Additionally, we have requested of our congressional delegation the establishment of a Native Hawaiian desk within each Federal agency charged with the responsibility of assisting all Americans to achieve full economic and social self-sufficiency. These are but some of the issues we have addressed in the most recent past. We urge you to review the resolutions attached to our written testimony. But we are here today to assert our historic role as a watchdog of the Hawaiian Homes Program and our current role as expanded by ever-expanding Hawaiian issues. In 1918, Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole founded the Civic Club as a nonpolitical, nonsectarian organization, worthy in its objectives, the highest of which was the betterment of the lot of the Hawaiian people. It was not just happenstance that a little over two years later the Hawaiian Rehabilitation Act was passed by Congress. Neither is it happenstance that in 1937 the Hawaiian Civic Club passed a resolution urging a survey of Hawaiians on the Hawaiian Homes settlements and homesteads to identify and educate people regarding tuberculosis. In 1940, the Hawaiian Civic Club Rehabilitation Committee met weekly for months to study carefully the problems of the homesteaders located in different areas in order to conduct an independent survey and investigation and make recommendations to the Civic Club based upon its findings. Now, 50 years later, some of the old problems have been solved, but new problems have emerged. We applaud your efforts to work toward solving these problems by conducting these hearings here this week. And, we join with the multiple voices throughout Hawaii Nei to bring to your attention some of the critical issues we have identified. Blood quantum-the definition of Native Hawaiian continues to divide the Hawaiian people because of its reference to a blood quantum. It is of vital concern to the Native Hawaiian community that a single definition be adopted which encourages and enhances the dignity and values of a single, unified people. Ka Po'e Hawaii. Congressional records reflect that Delegate to Congress Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole advocated that there be no blood quantum but that, if one were required, the definition of Native Hawaiian should be based on one-thirty-second blood quantum. Now in 1920, he knew that there were virtually no Hawaiians of this quantum, but Kuhio foresaw the widespread intermarriage amongst Native Hawaiians and other peoples of the Hawaiian Islands. Your present witness' pallid complexion testifies to the wisdom of Prince Kuhio. I am three-sixteenths Hawaiian, one-sixteenth Chippewa, and the rest Po'e Haole. No matter, my na'au is 100 percent Hawaiian. We would urge you to give full consideration to the recommendation of the Native Hawaiian Study Commission's report volume II which recommends that Congress adopt a simple definition of Native Hawaiian to mean any individual, without reference to any blood quantum, whose ancestors were natives of the area which constituted the Hawaiian Islands prior to 1778. I realize that Congress alone cannot act in this matter and that the people of Hawaii must agree. The 1978 constitution of the State of Hawaii uses the Federal words themselves. Perhaps adoption by reference would have sufficed, as in the case of the Admissions Act of 1959. We need to change the constitution. One cannot take this position, asking for a single definition, without understanding all of its ramifications, however. Is it not obvious that if the beneficiary class is to be enlarged by the creation of a single definition, the program, and of course its funding, both Federal and State, must also be expanded? To do otherwise would further cripple a program historically given too little, too late. And this change, of course, would also affect the so-called trust fund for ceded land programs of OHA. The Federal-State task force on Hawaiian home lands-in 1983, our association noted its concern of the transfer of over 30,000 acres of Hawaiian Home Lands from DHHL jurisdiction to other agencies, departments, or individuals without fair compensation. "Auwe kakou," the problem continues. We request your intervention in this matter and the implementation of the recommendations of the Federal-State task force on the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, jointly established by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior and the Governor of Hawaii. Beyond this, we acknowledged in our Resolution 84-02 that former Interior Secretary James Watt designated a contact person within the Department of the Interior for "matters touching the Hawaiian Homes Program that are the responsibilities of the United States." A process was then established also to insure that land exchanges submitted for secretarial approval would be promptly reviewed and decided upon. However, we have never been informed of any progress to date. We request your assistance in this matter as well. The administrative budget of DHHL-in our Resolution No. 8612, we