The failure of the Akaka Hawaiian recognition bill to be cleared for a vote on the Senate floor might signal various things, but one of them is that both the political landscape and a lack of national public sympathy for Hawaiian issues have derailed the Native Hawaiian federal recognition train, at least for now.

The bill's chances for passage this session dropped to practically nil yesterday when the vote fell short by four of the 60 needed for "cloture." That maneuver would have precluded filibustering, so now the measure's many opponents are free to block a final Senate vote.

Two actions are necessary at this point: one to deal with the short-term reality, and one to improve chances for recognition at some point down the road.

For the immediate future, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and other Hawaiian beneficiary agencies that receive public money must consider alternative strategies for helping Native Hawaiians that wouldn't be vulnerable to legal challenge.

The Akaka bill had been seen as a potential shield against lawsuits, still unresolved, that targeted publicly funded programs that base their benefits on racial criteria.

One approach would be to make programs accessible on the basis of need, cultural affinity and factors other than ethnicity. Agencies would be able to address genuine socioeconomic problems within Hawaiian communities, uninterrupted by this kind of litigation.

For the long term, Hawaiians must make the case that they are a political entity — and they don't need the Akaka bill to assert their sovereignty.

The Native Hawaiian registry program known as Kau Inoa represents the first step toward organizing and self-determination.

Washington officials have said in the past that it's more customary for the federal government to recognize a political entity that already exists than to merely set the wheels rolling toward recognition, as the Akaka bill would have done.

Political tides in Washington may some day turn more in favor of Hawaiians, as well as other indigenous people currently taking heat from conservatives. But they should not sit back and wait for that day to happen.