges that for more than a century, the government had mismanaged, misplaced or stolen billions of dollars in oil, gas, timber and grazing royalties that the department, by law and treaty, was assigned to manage on the Indians' behalf.

In 1999, Lamberth found the department had breached its trust responsibility, and he ordered the department to tally what the Indians were owed.

A QUICK TRUE OR FALSE QUIZ REGARDING THE BENEFITS OF NATIVE HAWAIIAN FEDERAL RECOGNITION -

1. The Akaka/Stevens bill contains language that guarantees Hawaiians a land base.

2. The Akaka/Stevens bill ensures the Hawaiian Homes program will not be terminated.

3. Hawaiians will vote on whether or not to accept federal recognition the choice is theirs to make.

4. The rights and benefits Hawaiians are being promised under federal recognition will be realized prior to the Hawaiian governments agreement to subject their people to the plenary power of congress.

5. Hawaiians will vote on amendments to their constitution required by the Secretary of the interior of the United States.

6. The commerce clause and treaty clauses of the U.S. constitution do not prohibit federally recognized indigenous people achieving independent nationhood.

7. Land bases of federally recognized indigenous people, in order to be exempt from federal taxation, need not be placed under the control of, and in trust with, the United States. government.

8. Land held in fee simple by federally recognized indigenous governments and not placed in trust with the federal government is exempt from federal taxation.

9. The Federal government is obligated to place any land held in fee simple by tribes in federal trust if the tribes request that it be placed in trust.

10. Transfers of land, resources, and other agreements between federally recognized Hawaiians and the United States come as reconciliation for past wrongs and no further concessions by the recognized governments are required.

11. Federal recognition will occur under the Akaka/Stevens bill even if the officials of the Hawaiian governing entity are not authorized by their constitution agree to extinguishment of Hawaiians claims as the representatives of their people.

12. Federal recognition will occur under the Akaka/Stevens bill if the Hawaiian constitution specifically excludes claims extinguishment agreements from the governmental authorities that Hawaiians officials are authorized to exercise.

13. Federal law provides for the protection of indigenous peoples entitlements and they cannot be taken from them without their consent.

14. Federal law prohibits the states from interfering in federally recognized indigenous peoples affairs in any way.

15. Americans on recognized indigenous land bases are subject to the laws of the indigenous people of that land.

16. Recognized indigenous people are not subject to the laws of the United States whether on their recognized land base or in the United States.

17. State law and rights do not apply on federally recognized indigenous land bases.

18. Federal law allows for recognized indigenous people to make treaties and commercial agreements with foreign nations.

19. Federal law allows recognized indigenous people to make treaties with the United States.

20. Federal law does not allow the United States to terminate recognition of an indigenous people at any time.

21. The United states has never terminated a government to government relationship with federally recognized people without their consent.

22. Nationality, defined by blood quantum rather than legal definition, is common in other nations around the world.

23. Blood quantum restrictions preserve the integrity of the indigenous population and prevent declines in the population of the indigenous people who adopt such restrictions.

24. Blood quantum restrictions are not the primary reason for the steep decline in the number of federally recognized indigenous people.

25. Blood quantum restrictions will not result in the exclusion of future generations of Hawaiians from Hawaiian citizenship.

26. Under federal indigenous policy, the legitimacy of existing Hawaiian claims against the United States for treaty violations, unlawful confiscation of land, usurpation of their peaceful neural government, theft their resources, restraint of their rights, damage to their culture,and all other existing claims in international and domestic law will be decided in an court of law, not in negotiations between the United States and a federally funded Hawaiian governing entity.

27. The size of the land base Hawaiians are being promised by American and Hawaiian proponents of federal recognition will be determined prior to Hawaiian's acceptance of federal recognition and their agreement to subject themselves to the framework of federal law forever.

28. Hawaiians will not have to compete with other interests at the federal table for funds and programs already woefully inadequate for those now receiving those funds.

29. Indigenous peoples lives have improved more under federal policy than the lives of people in independent nations in the same time frame.

30. Federal recognition will provide that every Hawaiian will receive free medical and dental insurance for life.

31. Federal recognition will provide that every Hawaiian will receive land and housing for life.

EACH AND EVERY STATEMENT ABOVE IS FALSE !!!

DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR PAYMENTS TO NATIVE TRIBES INTERRUPTED - ANOTHER REASON WHY HAWAIIANS SAY "NO!" TO FEDERAL RECOGNITION -

On Monday, March 15, 2004, United States District Court Judge Royce C. Lamberth ordered the Department of the Interior to disconnect its computer systems from the Internet, finding that “the continued connection to the Internet of any IT system that houses or accesses individual Indian trust data constitutes further and continuing irreparable injury…” putting the entire Indian trust and its assets in jeopardy. The Department of the Interior has admitted on many occasions themselves that their IT systems are insecure.

There have been rumors circulating that such action will delay or even halt the issuance of Individual Indian Trust checks.

Here are the facts:

• Interior’s Internet has been shut down two times before. Each time, Interior has delayed trust checks. Each time it has been shown, that retribution, not operational difficulties, were the cause of such delays. The truth is that the U.S. Department of the Interior has been able to issue trust checks without connection to the Internet before, and they must do it again.

