(c) Copyright 2017-2018
Kenneth R. Conklin, Ph.D.
All rights reserved
On this page is the history of efforts to create a Hawaiian tribe during the 115th Congress (January 2017 through December 2018), including efforts to create a state-recognized tribe and efforts to get federal recognition through administrative rule changes, executive order, or Congressional legislation.
The history includes a collection of all significant news reports, editorials, commentaries, letters to editor, cartoons, excerpts from bills in the Hawaii state legislature or the U.S. Congress, etc.
The index for the entire 2 years of the 115th Congress (January 2017 through December 2018) is shown below, in chronological order, subdivided into several time periods as events unfold. Full text of each news report, commentary, etc. is provided on the subpage for the appropriate time period.
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Summary of the history of the Akaka bill from 2000 through 2016, including efforts to create a state-recognized Hawaiian tribe and efforts to get federal recognition through administrative rule changes, executive order, Congressional legislation, or stealth maneuvers by Senator Inouye. Links to detailed history for each 2-year period of time for 106th, 107th, 108th, 109th, 110th, 111th, 112th, 113th, and 114th Congresses, including full text of all versions of the Akaka bill, news reports, commentaries, U.S. Senate floor debates and votes, etc.:
https://big11a.angelfire.com/AkakaHistSummary2000to2016.html
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INDEX OF NEWS REPORTS AND COMMENTARIES FROM JANUARY 1, 2017 THROUGH MAY 31, 2017. How newly elected trustee Kelii Akina is affecting OHA's work, especially financial accountability. Speculation about how new Supreme Court Justice Gorsuch might affect Court decisions related to tribal sovereignty. Published debate in Kaua'i newspaper between law professor Williamson Chang vs. Ken Conklin about whether there is a Treaty of Annexation. Hawaii Supreme Court publicly censures independence activist attorney for stating that the chief judge of the Third Circuit is guilty of war crimes for enforcing foreclosure of home owned by a Native Hawaiian client of Keanu Sai. Text and testimony on bills in the Hawaii legislature of 2017 related to Hawaiian sovereignty and racial entitlements, including refusal to endorse federal recognition of Hawaiian tribe through Dept of Interior rule-making; refusal to re-impose racial restriction on who can run for OHA trustee (ruled unconstitutional in year 2000); and approval of reduction in blood quantum required to inherit a Hawaiian homelands lease to 1/32 (Congress must consent before this change can take effect). OHA gearing up for financial audit which will expose illegal and unethical concealment of income, expenditures, and non-bid procurement.
FULL TEXT OF EACH ITEM FROM JANUARY 1, 2017 THROUGH MAY 31, 2017 IS COPIED ON THE FOLLOWING SUBPAGE:
https://big11a.angelfire.com/AkakaHist115thCongJanThruMay2017.html
January 2, 2017: Obama white House news release and 40-page booklet: 2016 White House tribal nations conference progress report. Excerpts relevant to Hawaii and URL for pdf.
Jan 3: Indian Country online newspaper commentary says Trump will abolish federal Indian policy that recognizes tribes as political entities rather than mere racial groups; special attention to Alaska natives and ethnic Hawaiians.
Jan 4:
(1) One hour and 42 minute video of State of Hawaii Office of Hawaiian Affairs meeting on January 3 in which OHA CEO Kamana'o Crabbe was fired at a cost of buying out his contract that was approved shortly before the November election for 3 years at cost of $450,000. Key highlights of video are listed with time when each happened.
(2) Honolulu Civil Beat online newspaper reports on the OHA board meeting and the two lawsuits against OHA by OHA board members.
(3) Honolulu Star-Advertiser commentary by OHA trustee Peter Apo defends federal recognition of a Hawaiian tribe, and OHA policy of hiring service-provider contractors, as best way to ensure self-determination and to be free from government intrusiveness.
(4) Keli'i Akina news release: Hawaii Ethics Commission says no conflict with Akina being both the head of Grassroot Institute and also OHA trustee, and no conflict with Akina being lead plaintiff in lawsuit against OHA to block Na'i Aupuni election.
Jan 5: Multiple newspapers publish Associated Press article describing how OHA trustee Akina foiled the Na'i Aupuni election.
