Opinion | Federal Recognition

Editorial: Time to group after Native Hawaiian recognition bill fails

Monday, January 17, 2011

"Ten years after the race toward federal recognition began, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs leaders look down and find themselves still standing on the starting line — and this following a congressional session in which a win seemed almost a slam-dunk.

Victory was supposed to come in the form of passage of a bill named after U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka, the Hawaii lawmaker who has made federal recognition of native Hawaiians his chief career goal.

Now, OHA trustees are asking the inevitable question, "What now?"

Judging by discussions held in recent weeks since the newly elected board took office, OHA is settling on an answer: Keep pressing ahead, following one path or another, toward Hawaiian sovereign nationhood.

Before examining these strategies, here's an Akaka Bill primer.

Federal recognition means the U.S. government would acknowledge a representative Hawaiian organization — which would be elected independently of OHA — as a political entity. Akaka Bill proponents say this would protect programs that benefit native Hawaiians from constitutional challenges."

Get the Story:
Editorial: Time of regrowth (The Honolulu Star Advertiser 1/16)