• Department of the Interior employees will still get their paychecks. From Secretary Gale Norton on down, no Department of the Interior employee will go without a paycheck. Why should Indian Trust beneficiaries—many of whom are living at near or below the poverty line—be treated differently?

• The judge has specifically prohibited any retribution or other interference with the delivery of trust fund checks. Judge Lamberth, in his decision shutting down Interior’s Internet connection in July 2003, stated that “under no circumstances… shall the Interior defendants exploit or otherwise manipulate these circumstances and conditions to delay unduly the prompt distribution to plaintiffs of their desperately-needed trust funds. This Court will view any such delay as a willful breach of the fiduciary duty that the United States government owes to individual Indian trust beneficiaries.”

• This is the United States government we are talking about. Any suggestion that the most powerful country in the world cannot make good on its fiduciary duty to Individual Indian Trust beneficiaries should be viewed as the sham that it is—a thinly veiled attempt to punish trust beneficiaries and turn public opinion against proper accounting and distribution of trust funds monies. It is Interior’s own fault that its computer systems were disconnected. The department owes trust beneficiaries and their families the guarantee that checks will not be delayed due to Interior’s own inability to adequately secure critical IIM trust fund data.

FROM THE HONOLULU ADVERTISER -

Sunday, April 4, 2004

Native language goes online

By Vicki Viotti - Advertiser Staff Writer

The word is out on Ulukau, an online digital library that's placing Hawaiian vocabulary, and some literature, a click away from the world.

The Bible, two Hawaiian-English dictionaries, a journal of archival Hawaiian texts, a collection of Hawaiian-language newspapers and a book about Kamehameha are posted at Ulukau: The Hawaiian Electronic Library
(http://ulukau.olelo.hawaii.edu/english.php). Its developers say there's more to come.

The dictionaries on the newly launched e-library, which in recent weeks has been getting well more
than 10,000 hits a day, are by far its most popular element, the creators say. The site is posted in mirror-image Hawaiian- and English-language versions: You switch back and forth from a link at the top of every page.

It's the brainchild of two parents: the Native Hawaiian Library, a program of Alu Like Inc.; and the Hale Kuamo'o Center for Hawaiian Language at the University of Hawai'i-Hilo.

And, continuing the family metaphor, it's a cousin of a similar Maori e-library - appropriate, given that Hawaiian and Maori are linguistic kin.

A team at the University of Waikato in New Zealand five years ago developed the free digital program Greenstone, the software that underlies the university's Maori Language Newspaper Project, as well as Ulukau.

Stefan Boddie, one of the team members in New Zealand, remains on call as a consultant for Ulukau. He helps the Hawai'i staffers make their own enhancements work with the base program, which Boddie said is kept very simple so that
less-developed nations can use it on the kind of computer system they have.

"One of the main goals was that it would be free and easy to run on old computers," Boddie said in a telephone interview, adding that digital libraries can be saved on CDs for use in places where the Internet isn't available.

But in Hawai'i, where computers are pretty slick and high-speed Net access is popular, Greenstone can be upgraded with bells and whistles developed to make Ulukau resonate better with the Hawaiian
language.

For example, said Keola Donaghy, technology coordinator at the UH-Hilo language center, an add-on keypad on the page enables users of the online dictionary to tap out Hawaiian diacritical marks - the 'okina and the kahako - regardless of
their own computer gear.

And, he said, the search mechanism will hunt for words that appear as stand-alone entries as well as parts of other words - a boon for those researching compound Hawaiian personal or place names, he said.

"It does an inclusive search," Donaghy said. "Say you were looking for the word ali'i. It could give you that and any word that contains the word ali'i."

Some files are viewable directly through a Web link; others must be downloaded as Adobe Acrobat files that can be opened later. There are images stored online as well, so that the visitor can view the archival (sometimes handwritten)
document as well as the searchable text.

Donaghy is one of those leading the Web site's team locally, along with Robert Stauffer of Alu Like, an organization that provides services to Native Hawaiians. Stauffer heads Alu Like's Legacy project, producing Ka Ho'oilina, a journal
of archival texts in Hawaiian that is one of the publications posted at the e-library.

Because there are Hawaiian and English versions of all library sections, they have been able to tell that roughly half the hits have been people who understand Hawaiian but are doing research or just need a little nudge.

"Besides giving you the definition, it gives you the spelling, with the marks," he said. "They may know the word, but they don't remember where the kahako is."

Ulukau can be used to produce compact discs of the content, but its online edition can be kept up to date, Donaghy said.

"The beauty of doing it online is we can continually add to it and not have to produce new CDs," he said.

Coming in the next few months is a new section that will house academic papers written by current scholars and new titles, including the Hawaiian-language version of "Kamehameha and his Warrior Kekuhaupi'o," already on the site in
English.

The hope is that the e-library can house treasures of Hawaiian literature and new writings in one place, works that otherwise are found in collections scattered throughout the Islands, said Kalena Silva, director of the Hawaiian
language college at UH-Hilo.