Jan 6: OHA trustees approve trying to fire OHA CEO Kamana'opono Crabbe, who had been given a new 3-year contract shortly before the election including $450,000 in salary. Crabbe threatens to sue.
Jan 12: Columnist in Kona newspaper describes OHA trustee Keli'i Akina as hero for working to bring all people of Hawaii together regardless of race.
Jan 14: C-SPAN will broadcast on January 17 the hearing by the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee regarding confirmation of President-elect Trump's nomination of Ryan Zinke to become Secretary of the Department of Interior. Ken Conklin writes to the committee, and to the Trump transition sub-team for Department of Interior, asking them to ask Zinke to oppose the DOI final rule 43CFR50 to authorize federal recognition of a Hawaiian tribe and also asking them to repeal that rule by using the Congressional Review Act.
Jan 16 (Martin Luther King Day holiday): OHA trustee Keli'i Akina message recalls MLK speech to Hawaii legislature upon Statehood in 1959, which praised Hawaii for racial harmony and justice. Akina says "Today, there is a growing stereotype of Native Hawaiians as a monolithic group that opposes all that is American and asserts exclusive rights against the majority of others who have made Hawaii their home. This stereotype is clearly not the true picture."
Jan 17: U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a hearing regarding confirmation of President-elect Trump's nomination of Ryan Zinke to become Secretary of the Department of Interior. The committee webpage provides a video of the entire hearing.
Jan 22: The Garden Island [Kaua'i daily newspaper] major article "124 years after overthrow, Hawaiians continue sovereignty push" See related dialog between Williamson Chang and Ken Conklin regarding the Treaty of Annexation, in the same newspaper, between January 8-16, which might have prompted this January 22 overview.
February 9, 2017: Settlement [of lawsuit] Protects Religious Rights For [ethnic] Hawaiian Prisoners
Feb 11: Ongoing compilation of bills in the Hawaii state legislature related to Hawaiian sovereignty, including links to text of each bill, progress of the bill through various committee hearings, and testimony by Ken Conklin and others.
Feb 23: Judicial Watch online news report "The Attempt to Create an Unconstitutional 'Native Hawaiian Government'" concludes that the Interior Department Final Rule to authorize creation of a Hawaiian tribe should be repealed now through use of the Congressional Review Act.
Feb 25: Hawaii Free Press reports on what happened with a bill in the state legislature that would have promised state recognition of the Hawaiian tribe which the federal Department of Interior regulation was written to help create. The bill was rejected by its committee after massive outpouring of testimony in opposition.
March 1: OHA monthly newspaper describes 2007 United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and how it [allegedly] applies to ethnic Hawaiians at the state and federal levels.
March 2, 2017: Policy director for Grassroot Institute, Malia Hill, says Trump should rescind the final rule 43CFR50 for creating a Hawaiian tribe, both because it is unconstitutional and because Trump wants to reduce the size of government and and undo numerous Obama regulations. Conklin online comment points out that the best way to rescind 43CFR50 is to use the Congressional Review Act.
March 9: Hans von Spakovsky, in "The National Review", discusses a federal court ruling that prohibits Guam from holding a vote that could lead to independence for Guam, where the vote would be racially restricted to the 36% of Guam's population who are descended from native Chamorros. The ruling is based not only on the 15th Amendment, as was the Rice v. Cayetano decision in Hawaii 17 years ago; it is also based on the 14th Amendment equal protection clause.
March 13: Michael Barone, of the American Enterprise Institute, discusses the Guam decision, noting both Republican and Democrat leaders publicly support race-based voting just as in Hawaii both Republican and Democrat leaders supported the Akaka bill.
March 14: Letter to editor says Trump should cancel Hawaii statehood, return Hawaii to status of independent nation, and pay massive reparations.
March 15: Hans von Spakovsky, in "The Conservative Review", says "... watching the attorney general of Hawaii, Doug Chin, condemn President Donald Trump's revised immigration order as 'blatantly discriminatory' was quite ironic, given that Hawaii is the home of a state government that constantly engages in blatant racial and ethnic discrimination ... and its division of Hawaiian residents into two separate classes, one of which is given special privileges not available to anyone else." [referring to Hawaii's large number of racial entitlement programs]
March 28: Article in "Indian Country Today" says Indian tribes support Gorsuch for Supreme Court, contrary to their usual Democrat allies, because Gorsuch has record of ruling in favor of tribes on sovereignty issues.
