honoluluadvertiser.com

Sponsored by:

Comment, blog & share photos

Log in | Become a member
The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, April 11, 2001



Changes to native bill will both ease, hamper

The changes made by Hawai'i Sens. Dan Inouye and Dan Akaka to the Native Hawaiian "recognition" bill may make it easier to get past the Senate, but will stretch out the amount of time required to make federal recognition of Hawaiians a reality.

The senators made two important changes to the measure, which seeks to offer federal recognition to the Hawaiians as a distinct political entity.

The first change is that it wipes out language detailing how Hawaiians would organize themselves as a political entity. That language, although extremely general, did set up a federal framework for the process by which the Hawaiian people would create a political identity — a nation, if you will.

The second change is specific language stating that the bill would not authorize gambling on Hawaiian lands under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. There was considerable interest — and concern — that federal recognition of Hawaiians could lead to Hawaiian-owned casinos or other forms of gambling in the Islands.

In fact, the newest language seeks to still the concerns of Native American Indian leaders that the bill could make Hawaiians eligible for a wide spectrum of programs now administered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. There were fears that this would water down what are already limited resources for Native Americans. The new language says the act does not create eligibility for such programs.

All these changes were designed to take care of specific objections in Congress to the way the bill was originally designed. This means the measure should now be easier to pass.

But the new version also means it will probably take more time for the proposed law to have any practical effect. Before it can be applied, Hawaiians will have to decide for themselves and in whatever format they choose how they will construct and designate a "government." This is no easy task because, understandably, there is little consensus on this question.

Second, the move away from Indian Affairs means it will take more time to set up and fund parallel programs aimed at Hawaiians. The law may help protect existing programs, most notably the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and certain federal health and education programs for Hawaiians. But it will not automatically create eligibility for dozens of other federal programs aimed at Native, or indigenous, Americans.

Finally, the language on gambling may discourage some who had this element of Hawaiian sovereignty high on their agenda. In itself, that's not a bad thing. If Hawai'i is ever to legalize gambling, and we hope it does not, it should not come in through the back door of Hawaiian self-determination.