Aloha. I am honored to join you this afternoon to kick off the third annual Native Hawaiian conference. La'ahia ka Nana o na 'oiwi - Empowerment for the Future, is a theme that we need to actively pursue. For it is an aspiration and not yet an accurate reflection of circumstances. Our mission is to work to empower our future, to provide more opportunity for our keiki, our mo'opuna, our opio. There are many ways we can do this, some of them big and some of them small.
By attending this year's conference, you are already taking a big step towards empowerment for the future. This CNHA conference provides us with something very special – the opportunity to be together. While many of us know each other in various professional roles or social settings, how often is it that we can all just get together to share our mana'o, to catch up with one another, or to just listen to each other speak? We must make the most of the next four days as so many people share their mana'o, their programs, their efforts, and their lessons learned.
This week also provides us with so many resources right at our fingertips. From the booths outside, to the presentations during the plenary session and the workshop presentations, there is a wealth of information to be shared. Empowerment means taking it one step further, however. It is not enough for us to sit, listen, and learn. We must put our thoughts into action in order to achieve our goals. It is using the skills you have and learned through action that we empower our future.
I challenge each of you to take action, to take the extra step. Talk to each other with the intent of working together to make your goals a reality. Utilize your talents and expertise together to demonstrate our unity in wanting to provide a better future for our children.
I continue my efforts to empower our future by providing increased opportunities for Native Hawaiian self-governance and self-determination within the federal context. I will spend the next few minutes talking about S. 344, the legislation which is known as the "Akaka bill." I will also discuss federal recognition and what it means for us and explain why it is important for our future.
There has been a lot of confusion and misinformation about S. 344. I take responsibility for the fact that we, the Congressional delegation, have not been as aggressive as I would have liked in advising the Native Hawaiian community of developments in our efforts to enact the legislation. Whenever possible, I have posted information on my Web site and worked with the media to share the information. We have also benefitted from outreach efforts undertaken by CNHA, the Hawaiian Civic Clubs, SCHAA, and OHA, to name a few organizations, to inform communities across Hawaii and the nation.
When I first started drafting this legislation in 1999, we had a very open process with working groups which resulted in over 100 people contributing to the legislation. Once the legislation was drafted, we began serious negotiations to get it enacted. This included establishing new relationships with officials in the Executive Branch following the 2000 Presidential election as well as discussing the bill with the few colleagues who had expressed concern with the bill.
We are at the stage in the process where the rubber meets the road. We need to do everything practicable to pass the bill while preserving its intent and purpose. Sometimes we can share this information as it happens and sometimes we cannot. I assure you that if we were ever to reach the stage where I felt that legislative victory would compromise the intent and purpose of the legislation, I would pull the bill.
Contrary to what those who fear change are saying about the May 5 version of S. 344, it does not compromise the rights of Native Hawaiians and is not a global settlement. The May 5 version reflects our successful, I repeat, our successful, discussions with officials in the Department of the Interior to address concerns raised with the implementation of the legislation. The version that resulted is a tighter, more concise bill, that provides the direction necessary to ensure that all parties understand the purpose and intent of the legislation.
The May 5 version makes two big changes. The first change is the establishment of the Certification Commission. We re-inserted the certification commission, which is charged with ensuring that those individuals who sign up to be on the roll meet the eligibility requirements, in order to ensure that Native Hawaiians would make these eligibility determinations. As many of you may remember, the certification commission was in the bill that was considered by the 106th Congress. Members of the commission must be Native Hawaiian, have expertise in lineal descendancy, and will be appointed by the Secretary of the Interior. Some of you have expressed concern about the Secretary appointing the commission members. We believed this is a fair and expeditious way to establish commission membership in a nonpartisan manner.
We inserted the commission in the bill to ensure that Native Hawaiians verified the roll. It had been suggested to me that perhaps the Governor or the Hawaii State Legislature should verify the roll. I did not view these suggestions as consistent with the principles of self-governance and self-determination so I reviewed past versions of the bill and determined it appropriate to re-insert the commission in an effort to ensure that Native Hawaiians remained in control of the roll.
The second change in the legislation is the 20-year statute of limitations on claims. I inserted this provision to PROTECT any claims that may be out there. There was a strong desire by some individuals to have us abrogate, or waive, all claims in this bill. From the time I authored the Apology Resolution, I have always stated that my legislation was not intended serve as a settlement of claims. I firmly believe that we will address claims in the future as another step in the process of reconciliation. This bill, however, is not and will not be an instrument for the settlement of claims.
We worded the statute of limitation narrowly so that it applies only to claims in existence on the date of enactment which can be asserted by the Native Hawaiian governing entity on behalf of the Native Hawaiian people and relates to the legal and political relationship between Native Hawaiians and the United States. The claim must meet all three criteria in order for the 20 year bar to apply. If the claim does not meet the criteria, it is not barred.
Again, I inserted this provision, which gives 20 years for a claim to be filed, to protect any claims that may still may be there. This is not an effort to create a global settlement.