No activity during April.
May 7: Hawaii Supreme Court unanimously issues "Order of Public Censure" against Dexter Kaiama, who is attorney for Keanu Sai, because of Kaiama's accusation against the chief judge of the Third Circuit that the judge is guilty of war crimes under international law. Full text of the Order of Public Censure."
May 10: OHA Gets An F Grade For Telling You How It Spends Your Money (according to Federation of state Public Interest Research Groups)
May 11: Blogger Ian Lind explains "Here's Why Hawaii Judges Are Not 'War Criminals'" Lind says "The Hawaii Supreme Court has administered a mild but still meaningful rebuke to a prominent proponent of the thesis, now in vogue among certain parts of the Hawaiian sovereignty movement, that the Hawaiian Kingdom was never legally made part of the United States and therefore continues to exist as an independent nation. It came in the form of a public reprimand of a lawyer for accusing a state judge of committing war crimes.
May 12: Independence activist publishes article
When It Comes To Native Hawaiian Affairs, Authoritarianism Is In Vogue
OHA trustees, the 'aha and the Democratic Party have all cracked down on opponents of the federal recognition approach to nation-building.
May 27:
(1) University of Hawaii Professor of trust law testifies that OHA is engaged in illegal and immoral actions by concealing income, expenditures, and procurement by using wholly-owned limited liability corporations;
(2) Letter to editor illustrates irrationality and incoherence of Hawaiian sovereignty activists and the newspapers which routinely give them a platform.
FULL TEXT OF EACH ITEM FROM JANUARY 1, 2017 THROUGH MAY 31, 2017 IS COPIED ON THE FOLLOWING SUBPAGE:
https://big11a.angelfire.com/AkakaHist115thCongJanThruMay2017.html
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INDEX OF NEWS REPORTS AND COMMENTARIES FROM JUNE 1 THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2017
Chairman Rob Bishop of the U.S. House committee that has jurisdiction over Indian tribe legislation continues raising questions about tribal sovereignty and federal Indian policy. Trump administration won't object if the legislative branch, rather than the executive, decides whether a particular group is worthy of a government-to-government relationship with the United States. American Bar Association magazine publishes skewed history of overthrow, annexation, and current legal issues in creating Hawaiian tribe.
FULL TEXT OF EACH ITEM FROM JUNE 1 THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2017 IS COPIED ON THE FOLLOWING SUBPAGE:
https://big11a.angelfire.com/AkakaHist115thCongJun2017.html
June 1, 2017: OHA trustee Keli'i Akina monthly column in OHA newspaper tells OHA to improve transparency and accountability; focus on bread-and-butter issues and not nation-building; and be more careful about spending money.
June 7: Chairman Rob Bishop of the U.S. House committee that has jurisdiction over Indian tribe legislation continues raising questions about tribal sovereignty and federal Indian policy concerning taking land into trust for tribes not recognized before 1934 (Supreme Court ruled in "Carcieri" that the Department of Interior cannot do that). Tribal leaders are worried.
June 11:
(1) Indian Country Today "Kawahinekoa Aiwohi speaks on the difficult history of Native Hawaiians"
(2) Several public college campuses have ahu [so-called altars, but actually rockpiles] recently built and flying Hawaiian flags upside down in protest against "124 years of genocide continuing on the Hawaiian community."
June 13: The bill in Congress to reauthorize housing money for Indian tribes leaves out "Native Hawaiians" for the first time; Hawaii Sens and Reps protest, claiming discrimination [WOW!]
June 18: Ken Conklin, letter to editor in Hilo newspaper says sovereignty rockpiles on college campuses are 3-dimensional graffiti and should be removed.
June 21: Article in "Indian Country Today" compares tribes against mere ethnic minorities (no ethnic government and no right to organized ethnic self-determination) and asks whether the U.S. might be on the brink of entering a new period of tribal "termination."
