Hawaiian recognition bill to be revived
By Derrick DePledge
Advertiser Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON — Hawai'i lawmakers will propose a Native Hawaiian recognition bill next week that is identical to a version that stalled in the 107th Congress, in a strategy designed to try to build momentum for the legislation rather than appease its detractors.
Some of the findings and details of a Native Hawaiian recognition bill: • Recognizes Native Hawaiians as indigenous people of the United States. • Establishes the U.S. Office for Native Hawaiian Relations within the Department of Interior, which would work with the federal government and a Hawaiian government. • Creates the Native Hawaiian Interagency Coordinating Group, which would monitor Native Hawaiian education, health, land use and other issues at the federal level. • Recognizes the right of Native Hawaiians to organize into a government that could negotiate with federal, state and local governments.
The bill would recognize Hawaiians formally as indigenous people with the right to establish a government that could have government-to-government relations with the United States and the state of Hawai'i. It would create an office within the Department of Interior
Proposal same as last year
to coordinate negotiations between a Hawaiian government and the U.S. government and an interagency group to monitor Hawaiian issues at the federal level.
A similar bill moved through House and Senate committees last session, but never reached a vote because of opposition from conservative Republicans who argued it was a race-based preference. A Hawaiian recognition bill passed the House in the 106th Congress but broke down in the Senate.
The Hawai'i congressional delegation reached consensus on strategy for this session after meeting Thursday. Sen. Daniel Akaka and Rep. Neil Abercrombie, both D-Hawai'i, are expected to introduce the bill on Tuesday.
Rather than divide the bill or amend it to answer concerns raised in Washington and in Hawai'i, the lawmakers opted to use the existing bill as a vehicle to renew talks with Congress and the White House.
With Republican control of the Senate and expanded majority in the House since the November elections, it may be more difficult for Hawai'i Democrats to maneuver without broad Republican support. Republican Gov. Linda Lingle, who has promised to lobby the Bush administration on behalf of the bill, could become a key figure in the debate.
The Bush administration did not take a position on the bill last session, although Interior Secretary Gale Norton has said Hawaiians need to define better the kind of government they envision.
Lingle has asked to meet with Norton and other administration officials when she visits here later this month. She also hopes to talk with past opponents of the bill — Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz.; Sen. Don Nickles, R-Okla.; and Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla. — to explain the importance of federal recognition for the Hawaiian people.
The Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs may have a hearing on the bill Feb. 25, at which the governor and Native Hawaiian officials are expected to testify.
The Office of Hawaiian Affairs, meanwhile, will open its new lobbying office here Feb. 24 in a space shared by the National Congress of American Indians.
"We're starting at the same place, but I understand the delegation will be hearing different points of view," said Haunani Apoliona, chairwoman of OHA's board of trustees, about the recognition bill.
"Federal recognition is a critical layer, but equally important is our ability to organize at home," Apoliona noted.
Aides to Hawai'i lawmakers said they continue to take suggestions or requests to testify at congressional hearings, where any amendments would be debated. They described the bill as a starting point that would enable Hawaiians to choose their own government eventually.
Native Hawaiian activist Mililani Trask called the bill flawed because, unlike earlier versions, it does not establish a clear process for the Hawaiian people to build a government.
"You don't give the Interior Department a lot to go on,'' she said. "And you don't give an opportunity for the Hawaiian people to fully participate.''
