Native Issues

December 2008

Amicus Brief

for Supreme Court case Hawaii vs. OHA

This case deals with the gravest threat to the State of Hawaii in its history. GRIH believes the January 31, 2008 decision of the Hawaii Supreme Court, the 1993 Apology Resolution on which it is based, and the Akaka Bill which it would enable, have brought the State of Hawaii to the brink of self-destruction. On March 7, 2008 GRIH advised the Honorable Linda Lingle of its concerns and asked her as Governor to take appropriate action on behalf of all the people of Hawaii. GRIH's concerns were that the State Attorney General had not contested the misstatements of history in the Apology Resolution; and did not raise the constitutional and trust law defenses to the Office of Hawaiian Affair's ("OHA's"). (www.aloha4all.org/news.aspx.) (more)

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Native Issues

November 2008

Sunshine on the Akaka Bill

Grassroot Institute of Hawaii has three major goals with regard to the so-called Akaka Bill: to educate the Hawaii public with regard to the Akaka bill, to educate the US public and their elected representatives and to demand a vote of all the people of Hawaii before any establishment of a separate government in Hawaii could be put into effect. (more)

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Native Issues

September 2008

What Comes After Akaka Bill Passage?

A Preview from Senator Inouye

By Tom MacDonald

Over the past several years there has been a fair amount of theorizing about what will follow if The Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act of 2007, otherwise known as the Akaka Bill (S. 310 / H.R. 505), passes Congress and is signed into law. The bill has now passed in the U.S. House and is only a few votes short of the 60 votes needed to break a U.S. Senate filibuster. (more)

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Native Issues

August 2008

Good News

Native Hawaiians Prosper

By Harry Messenheimer, Ph.D

This paper examines the effects of demographics and earning power of those identifying themselves as Native Hawaiian. It finds that Native Hawaiians are as prosperous as everyone else, despite claims to the contrary from some in our community. A "Native" as used herein is someone who has self-identified as being "Native Hawaiian," either alone or in combination with another race or races, in response to the Census survey. A "non-Native" is someone who has not so self-identified. (more)

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Native Issues

July 2008

A Divided Aloha State

The Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act of 2007 (The Akaka Bill)

By Tom McAuliffe

The Akaka Bill (S. 310 / H.R. 505) sponsors the creation of a race-based Native Hawaiian Governing Entity (NHGE) for persons with possibly as little as one drop of Native Hawaiian blood. Because the bill provides few specifics, the NHGE would have broad unlimited power. The NHGE would be permitted to negotiate with the federal government to settle claims based in part on the federal 'Apology Resolution' which relates to the 1893 revolution in the Hawaiian Kingdom that ultimately led to statehood in 1959. The bill's supporters have conceded that ultimately, secession and independence are possibilities. (more)

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Native Issues

March 2008

A Race to Racism? Ascribe it to Tribe

By Paul M. Sullivan

Hawai‘i is justly admired as an integrated, racially blended, multi-cultural society. Some would call it a model for the rest of the country, and perhaps for the world. The qualities of respect for others and open-hearted kindness, without regard to race or origin or station in life, are common traits among all of Hawai‘i’s people and are part of that many-dimensioned concept, “aloha.” But some people in Hawai‘i find no comfort in integration and equality. For several years, a counter-current promoting special privileges for persons of Hawaiian ancestry (one-fifth or more of the state’s population) has achieved considerable success. Recently it has expanded into a movement for “Hawaiian sovereignty,” a confused concept which can mean anything from the defense of current race-based Hawaiian entitlement programs to outright secession of all or part of the State of Hawai‘i as an independent Hawaiian nation. (more)

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