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Posted at 11:57 a.m., Wednesday, May 14, 2003

Akaka bill moves closer to approval by Senate

By Derrick DePledge
Advertiser Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON ­ The Senate Indian Affairs Committee approved legislation today to recognize Native Hawaiians as an indigenous people and guide them in forming their own government.

The bill, which could move to the full Senate for a vote, would acknowledge the sovereign rights of Hawaiians, much as the government does with American Indians and Native Alaskans.

A similar bill passed the committee in the last session, but was held up by conservative Republicans who viewed it as a government sanction of race-based preferences. Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawai'i, the main sponsor, said Hawai'i lawmakers had consulted carefully with the Bush administration and Hawaiian community, and are hopeful the bill will pass the Senate.

"I think the bill as written now satisfies the segment of people who had concerns,'' Akaka said. "I know there will be senators who will not vote for it, but I feel we'll have good consideration."

The Indian Affairs Committee approved key changes to the bill in response to concerns by the Department of Interior. The bill now includes a specific process for Hawaiians to achieve federal recognition, and would create a new Native Hawaiian office within the Interior Department that would compile a list of Hawaiians willing and eligible to participate in a new government. An interagency group would be established to follow Hawaiian issues at the federal level.

Congressional sources involved said they would wait to see how the Interior Department and Hawaiian community react to the changes before moving ahead in the House. The House Resources Committee approved a similar version of the bill last session, but it did not reach the House floor for a vote. The House voted for a previous version of the bill in 2000, when the Clinton administration supported the legislation.

The Bush administration has not taken a position on the bill, but the Interior Department has raised several questions with Hawai'i lawmakers and Gov. Linda Lingle, who has asked the administration for its support.

Interior Secretary Gale Norton has said she does not want to be in the position of choosing from among competing sovereignty claims by several Hawaiian groups, according to congressional and state aides. The changes in the bill attempt to address that concern by including a process in which Hawaiians would select an interim council to draft rules for a new government and election of new officers, who could then be recognized by the Interior Department as sovereign representatives of the Hawaiian people.

"What's at stake here is the right of Hawaiians to define their future, deal directly with the federal government and be recognized as an indigenous people,'' said Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawai'i.

"The only question is, will the Bush administration continue to oppose the Akaka bill? That's the key to passing this measure and addressing the aspirations of the Hawaiian community. We are prepared to move forward if the Bush administration will support the legislation,'' Abercrombie said.

No lawmakers have stepped forward publicly this year to oppose the bill. Several Republicans have objections, however, and could attempt to delay or block the legislation.

H. William Burgess, an attorney who is suing to overturn Native Hawaiian programs in Hawai'i, is talking with several lawmakers here, and said today there is "solid opposition'' to the bill.

"This bill takes a racial group and makes it into a tribe,'' Burgess said. "The trouble is the entire political establishment in Hawai'i supports it.''

"They lack courage," said his wife, Sandra Puanani Burgess, a plaintiff in the lawsuit.

Burgess said it was likely there would be new legal challenges if the bill became law. "I think the only way to stop this is through the courts," he said.

In Rice v. Cayetano, the Supreme Court ruled in 2000 that it was unconstitutional to bar non-Hawaiians from voting for the state Office of Hawaiian Affairs, in a decision that challenged the legality of other Hawaiian programs.

Haunani Apoliona, chairwoman of the board of trustees of OHA, said after studying the changes to the recognition bill that she would ask aides to Hawai'i lawmakers to explain some of the new provisions further.

"We need a bill,'' Apoliona said. "But there are gaps that need to be clarified."