Hawaiians hope to stir community support
| • | Lawyers to argue validity of Hawaiian programs |
By Vicki Viotti
Advertiser Staff Writer
A frustrated Hawaiian community, dismayed by various federal court challenges to Native Hawaiian benefits, is rallying this week to prove they enjoy backing from the public.
On one front: Kamehameha Schools trustees have launched a petition campaign, enlisting Hawaiians and non-Hawaiians alike to express their support of the schools' policy to favor Native Hawaiian students in its admissions.
On another: A coalition of Native Hawaiians has slated a Waikiki "March for Justice" for Sept. 7, timed to coincide with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs "Family Day" program at Kapi'olani Park.
The march is also timed to occur the day before a proceeding in what's called the Arakaki lawsuit, a complaint that OHA, the Department of Hawaiian Homelands and other Hawaiian-only programs operate in violation of the constitution.
And the march, like the petition campaign, solicits support from all ethnic groups.
Vicky Holt Takamine, who heads the sponsoring 'Ilio'ulaokalani Coalition, said the 8:30 a.m. march — from Saratoga Road and Kalakaua Avenue to Kapi'olani Park — is a response to all the recent battles engaging Hawaiians, from the leasehold land conversion proposals at City Hall to myriad conflicts over Hawaiian burial sites.
But it was prompted, she said, by the Aug. 20 federal court order forcing Kamehameha Schools to enroll a non-Hawaiian boy until a final verdict on the admission policy is made later this fall.
Takamine said many Native Hawaiians felt the decision rewarded the plaintiff even though his mother could not support the claim that he was Hawaiian through the traditional hanai, or adoption, customs.
"You can lie to Native Hawaiians, and the federal court will support you," she said. "We cannot trust the federal courts to come up with what's fair to Native Hawaiians."
The march is aimed at demonstrating "full support" by native and non-native Hawai'i residents, said Lilikala Kame'eleihiwa, director of the University of Hawai'i's Center for Hawaiian Studies.
And so is the petition campaign, said Robert Kihune, a Kamehameha Schools trustee who spoke at last week's Native Hawaiian Conference at the Sheraton Waikiki.
The court ruling, Kihune said, was "a wake-up call for all of us, not only Hawaiians but non-Hawaiians."
Petitions were circulated at the four-day conference and have been sent to alumni organizations and others by post and by e-mail, said school spokesman Kekoa Paulsen. It was aimed at supporters who have asked if they could help in the wake of the court ruling.
Paulsen said the petition is aimed broadly at "whoever is moved by it" but acknowledged that it would be attached to court briefs when the school defends its admissions policy in court.
Courts are not supposed to base decisions on popularity, but Kihune believes a petition can be an effective demonstration all the same.
"What if 100 percent come out and say, 'This is the way it should be'?" Kihune said. "I think a court would have to think it's tough to make a decision."
Reach Vicki Viotti at vviotti@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8053.
