KE AUPUNI UPDATE FROM HawaiianNational.com
By Leon Siu - March 22, 2014
Keeping in touch and updated on activities regarding the restoration of Ke Aupuni o Hawai`i, the Hawaiian Kingdom. Ua mau ke ea o ka aina I ka pono.
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Kana'iolowalu Moves into "Nation-Building" -
Two weeks ago, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) called a press conference and made a big public announcement that, following the “success” of Kana`iolowalu (the Native Hawaiian Roll consisting of Native Hawaiians who are US Citizens), OHA is funding/facilitating the next phase: to convene a constitutional convention this Fall to discuss the future form of a Native Hawaiian governing entity. Then, by the end of the year, they intend to have a vote (by those on the Kana`iolowalu list) to choose what form of governance to adopt for a US Citizen/Native Hawaiian nation.
Over the years OHA and the State of Hawai`i agreed to fund several “nation-building” initiatives. The most prominent was the "Akaka Bill" debacle; a 15-year campaign for the US Congress to grant "federal recognition" to Native Hawaiians as an American Indian tribe.
But, before the Akaka Bill, there was the Native Hawaiian Convention (Aha Hawai`i `Ōiwi), the product of years of preparation: electing delegates from each island, extensive community meetings, creating governance models to be considered at a Native Hawaiian constitutional convention, etc.
But when the state realized that there was a strong possibility that Aha Hawai`i `Ōiwi would choose the independence model, the state suddenly yanked the funding, essentially freezing the process in place. Since then, every other OHA/State-funded governance initiative got its plug pulled whenever it arrived at favoring independence.
OHAʻs Neutral Stance on Governance?
OHA also announced at the recent press conference, that during this new nation-building initiative, it was going to be “neutral,” not advocating for any particular outcome like they did for 15 years where they spent around $20 million (in beneficiaries’ money) to push for the now-defunct Akaka Bill.
OHA’s new position of neutrality should be treated with skepticism. As a state agency, OHA is hard-wired to an integration, nation-within-a-nation, American Indian tribe model (such as the Akaka Bill (and now, Kana`iolowalu).
OHA made their "neutrality" announcement two weeks ago. But a week later (last week), OHA chair, Colette Machado; trustee, John D. Waihe`e, IV and OHA attorney, the former Hawai`i State Supreme Court Justice Robert Klein made a secret trip to Washington, DC to talk to the US Department of Interior (DOI), the US Federal agency that oversees the affairs of American Indian Tribes. Also present were: John D. Waihe’e III (the former governor and current chair of the Native Hawaiian Roll Commission); OHA Washington lobbyist Dennis Dwyer and other prominent state players.
What were they doing at the DOI? Apparently, to make another attempt to strike a back-door deal for (US) "federal recognition" as an Indian tribe.
Maybe they thought that by getting federal recognition right now, they could circumvent their own “Native Hawaiian Constitutional Convention” that they just announced the week before!
A few days later, at a so-called “governance” conference in Honolulu, when confronted about the secret meeting with the DOI (even other OHA trustees did not know about it), chair Collette Machado admitted and repented that they had made the trip.
So much for OHA’s profession of "neutrality"! Old habits are hard to break.
Hawaiian Nationals Resolution -
Good News! On Wednesday, March 19 the Hawaiian Nationals Resolution (House Resoulution 178) passed the first committee hearing unanimously. Even though one word is a little awkward, itʻs something we can live with because the rest of the resolutionʻs text comprise a solid declaration of the sovereign status of nationals and that of the Hawaiian Kingdom.
HR 178 (and its companion HCR 226) now go to the House Finance Committee for another hearing. Perhaps there, we can amend the resolution to the exact wording that would suit us best. But either way, should the legislature pass this resolution, it will have a dramatic effect on protecting Hawaiian Nationals from discrimination and cause the state to respect our Hawaiian Kingdom nationality as legitimate.
Diplomatic Progress -
At the UN in Geneva, Switzerland -
Two weeks ago, I was a panelist on two side events ("Self-Determination and Decolonization" and "Human Rights and Impunity") at the 25th Session of the Human Rights Council. It went very well and stimulated follow-up meetings and discussions about partnering with several other unrepresented nations seeking liberation from occupation and colonization.
While there, I also participated in challenging the US Periodic Report to the 110th Session of the Human Rights Committee. We continued to press the US delegation to account for how the Hawaiian Islands came to be a domestic "state" of the U.S. in 1959. Thatʻs always a tough one. We also continue to request various UN human rights bodies to look in to the matter.
At the UN in New York -
In New York, we had a significant breakthrough for our newly formed advocacy/mutual support group, the Decolonization Alliance. The main purpose of the alliance is to encourage the UN General Assembly to pick up the pace in helping to liberate captive nations by actively pursuing reform and re-activation of the UN decolonization process. Those involved are nations pursuing independence, such as Hawaii, West Papua, Rapa Nui, Alaska, and original nations of Turtle Island, South America, Australia and so forth (the list is growing).
We are gearing up for a launch of the alliance at an event in conjunction with a major UN conference in May.