July 1, 2017: Peter Apo, regular trustee editorial in OHA monthly newspaper, says OHA should step away from nation-building efforts and focus on core mission identified in Statehood Act of 1959 and state Constitutional amendment that created OHA in 1978, to work for "betterment of conditions of Native Hawaiians."
July 25: Trump Department of Interior is cutting money for tribes to consolidate lands and will make it more difficult for land to transfer into trust and reversed some Obama-era changes by widening the window for local and state governments to appeal transfers, from 30 days to six years. ... Policy shift somewhat resembles the era of tribal termination.
July 26: Commentary on U.S. House subcommittee hearing of July 13 regarding Bureau of Indian Affairs procedures for taking land into trust for tribes, rights of localities to object, and whether federal government is illegitimately creating new tribes (Carcieri issue).
August 17: Description of major Native Hawaiian trust funds with huge holdings of land and money [which could become the core of a tribal "nation"].
Aug 20:
(1) President of Tax Foundation of Hawaii think tank describes resistance from State of Hawaii Department of Hawaiian Homelands against forking over 5% of its "special funds" as an administrative fee the way all government agencies must do;
(2) A gang of Hawaiian secessionists stages a rally at the statue of President William McKinley demanding the removal of the statue from grounds of McKinley High School (imitating demands for removal of Confederate statues in the South).
Aug 28: Memo to Ryan Zinke, Secretary of U.S. Department of Interior, asking him to repeal 43CFR50 -- Procedures for reestablishing a formal government-to-government relationship with the Native Hawaiian community. This is in response to Secretary Zinke's request for comments to help identify federal regulations to be rescinded or modified as part of President Trump effort to streamline government and make America great again.
September 1, 2017: OHA trustee Rowena Akana calls for unity to ratify proposed constitution for Hawaiian tribe, and recalls previous demonstration of unity in 2003 march protesting federal court decision to force Kamehameha School to enroll a Caucasian student
Sept 13: Pushers of congressional bill to give federal recognition to six Virginia tribes are using similar strategies to what was done with the Akaka bill during 2000-2012, such as bundling the bill with other bills, and including language to ease jurisdictional conflicts and to prohibit the tribes from having gambling casinos.
Sept 15: Very humorous 2-minute video provides the usual twisted history supporting the leftwing assertion that the U.S. stole Hawaii from the natives.
Sept 18: OHA gives $1.5 Mil to Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, supposedly to support (ethnic) Hawaiian focused charter schools. But CNHA has no experience in education; and CNHA's primary mission is to support creation of a Hawaiian tribe.
Sept 21: Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah), the chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, introduced H.R. 3744, the Tribal Recognition Act last week. While the bill establishes standards for the Bureau of Indian Affairs to research petitions submitted by tribes seeking recognition, it bars the executive branch from making decisions on those petitions. "The Secretary may not grant federal acknowledgment (or reacknowledgment) to any Indian group," the bill states, referring to the Secretary of the Interior.
Sept 26: Trump administration won't object if the legislative branch, rather than the executive, decides whether a particular group is worthy of a government-to-government relationship with the United States.
Sept 29: The federal government on Friday sued the government of Guam and the Chamorro Land Trust Commission, stating the Chamorro Land Trust Act violates the federal Fair Housing Act. The lawsuit states Guam has compared the Chamorro Land Trust to the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, which created homesteads for eligible native Hawaiians. But the Hawaii program was created by an act of Congress, the lawsuit states, to provide benefits to a native community.
But the Chamorro Land Trust Act was neither enacted by Congress nor implemented pursuant to authority established by Congress, the lawsuit states.
October 7-8, 2017: "Turtle Talk" publicizes Linda Zhang article in Asian Pacific American Law Journal entitled "Re-Building a Native Hawaiian Nation: Base Rolls, Membership, and Land in an Effective Self-Determination Movement." Ken Conklin replies in letter to editor.
Oct 9: Retired Senator Dan Akaka, in newly published memoir, says that he considers the 1993 Apology Bill, in which the U.S. apologized for the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy, as one of his greatest pieces of legislation. And even though his so-called Akaka Bill, giving Native Hawaiians federal recognition, never passed, the former senator says the Native Hawaiian Roll Commission is now the best path forward. "We really need to legally get on the laws of the United States," said Akaka.