demanded that the Governor and the State legislature budget for and fund the administrative costs of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands out of the general fund. We are pleased to note that in 1988 the State legislature finally included DHHL's administrative budget in the executive budget. It did not, however, reimburse with interest the expenses incurred since 1979. In 1978 the constitution was changed to provide for this, and nothing was done until 1988. But, we are grateful for the small step and hope that this good work will continue. We also note that for the first time the Federal Government has allocated money for infrastructure costs to the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. Again, we are pleased about this. Hawaiian Home Lands entitlements-finally, in our Resolution 88-13, we found that the Federal act which created the Hawaiian Homes Commission Program endowed it with specific land setasides and that the Admissions Act of 1959 transferred specific lands to be held in trust by the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and indicated how revenues derived from those lands were to be used. We, therefore, urge both Federal and State Governments to reaffirm the fact that the beneficiaries of the Hawaiian Homes Act retain their direct rights to ceded lands trust revenues. We ask further that Federal and State Governments clarify their responsibilities and allow DHHL to receive its justified share of revenues Sovereignty-the Association has taken no formal position concerning this issue. We are of a mind that the question of the establishment of an Hawaiian Nation needs further study, further and minute study by the Hawaiian people at large. We ask your kokua in this regard. The breadth of knowledge possessed by your committees' staffs and the Department of the Interior with respect to Indian nations can be a valuable tool for Ka Poe Hawaii as we embark upon this crucial endeavor. In conclusion, we thank you for your patience and attention. The Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs stands ready to assist both Federal and State entities as you implement recommendations to improve the Hawaiian Homes Program. I would be remiss if I did not close my remarks with the very words of the founder of the Hawaiian Civic Clubs and the father of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act; words uttered nearly 70 years ago, on April 15, 1920, in the halls of Congress by Delegate to Congress Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole as he closed an impassioned plea for the passage of the Hawaiian Homes Act; words which still hold validity today, I must sadly say, despite our Prince's challenge to the Congress and the people. "It is a subject in comparison with which all others sink into insignificance, for our first and great duty is that of self-preservation. Our acts are in vain unless you can stay the wasting hand that is destroying my people. I feel a heavy and special responsibility resting upon me in this matter, but it is one in which you all must share; nor shall we be acquitted by man or our Maker for a neglect of duty if we fail to act speedily and effectually in the case of my people.' Mahalo. Mahalo nui loa. [Prepared statement of Mr. Keppeler appears in appendix.] The CHAIRMAN. Mahalo. Mahalo nui loa. We thank you very much. You have been extremely helpful. Ladies and gentlemen, we began the proceeding with a pule, and I called upon Mr. Keppeler for his testimony because I thought that this would be a proper way to set the tone for the hearings. So now that we have done this, I am most pleased to present to you two Members of the House of Representatives who are here with us today. First, the son of Hawaii and the son of Kauai, someone that all of us can be very proud of, Congressman Daniel K. Akaka. [Applause.] STATEMENT OF HON. DANIEL K. AKAKA, U.S. REPRESENTATIVE FROM HAWAII Mr. AKAKA. Mr. Chairman, thank you for including me on this panel. I want to first, on behalf of the folks in Washington, DC, welcome all of you here. We are happy to see you and are anxious to hear what you have to tell us. I also want to tell you that these hearings are very, very important to the people of Hawaii. What we are trying to do is establish a record upon which we can later fashion legislation, hoping that the record will reveal by expressions of all people our needs, our desires, our problems, as we reflect on the Hawaiian Home Lands Act and other issues that are of concern to the Hawaiian people. I am very grateful for this opportunity and grateful for Senator Inouye for making this possible. Hawaii is fortunate to have a son like Senator Inouye. I don't have to tell you this, but I'll tell you anyway: That he is one of the most respected, regardless of body, the House or Senate, one of the respected Members in the United States Congress. Thank you very much. Members have respected his statements, have listened to him, and I can tell you that because of this kind of respect, he carries what we call "mana" in