COMMENTARY
OHA board responds to Arakaki plaintiffs
By the trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs
The plaintiffs in the Arakaki case (against Hawaiian-only entitlements) say they are not trying to hurt Native Hawaiians (Advertiser, Sept. 28). But let's look at the facts.
The plaintiffs want to destroy the homestead program and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and ultimately threaten millions of dollars that flow annually into Hawai'i from the federal government.
We are at a loss to explain how that won't hurt Hawaiians and every other tax-paying resident in Hawai'i.
We are dismayed by the statements from Mr. Arakaki and his fellow plaintiff, former Advertiser publisher Thurston Twigg-Smith, a direct descendant of a leader in the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian kingdom.
They claim that "nothing about Hawaii's past or present justifies denying government aid to one modern-day applicant and giving it to another solely because of somebody's ancestry."
Do the events of 1893 not matter? Does the theft of lands from the Hawaiians get swept under the rug along with every modern-day study that places Hawaiians at the bottom in areas such as health, education and income and finds government has failed its trust responsibilities to Native Hawaiians?
The United States admitted in Public Law 103-150 (the 1993 Apology Resolution) and many other times that the overthrow of the Hawaiian kingdom was illegal and that the lands of the Hawaiian kingdom were taken without the "consent of or compensation to the Hawaiian people," and "resulted in the suppression of the inherent sovereignty of the Native Hawaiian people."
Arakaki, Twigg-Smith and their lawyers rely heavily on their unfounded claim of "racial discrimination" to justify their quest to kill all programs that help Hawaiians. All this hyperbole plays well for those who don't know, don't care or, worst of all, are trying desperately to rewrite Hawai'i's history.
Congress acknowledges the indigenous peoples of America, of which the Hawaiian people are one, as a political class of people deserving of special treatment, and not a "racial" category. Where is the acknowledgment of this commitment by the United States to Hawaiians as expressed in more than 100 acts of Congress, including the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act and the State Admission Act?
The Arakaki lawyers now say those past commitments are illegal, and are rallying behind a single court victory in Rice v. Cayetano to snuff out the remaining programs designed to aid our people. Where were Arakaki, Twigg-Smith and company years ago when the homesteaders were relegated to wastelands, and their assets worth next to nothing?
What are they now afraid of? There's a paranoia that sometimes exists in this state that non-Hawaiians will be kicked off the lands they purchased if Hawaiians prevail in their quest to protect their assets and seek justice for the still-uncompensated taking of their land and resources.
This paranoia is nonsense. All surveys show that the vast majority of Native Hawaiians want to remain both proud Americans and proud Hawaiians, and want to live in harmony with their fellow residents, many of whom proudly proclaim being "Hawaiian at heart."
But what becomes of Hawaiians if they lose this case in court? Where will the homesteaders go, especially the ones unable to afford whatever "fee" the Arakaki plaintiffs say will be offered? How will the state address a major increase in homelessness? What happens to the thousands on the waiting list?
How will state taxpayers come up with the $70 million in federal money that annually comes into the state? What will happen to the Alu Like programs that help Hawaiians get off drugs or train them for a job? What about the teen mothers who now rely on federal funds to get them through school with adequate childcare? What will happen to the native businesses supported through OHA's loan portfolio?
The Arakaki plaintiffs are complaining that we trustees and the state, through the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, are wasting money in court. But we didn't start this fight. They did by filing the lawsuit.
We agree with Gov. Linda Lingle's statement: "What is just and good for Hawaiians is just and good for all our people."
We can only hope that history will not repeat itself.