Oct 25: Letter to editor urges Trump to proclaim executive order to restore Hawaii as independent nation.
Oct 26: News report says church bells will ring on November 11 to commemorate 100th anniversary of death of Lili'uokalani.
November 2017 issue of Hillsdale College's "Imprimis" has a major article entitled "The Problem of Identity Politics and Its Solution." Although there is no mention of Hawaii, the article clearly explains why supporters of Hawaiian tribalism or Hawaiian independence are nearly all left-wing ideologues, while opponents of Hawaiian sovereignty are nearly all politically conservative supporters of traditional American values.
November issue of the American Bar Association Journal feature article "Ho'o Lahui -- To Form a Nation: Native Hawaiians wage an ongoing battle to organize themselves into a sovereign nation." describing history of overthrow, annexation, Rice v. Cayetano, and attempt to elect delegates to constitutional convention to create a Hawaiian tribe.
November 2017 issue of the American Bar Association Journal feature article "Ho'o Lahui -- To Form a Nation: Native Hawaiians wage an ongoing battle to organize themselves into a sovereign nation." describing history of overthrow, annexation, Rice v. Cayetano, and attempt to elect delegates to constitutional convention to create a Hawaiian tribe.
Nov 5: Washington Post big article: "Native Hawaiians again seek political sovereignty with a new constitution"; Colonization of these Pacific islands -- and eventual statehood nearly 60 years ago -- has always been a bitter subject for Native Hawaiians, the only indigenous group in the United States that does not have political sovereignty.
Nov 19: Honolulu Star-Advertiser puff-piece about Dan Akaka's recently published memoir about his political career and disappointment over failure of the Akaka bill
December 3, 2017: Letter compares race-nationalist Confederate statues with Hawaiian nationalist statues, Lili'uokalani cult, and OHA-sponsored proposed race-based constitution; urges racial equality, unity, aloha.
Dec 5: Ka Lahui Hawaii [radical Hawaiian sovereignty group founded by Mililani Trask and Haunani-Kay Trask] letter to OHA regarding OHA strategic plan to transfer assets to the Hawaiian tribe expected to get federal recognition under U.S. Dept of Interior regulation 43CFR50 proclaimed in Federal Register on October 14, 2016.
Dec 8: Elaine Willman, retired head of Citizens Equal Rights Alliance, open letter to Russell Begaye, President of Navajo Nation, regarding his claims on CNN that "For Native Americans this (America) is our land. Every inch of it, every mountain, every stream, every water that is out there is ours. It's Native American country ... America is Indian Country, and so every non-Indian out there is a guest of Native Americans in this country' and that's how they should act, so if you're a guest in our country that's how you should act." The issues Ms. Willman addresses in this message are clearly relevant to claims that Native Hawaiians are the rightful owners of all the lands and waters of Hawaii, that non-Native Hawaiians are merely guests in their ancestral homelands, and that the U.S. has no legitimate sovereignty or jurisdiction in Hawaii because there was (allegedly) no Treaty of Annexation. Hawaiian sovereignty activists have been inspired by, and are following the lead of, American Indians in their anti-Americanism and their twisted version of history.
Dec 27: Kaua'i newspaper reports federal judge has blocked the State of Arizona from banning ethnic studies courses in the schools -- the Hispanic studies courses in Arizona are like Hawaiian Studies courses in Hawaii, pushing skewed history and racial separatism. Arizona is fighting back against brainwashing the kids with anti-American and anti-white propaganda; but Hawaii seems delighted to sponsor such courses. Ken Conklin created a webpage about the law in 2010 when it was passed.
Dec 28:
(1) Looking ahead to the Hawaii state legislature which convenes in mid-January, including a conference in the state capitol auditorium sponsored by the racial supremacist Ka Lahui political action committee;
(2) OHA publishes its financial annual report in its monthly newspaper for January
(3) OHA trustee Keli'i Akina writes his own report card to the voters touting his accomplishments in his first year, including working against tribal nation-building and spending the money instead on projects related to ethnic Hawaiian education, healthcare, and housing.