Washington. So Hawaii is very fortunate. Also, Hawaii is very fortunate to have a son who is imbued with the characteristics of a person who is kakio kahena, born and reared in Hawaii, because to make this possible, he has reallymaybe I shouldn't say it, but I'll say it-he has really broken the rules to set up these hearings, to exceed some of the rules of length, to exceed some of the rules of time and days, and to exceed it by allowing another entity, as we mentioned, to help set this up. He did all of this so that he can give you every opportunity to express yourselves. I want you to know this as you come and address this panel. I say all of this because I say it out of gratitude and also to thank him for all of us for making these hearings possible, and also for inviting the House committee, Chairman Udall, to participate with him in these hearings. So, I speak of gratitude, and I also want to thank you for your presence here and your participation. I'm so glad to see here my friend, Ezra Kanoho, your representative. I know Bertha Kawakani is not here. I talked to her and I know she left for the mainland last night to take her daughter to school. Peter Apo may be here, your other representative and your senator. Also, I want to say aloha to your good mayor and members of the council. I look upon this hearing with great interest and with great anticipation, and I urge you to speak, speak your heart, so that we can establish a record. Aloha. [Applause.] The CHAIRMAN. We are fortunate to have with us a member of the House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. He is a man of the Pacific who has served us well as Brigadier General of the United States Marine Corps. Today he serves as Congressman from the Territory of Guam. I am pleased to call upon Congressman Ben Blaz. [Applause.] STATEMENT OF HON. BEN BLAZ, U.S. DELEGATE FROM GUAM Mr. BLAZ. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Folks, if I were looking for someone to champion my cause, it would be Danny Inouye whom I would look up to. He seems to be one of these guys who is always championing the right causes. Quite frankly, as I mentioned yesterday, at this time of the year the temptation to participate in other activities throughout the world as we try to execute our responsibilities to the national Congress, the temptation to go elsewhere was attractive, but I don't think any of us here would be able to explain to ourselves—to ourselves, not to you-why we would not be here today. The choice is obvious. This is the place to be. The reason is there's something that needs to be corrected. I daresay that the supreme irony in our country today is that, while our country is so involved in the democracy and self-determination of people in Poland and Beijing, it has left unattended so much of its own in its own back yard. I also daresay that had Hawaii had a Senator in 1921, what is happening, what has happened would not have happened, but, like Guam, it had only a delegate. It had only a delegate. Nevertheless, the winds of change are taking place in the Atlantic and the Pacific, and I think the things that we're doing today are going to receive attention. But the reason they receive attention is because we have a national figure who is leading, who is leading the quest. I am privileged to be here. If the definition of quantum, blood quantum, keeps getting lower, I'm going to claim to be Native Hawaiian. [Laughter.] I am, however, a Native Chamorro. I come from Guam, was born and raised there, and I don't know what my true quantum is, but I claim to be a Native, a Native American, a Native Chamorro. So I empathize; I understand; I've been to where you are and I've seen what you've seen, and I feel as you do. So I think the three of us at least will be able to voice collectively and individually the cause for Hawaii. It is my privilege to be here. I wouldn't miss it for anything. Thank you. [Applause.] The CHAIRMAN. For those of you who think that we are here just to put on a show, let me assure you that we intend to do our bit to restore justice to this land. Our next witness is Ms. Roselle Bailey. Ms. Bailey? Is Ms. Bailey here. [No response.] The CHAIRMAN. If not, may I call upon Mr. Joseph Manini? Are you speaking for Mr. Joseph Manini? Then I will call on the man whose voice is always heard, Mr. Arthur Trask. STATEMENT OF ARTHUR TRASK, RETIRED LAWYER Mr. TRASK. I don't want to be manini, Mr. Chairman, but do I have the other time for the other people? [Laughter.] You're deeply, always deeply, touching. What is it that I want? I want this for your committee, a Madonna and child, Hawaiian, done by Mr. Bartlett, an Englishman whose portraitures are of the Hawaiian museum, by William Bartlett. The CHAIRMAN. You are going to give it to us? Mr. TRASK. I'm going to give this to the committee, which means remotely for you both. [Laughter.] The CHAIRMAN. It is not for me? Mr. TRASK. And your committee. The next-oh, my word, I could get another one in the car. I have another one in the car. I have another extraordinary portrait. |