Where are we in passing this bill? Last month, we were set to be the first amendment to a larger legislative vehicle, the class action reform bill. Unfortunately, the Majority Leader procedurally blocked all amendments from being filed to the bill. We were told that there was not an objection to our amendment, but to other amendments. However, no amendments were allowed, thereby thwarting our opportunity for a full debate and roll call vote on the bill. We continue to seek floor time for the legislation. We continue to look at must-pass legislative vehicles to which we can add our bill. I remain committed to enacting this legislation.
I want to address the comments made those who believe federal recognition is appropriate, but want to modify the legislation to change one or two provisions. I say this to you – we have modified this legislation for close to five years. The time has come for us to pass the bill. We can always amend a statute. We cannot, however, amend something that isn't there to amend. We need to finish what we have started. Therefore I ask all of you to work with me to support our efforts to empower our people by providing increased self-governance and self-determination within the federal context by enacting this bill.
What does increased self-governance and self-determination within the federal context mean? It means Native Hawaiians, through their native government, will have a seat at the table to discuss issues of importance with the Federal and State governments. Why does this matter? This matters because until now, our fight has been to get to the table. Federal recognition puts us there. It means we must be consulted. It means we actively participate at the policy stage rather than the protest stage.
It means we have more control, again, through our native government, over how to utilize our resources. We can utilize federal resources in a manner that befits our cultural needs and traditions. Up until now, we have had to work with existing programs and make them "fit" Native Hawaiian needs. The native government can utilize its resources to address Native Hawaiian education and health needs in a manner that best suits the community. Ideally, we will have more autonomy over our vast resources which may include money, natural resources, and cultural resources.
All of this, however, will depend on what you, as Native Hawaiians, decide when reorganizing the Native Hawaiian government. It will depend on who you decide to elect as your governing officials.
Are you giving up any rights by participating in this native government? My answer is no. Those who argue about the guardian/ward relationship argue from the standpoint that we are not fully integrated. Hawaii is already fully integrated as a state. As long as Hawaii is a state, the United States should fulfill its responsibility to Hawaii's indigenous peoples. We're not even getting the bare minimum – which is a federally recognized government-to-government relationship. Those who advocate at the international level will not, I repeat, will not, be affected by what we do at the federal level.
I want to conclude by talking about why this is important to me. I believe this legislation provides a big step forward for Hawaii's citizens because it establishes the structure for Native Hawaiians and non-Native Hawaiians to discuss longstanding issues resulting from the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii.
We have avoided this discussion for far too long because no one has known how to address or deal with the emotions that are involved when these matters are discussed. There has been no structured process. Instead, there has been fear as to what the discussion would entail, causing people to avoid the core issues. Such behavior has led to high levels of anger and frustration as well as misunderstanding between Native Hawaiians and non-Native Hawaiians.
As a young child, I was discouraged from speaking Hawaiian because I was told that I needed to succeed in the Western world. My parents, that I loved very much, witnessed the overthrow and lived during a time when all things Hawaiian, including language, which they both spoke fluently, hula, custom, and tradition, were viewed as negative. I, therefore, was discouraged from speaking the language and practicing Hawaiian customs and tradition. My experience mirrors that of my generation of Hawaiians.
My generation learned to accept what was ingrained into us by our parents, and while we were concerned about the longstanding issues resulting from the overthrow dealing with political status and lands, we were told not to "make waves" by addressing these matters. My children, however, have had the advantage of growing up during the Hawaiian renaissance. My grandchildren, benefitting from this revival, can speak Hawaiian and know so much about our history. It is this generation, however, that is growing impatient with the lack of progress in efforts to resolve longstanding issues. It is this generation that does not understand why we have not discussed these matters. It is this generation that cannot believe that we, as Native Hawaiians, have let the situation continue for 110 years. It is for this generation that I have written this bill to ensure that there is a structured process to address these issues.
My point is that people in Hawaii, both Native Hawaiians and non-Native Hawaiians, are no longer willing to pretend that the longstanding issues resulting from the overthrow do not exist. We need the structured process that the bill provides, first in reorganizing the Native Hawaiian governing entity, and second by providing that entity with the opportunity to negotiate and resolve all issues with the Federal and State governments to alleviate the growing mistrust, misunderstanding, anger, and frustration about these matters in Hawaii. I believe the appropriate avenue to address this, within the federal context, is through a government-to-government relationship. This, my friends, is how we can empower our future.
For those who remain staunchly opposed, it is fine for us to express our differences of opinion. I ask, however, that you not prevent the rest of us from taking advantage of this opportunity to move forward. We empower ourselves by taking small steps forward. Is this the perfect solution? I don't know. What I do know, however, is that we're never going to be able to empower ourselves if we don't move forward.
I repeat my challenge to all of you for this week and beyond. Empower yourselves at this conference. Then take the extra step. Take action. Work together. Let us make our goals a reality, particularly the goal of providing our children with a better future.
I thank all of the members of the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement for your warm hospitality. I thank the CNHA Board for all that it does throughout the year to help empower our people through the sharing of information. CNHA can be seen on any given day accomplishing this mission. I express my gratitude to CNHA's president, Robin Danner, and her staff, particularly Brandi Lau, for organizing this week's conference. You both are wonderful role models for the many young Native Hawaiians who will be our leaders in the future.
I wish you all the best for a productive and wonderful conference experience.
La'ahia ka Nana o na 'oiwi - Empowerment for the Future.
Imua!
A hui hou.