FULL TEXT OF EACH ITEM FROM JUNE 1 THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2017 IS COPIED ON THE FOLLOWING SUBPAGE:
https://big11a.angelfire.com/AkakaHist115thCongJun2017.html
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INDEX OF NEWS REPORTS AND COMMENTARIES FROM JANUARY 1 through April 30, 2018 including efforts to create a state-recognized tribe and efforts to get federal recognition through administrative rule changes, executive order, or Congressional legislation. Death of Freddy Rice (Rice v. Cayetano) prompts remembrances; Congress passes bill for federal recognition of 6 Virginia Indian tribes (same method as Akaka bill which failed from 2000 through 2012); "Unity march" commemorates 125th anniversary of Hawaiian revolution that overthrew the monarchy, on same day state legislature session opens. Ex-Senator Akaka dead at age 93. Trump administration might be starting to treat Indian tribes more like racial groups than sovereign entities. Financial collapse of Sandwich Isles Communications company and jailing of its president for corruption calls to mind the special protections for this company that were built into the Akaka bill 15 years ago that would have exempted officers of the Hawaiian tribe from federal laws prohibiting nepotism and corruption in contracting.
FULL TEXT OF EACH ITEM FROM JANUARY 1 THROUGH APRIL 30, 2018 IS COPIED ON THE FOLLOWING SUBPAGE:
https://big11a.angelfire.com/AkakaHist115thCongJan2018.html
January 1, 2018: "My Vision as An OHA Trustee" by Keli'i Akina
Jan 8: Honolulu Star-Advertiser front page headline news story about the march and demonstration planned for January 17, the 125th anniversary of the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy, with extensive comparisons to 1993 event that commemorated the 100th anniversary. The same day will be the opening of the state Legislative session for 2018.
Jan 9: News report of the death on January 5 of "Freddy" Rice, Caucasian 5th generation descendant of missionaries, who won U.S. Supreme Court decision in Rice v. Cayetano (2000) which abolished the racial restriction in the Hawaii Constitution (1978) that had said that only ethnic Hawaiians could vote for trustees of the state government agency Office of Hawaiian Affairs.
Jan 12:
(1) Keli'i Akina, President of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii and Trustee of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, focuses his end-of-week message to Grassroot members on the legacy of Freddy Rice as a courageous defender of the Aloha Spirit. Includes brief statements by Grassroot founder Dick Rowland and Grassroot patrons Jim Growney and Scott Wallace.
(2) A landmark bill to recognize six tribes in Virginia is headed to President Donald Trump for his signature. A stand-alone tribal recognition bill hasn't cleared both chambers of Congress since the mid-1990s, when a Democrat was in control of the White House.
Jan 14: Honolulu Star-Advertiser finally publishes a news report about Freddy Rice's death days after other Hawaii newspapers reported it. Advertiser article includes biographical information which portrays him in a positive light as a friend to ethnic Hawaiians and an accomplished cattle rancher, rodeo rider, and fisherman.
Jan 16:
(1) Chair of Ka Lahui Hawaii Political Action Committee [a secessionist group] describes "unity march" planned for January 17 from Royal Mausoleum to Palace to commemorate 125th anniversary of Hawaiian revolution of 1893 which overthrew the monarchy.
(2) Free Hawaii blog [secessionist] describes plans for January 17 march, and says "everyone, native Hawaiian or not, is welcome to be a key part of it."
Jan 17:
(1 and 2) Two news reports (one before and one "breaking news" after) about the march from Royal Mausoleum to Palace commemorating 125th anniversary of 1893 overthrow of monarchy
(3) Newspaper commentary in remembrance of Freddy Rice, written by Grassroot President and OHA Trustee Keli'i Akina
Jan 18:
(1) News report with photo gallery: "Thousands march to Iolani Palace to mark anniversary of overthrow"
(2) News report with many photos: "Palace And Capitol: Hawaiian Event Bridges Two Worlds
On the same day the ruling government reconvened its Legislature, thousands noted the anniversary of the former government's overthrow."
