Members of the Hui Pu, a loose-knit group of Native Hawaiian organizations opposed to the Akaka bill, plan to hold a press conference this morning at 'Iolani Palace to announce that it now has the signatures of more than 1,000 people on a declaration that condemns and rejects the legislation.

Andre Perez, Hui Pu coordinator, said the group wants to top the estimated 2,000 names in a two-page Office of Hawaiian Affairs newspaper advertisement that ran last week, and send it to members of Congress. "The goal is to show a lot more in opposition than what OHA has in support, Perez said.

Most of those in the Hui Pu favor a separate Hawaiian nation, although they differ in what form that would take.

The Hui Pu includes a number of well-known independent nation advocates, among them Dennis "Bumpy" Kanahele of the Independent and Sovereign Nation State of Hawai'i (Nation of Hawai'i), Henry Noa of the Reinstated Hawaiian Kingdom, and Mililani Trask, former kia'aina of Ka Lahui o Hawai'i.

"The Akaka bill fails to address our history and legacy as a sovereign and independent people," Perez said.