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Derek Kauanoe’s recent Community Voice, “Law Recognizes Native Hawaiians as Indigenous People With Special Rights,” addresses my Community Voice article, “Silent Majority of Hawaiians Gain Voice.” While I agree with much that Mr. Kauanoe says, I need to correct his interpretation of some statements in my article.

At the outset, I clearly do not dispute the fact that the law provides special benefits or what some may call rights for individuals with Hawaiian blood. Everyone does not agree that this should be the case, but it is important to recognize that it is the case. In fact, I would add to Mr. Kauanoe’s examples the two most important resources for Hawaiian beneficiaries, the Hawaiian Homelands and a portion of the value of the Ceded Lands.

While the administration of these resources throughout most the 20th Century did not optimally serve the beneficiaries, they are secured by several important pieces of legislation, particularly the Hawaiian Statehood Act of 1959. Although there is debate over whether any special resources should ever be accorded to individuals on the basis of race, the fact is that Hawaii’s admission to the United States required the state to guarantee that special resources would be used to serve those with Hawaiian blood.

Moreover, the Statehood Act is an affirmative and substantive response to the question of whether the United States has ever made reparations to descendants of Hawaii’s indigenous people. Again, this does not address the question of whether such reparations should be made, nor does it address the question of what may be due to non-ethnic Hawaiian descendants of the Kingdom, but it does establish a class of beneficiaries.

To eliminate or reduce the rights and benefits of Native Hawaiians pertaining to the Hawaiian Homelands and Ceded Lands trust would require the agreement of both the Hawaii Legislature and the U.S. Congress in an unprecedented effort to alter the Admission Act, the State Constitution and the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act. In fact, these Native Hawaiian rights and benefits are so secure that there is simply no need for federal recognition or any other form of state-sponsored sovereignty. Despite this, some are trying to frighten Native Hawaiians into taking political action with the illusion that their rights and benefits are at stake.

Mr. Kauanoe refers to my quotation from the preamble of the 1840 Hawaiian Constitution and explains that it cannot be used as a legal basis for denying any rights or privileges to those of Native Hawaiian blood. Again, I agree with him and did not use that document as he asserts.

To eliminate or reduce the rights and benefits of Native Hawaiians pertaining to the Hawaiian Homelands and Ceded Lands trust would require unprecedented agreement and action of both the Hawaii Legislature and the U.S. Congress.

I wrote: “The silent majority of Native Hawaiians practice inclusiveness as part of the Aloha Spirit. We seek to live by the words of the 1840 Constitution of the Hawaiian Kingdom that welcomes all, stating: ‘God hath made of one blood (koko) all nations of men to dwell on the earth in unity and blessedness.’” My statement is not intended as a legal argument to deny Hawaiian rights, but an expression of an important cultural fact and an important historical fact embodied in the words of King Kamehameha III as quoted from the Hawaiian Bible (Acts 17:26).

The cultural fact is that Hawaiians are traditionally inclusive people, welcoming individuals regardless of race into our families and society. The practice of hanai or adoption is an example of this. The historical fact is that from the beginning of the Kingdom of Hawaii, under Kamehameha I through the rule of Hawaii’s last monarch, Lili’uokalani, citizenship in the kingdom was never confined to one race.

It is for these reasons that I described the actions of our state government agencies OHA and the Native Hawaiian Roll Commission, to establish a race-based election to create a race-based nation, as “blatantly non-Hawaiian.” I also stated in my original piece that, “Hawaiian citizenship, even before we were part of the United States, was never based upon race.”

I thank Derek Kaunoe for the opportunity to interact with him on this important issue and to parse out some of the subtleties that will require further consideration by reflective individuals. Many voices should participate in the future direction of our shared Hawaii, and I believe that none should be excluded. E hana kākou
… let’s work together!