Jan 19: Free Hawaii blog reprints Huffington Post essay of January 17 by Leon Siu, sponsored for HuffPo by propaganda filmmaker Catherine Bauknight: "Hawaiians Remember a Day of Infamy"
Jan 29:
(1) A series of 4 panel discussions, dominated by ethnic Hawaiians, will be open to the public to discuss whether there should be a State Constitutional Convention and what were the consequences of the most recent one in 1978 that created OHA and established racial entitlements.
(2) Hawaiian independence activist Hayden Burgess (alias Poka Laenui) explains why radical imagination is important to stimulate vision of a sovereign future and enthusiasm for achieving it.
Jan 30: President Trump signed a bill granting federal recognition to 6 small Indian tribes in Virginia. The estimated startup cost to the federal budget is $78 Million. There are about 600,000 people nationwide who would be eligible to join a "Native Hawaiian" tribe which will be recognized when it meets certain regulatory requirements in a "final rule" published in the Federal Register on October 14, 2016. What will the cost be, and will the money be taken away from the genuine tribes to cover the cost for creating the phony Hawaiian tribe?
** During February and March of 2018 there were (surprisingly!) no significant news reports or commentaries about creating a Hawaiian tribe.
April 3, 2018: Indianz.com news blog says being denied federal recognition by the Bureau of Indian Affairs is usually the kiss of death, as many petitioning groups have found over the years.
April 6: Ex-Senator Akaka dead at age 93. Multiple news reports and comments.
April 23: Indian tribes are getting worried that the Trump administration seems to be starting down a path of treating Indian tribes as racial groups rather than as sovereign entities, which would be a huge shift in federal Indian policy. This trend is clear in a federal agency refusing to exempt tribes from a new requirement that recipients of Medicaid must hold a job if they are able-bodied. Federal recognition for a Hawaiian tribe would be far less significant if the attributes of sovereignty were removed from the deal.
April 26: The financial collapse of Sandwich Isles Communications company and jailing of its president for corruption calls to mind the special protections for this company that were built into the Akaka bill 15 years ago that would have exempted officers of the Hawaiian tribe from federal laws prohibiting nepotism and other corruption in contracting.
April 28, 2018: Ex Governor Abercrombie as well as Corporate Lobbyist Bruce Coppa, and Donalyn Delacruz, sister of Sen Don ‘PLDC’ Delacruz, are among the cronies headlining a $1000 per plate downtown fundraiser April 30 for Federal Recognition advocate Esther Kiaaina and William Aila -- both running for OHA Trustee.
FULL TEXT OF EACH ITEM FROM JANUARY 1 THROUGH APRIL 30, 2018 IS COPIED ON THE FOLLOWING SUBPAGE:
https://big11a.angelfire.com/AkakaHist115thCongJan2018.html
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INDEX OF NEWS REPORTS AND COMMENTARIES FROM MAY 1, 2018 AND CONTINUING, including efforts to create a state-recognized tribe and efforts to get federal recognition through administrative rule changes, executive order, or Congressional legislation.
FULL TEXT OF EACH ITEM FROM MAY 1, 2018 AND CONTINUING IS COPIED ON THE FOLLOWING SUBPAGE:
https://big11a.angelfire.com/AkakaHist115thCongMay2018.html
May 10, 2018: Writer from "Dope Magazine" visits Bumpy Kanahele's so-called sovereign "Nation of Hawaii" in Waimanalo (O'ahu) where he grows marijuana. Bumpy claims his piece of land is sovereign and independent; but he pays $250 per month lease rent to the State of Hawaii -- a fact not mentioned in the article. The article has many inaccuracies about Hawaiian history, which is typical of "news reports" written by reporters who are enthralled by charismatic leaders of the sovereignty movement.
May 11 and 13: Guam is a U.S. territory. For many years the issue of its political status has been debated. Candidates for Governor presented their views during a public forum. There's a proposal to hold a plebiscite where only those people who are descended from indigenous Chamorros would be allowed to vote among three choices: full independence, statehood in the U.S., or free association under a treaty. A lawsuit has been in federal court for several years regarding whether the racial restriction on voting is permissible, similar to Rice v. Cayetano and Akina v. Hawaii
May 22: Elaine Willman, past chair of Citizens Equal Rights Alliance, describes how "yesterday sticks" (long-dead treaties with Indian tribes) are used today to kneecap federal Indian policy. There are clear implications for Hawaii (overthrow of monarchy, "no treaty of annexation", apology resolution)
May 23: Bob Jones, weekly column in Honolulu Midweek, describes Ken Conklin's analysis of the 2018 legislature's record of defeating most bills and resolutions that were focused on racial entitlement programs and racial separatism.