The name of the library, Ulukau, derives from "ulu kau," a term in the dictionary referring to supernatural interpretive powers that can be divinely given to a person. The sharing of knowledge through cyberspace has the same sort of ethereal sense, Silva said.

"It really is otherworldly," he said.

"It's miraculous, when we think about it. People just wouldn't have thought this would have been possible, even 10 years ago."

Letters to the Editor
Saturday, April 3, 2004 http://starbulletin.com/2004/04/03/editorial/letters.html

HAWAIIANS DON'T NEED LANGUAGE OF AKAKA BILL!

Congress can clarify its relationship to Hawaiians by recognizing their unique status, which differs from racial minorities.

Supporters of the Akaka-Stevens bill tenaciously push the bill for that reason. They have not mentioned or even examined the language already signed into law by the U.S. Congress through the "No Child Left Behind Act," which included a section on the Native Hawaiian Education Act. This Public Law (107-110) was signed by President Bush on Jan. 8, 2002.

That law already includes the exact language that proponents of the Akaka-Stevens bill say they want and need to secure:

"Title VII, Part B, Sec. 7202. Findings: (12) (B) Congress does not extend services to Native Hawaiians because of their race, but because of their unique status as the indigenous people of a once sovereign nation as to whom the United States has established a trust relationship."

It is limited to those indigenous to Hawaii, excluding non-Hawaiian nationals of the kingdom of Hawaii, who were never legally referred to as "Hawaiians." It is the very same language proponents say they so desperately need in U.S. law.
This tells me that this bill is really about the settlement of claims in exchange for the extinguishment of title rather than for funding of services extended to Hawaiians.

This is the case of dumb and dumber.

David M. K. Inciong II
Pearl City

WHAT HAPPENS TO THOSE ON THE WAITING LISTS FOR DHHL LEASES IF HAWAIIANS BECOME FEDERALLY RECOGNIZED? THEY KEEP WAITING... THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS.

"30,000 people are on the waiting list housing in tribal areas---" Chester Carl, National American Indian Housing Council Chairman and Executive

Meanwhile, reservation residents , face years on waiting lists. About 100,000 Indian families nationwide live in shabby, often overcrowded quarters, some without plumbing or electricity. (The American West)

Alaska...For the last two years the waiting list was at 200 percent of the available units however this year the rate has dropped to 30 percent the Rural Housing Authority attributed this drop to residents moving away due to lack of jobs

Tribal members interested in applying for this homeownership program need to be aware and cautioned that the Housing Authority does have an extensive waiting list of more than 4,200 for homeownership,” said Ron Qualls, executive director, HACN. (Housing Authority of the Cherokee Nation)

Paiute Housing Authority---Currently there are over 300 applicant families on the waiting list in desperate need of housing. There are many who have become discouraged after being on the list for years who have not renewed their applications. In southwestern Utah there is a desperate need for new homes to accommodate a very long waiting list of Native American families

I have a waiting list with 1,000 people on it,” Victor Velasquez (White Mountain Apache Housing Authority) says. “It doesn’t take a math genius to figure out that if you just depend on NAHASDA money you're never going to get your people housed."

These are not isolated examples, they are the norm....federal wardship is not the cure for long waiting lists as some might like people to believe. .

A VOICE OF HAWAIIAN INDEPENDENCE SPEAKS -

"The independence people haven't figured everything out, but the same can be said of those who advocate nation within a nation and so forth. In response to comments one thing I can say is that I believe it is ok for Hawaiians to dream big - Americans at some point in their history dreamed big and look what happened, the settlers broke away from England and formed their own nation. Why should Hawaiians have limited dreams?

There is such thing as a the "American dream" why not the "Hawaiian dream". My father, was an advocate of Hawaiian Independence. His beliefs were the same as Queen Lili'uokalani's. He believed that America would someday correct what they had done wrong. They took Hawaii; they should return Hawaii. For him it was that simple. Can cite all you want about all the different pieces of legislation that have come forth since 1893 but when you think about it, all that matters is what was stolen. An entire country - how can America be so arrogant so as to think they could just get away with what amounts to 19th century piracy?

Let me also add that how can we afford to not support independence? If you look at all the different pieces of legislation that have come forth since 1893, all have done little or nothing to forward the progress of Native Hawaiians. Moreover, it is my understanding that many of programs were never really made so that Hawaiians can succeed but made with the hope we would perish within the next generation or so - systematic government-supported methods of doing away with Hawaiians.

Just look at the statistics - prison, health, education - take your pick. No matter what kind of statistics, you will find that we are usually at the bottom of the socio-economic demographics and at the top of all the "social-ills" demographics: Highest percentage of homeless, high school dropouts, aids cases. This is all happening within current American framework of society. Obviously I don't know history as well as [oghers,] but I do know what it is to be a Hawaiian struggling with and in today's American society.

It's not that easy to be one Hawaiian attempting to be one practicing Hawaiian - know what I mean, right? So when I think about independence I think about all the possibilities, not the hardships. I don't know about [others], but I going continue to keep my dreams alive and the dreams of my kupuna.