Updated at 4:03 p.m., Monday, December 17, 2007
OHA leader proposes 'nation-building' convention
Advertiser Staff
Plans for a "nation-building" convention were announced this morning by Office of Hawaiian Affairs board Chairwoman Haunani Apoliona.Such a gathering could form the basis for talks on creation of a new Native Hawaiian government entity.
Apoliona, during her annual State of OHA address at St. Andrew's Priory, urged Native Hawaiians to stop grumbling and to help make their community better.
If lawmakers, and then Hawai'i residents, choose to hold a state constitutional convention in 2010, Native Hawaiians must be prepared to participate, she said.
"We must determine now how we will get involved so the Native Hawaiian voice is heard regarding what happens to our homeland, to our native people, and our natural, public, social and economic resources for the good of all of Hawai'i," Apoliona said.
She warned that legal challenges against Hawaiians-only programs and agencies, including OHA, will continue.
"We know those who question our right to exist as a unique, aboriginal, indigenous, native people will continue to file lawsuits against OHA and other Hawaiian entities," Apoliona said.