June 10 & 12: Kamehameha Day celebrated at his statue in Washington DC by Hawaii Rep Tulsi Gabbard & Sen Mazie Hirono who turn it into a celebration of dead Senator Akaka and lamentation that some in Congress "oppose any measure that includes the words 'Native Hawaiian.'" and engage in "efforts to erase Native Hawaiians from the federal record."
June 13: Lengthy newspaper commentary by Superintendent of State of Hawaii Dept of Education, State of Hawaii chairman of the Public Charter School Commission, and CEO of Kamehameha Schools, urging that "Hawaiian values" should be infused even more pervasively into Hawaii schools. [see response on June 17]
June 14: "The Abolition of Slavery in Hawaii" describes how the Organic Act implementing annexation, enacted on June 14, 1900, abolished the indentured servitude of plantation workers which the Hawaiian Kingdom had enacted in the Masters and Servants Act of 1850.
June 14-15: News report about the statue of Kauikeaouli Kamehameha III , 12 ft. tall, costing $250,000, to be dedicated at Thomas Square in Honolulu on July 31 in celebration of Sovereignty Restoration Day [1843 when the British flag was taken down and sovereignty was restored to that King following a military occupation of several months by a rogue warship captain].
June 15: Lilikala Kame'eleihiwa, "a senior professor at the Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies at the University of Hawaii Manoa" essay in Honolulu Civil Beat online newspaper: "Let's Create A New Native Hawaiian Homeland -- Giving Hawaiians land in each of the 1,600 Ahupua'a in Hawaii is a place to start."
June 17: Ken Conklin, letter to editor 'Correct some 'Hawaiian values' responds to June 13 commentary by calling for rejection of Hawaiian religious fascism in school curriculum and deploring Kamehameha School racial segregation policy. Defend the values of unity, equality, and the Aloha Spirit.
June 21: Letter to editor by Hawaiian sovereignty activist expressing outrage over Conklin's letter of June 17 and attempting a point-by-point rebuttal.
June 23: Stephen Kinzer commentary in The Boston Globe describes Hawaiian independence movement led by Leon Siu who lobbies at the United Nations, claiming the Hawaiian Kingdom still has sovereignty but is under military occupation by United States since 1893.
June 29-30 Ke Aupuni Update By H.E. Leon Kaulahao Siu - Minister of Foreign Affairs - The Hawaiian Kingdom.. Here's a shocker - The Hawaiian Islands is not a part of the United States of America! Domestic and international actions seeking restoration of Hawaiian independence.
July 1, 2018: OHA monthly newspaper describes history of Hawaiian sovereignty restoration day (July 31, 1843) and plans to commemorate its 175th anniversary, including unveiling of new statue honoring King Kauikeaouli Kamehameha III in Thomas Square (the Hawaiian flag will be the only one to fly there).
July 4: Keli'i Akina, President of Grassroot Institute and OHA trustee, publishes tribute "The 1840 Hawaiian Constitution and the Fourth of July"
July 9-10: President Trump nominated Judge Brett m. Kavanaugh to replace the retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy on the U.S. Supreme Court. Kavanaugh was attorney of record on an amicus brief in the Supreme Court case Rice v. Cayetano, saying "a state has no right to engage in racial classifications on the right to vote in a state election simply to preserve a particular culture." and "Hawaiians do not and could not qualify as an American Indian tribe."
July 10: Hawaii's former Attorney General Mark Bennett, who zealously supported the Akaka bill throughout his term of office [2002-2010], wins Senate confirmation of President Trump's nomination of him to be a judge on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
FULL TEXT OF EACH ITEM FROM MAY 1, 2018 AND CONTINUING IS COPIED ON THE FOLLOWING SUBPAGE:
https://big11a.angelfire.com/AkakaHist115thCongMay2018.html
END OF INDEX
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