OHA criticized in voter sign-up
By Vicki Viotti
Advertiser Staff Writer
The enrollment of voters for a Native Hawaiian government was launched over the weekend, amid lingering criticism from some who say the state Office of Hawaiian Affairs is micromanaging the process.
• Forms to be made available online by late January and at community events statewide. • Completed forms — with birth certificate copies or other verifications of Hawaiian ancestry attached — should be mailed to: Hawai'i Maoli Inc., P.O. Box 1135, Honolulu, HI 96807. • Information: 394-0050.
Clyde Namu'o, OHA administrator, said about 500 "Kau Inoa" enrollment forms were distributed after a ceremony in which only a small group was enrolled. Verification of enrollees' Hawaiian ancestry is required, and an advisory council that would work out form discrepancies and other knotty issues hasn't been organized, he said.
'Kau Inoa' voter enrollment
It's the formation of this advisory group that has sparked concerns among some leaders of Hawaiian groups. Annelle Amaral of the O'ahu Council of Hawaiian Clubs and Lehua Kinilau of the sovereignty group Ka Lahui last week issued a statement protesting OHA's role in the nation-building effort.
Amaral said yesterday that she was part of a working group that formed in August after an invitation to a meeting was mailed out. The letter convening the meeting was signed by five Hawaiian community leaders: the Rev. Kaleo Patterson, Dr. Emmet Aluli, kumu hula Pua Kanahele, Kamehameha Schools trustee Nainoa Thompson and Alu Like board chairwoman Winona Rubin.
Over the next few months the working group devised an enrollment form, Amaral said, one based on previous work by the council, Ka Lahui, the Royal Order of Kamehameha's O'ahu chapter and the State Council of Hawaiian Homestead Associations.
Amaral said she and others believed the working group would continue beyond completion of the form and was surprised when OHA disbanded it.
Namu'o said a "misunderstanding" occurred, and that a separate governance advisory council was to handle remaining issues.
And although Namu'o said the governance council will be able to invite additional members to participate, Amaral said OHA should not be in the position of organizing it.
She said the state agency has been too aggressively promoting a calendar roughly pegging an election for late summer; delegates would convene soon afterward. It's all being driven by the push to have a Hawaiian government in formation to help propel the passage of the Akaka bill for federal recognition of Hawaiians, she said.
"OHA has a timetable, but guess what, OHA doesn't get to dictate the timetable," Amaral said. "OHA is a state agency that works closely with the congressional delegation, and there's a real big push to pass the Akaka bill. You can't let the Akaka bill drive the building of the nation ... you have to have some credibility in what you're doing with the process: All the voices have to be heard."
Namu'o said that OHA is working to be inclusive and that it's "frustrating" when some people don't recognize the effort. While the advisory group is being organized, enrollment forms are being handled by a nonprofit organization, Hawai'i Maoli Inc.
Patterson said he's been asked to convene another meeting to work out the dispute but hasn't been able to arrange it yet.
"I haven't been closely involved, but I think OHA really wants something that's community based," he added. "It's not going to be easy to get there.
"We've got to just encourage everybody to go with the process," Patterson said. "And if people are feeling uncomfortable, I agree that we've got to back up and bring everybody along."
Reach Vicki Viotti at vviotti@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8053.
