To listen to the interview click here.
KAUAI: I think one of the problems that you see is that they’ve poured a lot of energy, a lot of resources into federal recognition, that is building a stronger relationship with the United States. What you failed to see however as Kaleikoa had pointed out was there’s going to be this resurgence with regard to education, with regarding to knowing our history, a history that is just important for historical purposes, but has current implications today, specifically legal implications. And so, I think when you see the passion, the passionate work in which we hear from people like Kaleikoa, you start to see kind of this history becomes a source of empowerment, a source that we can go today to help to kind of resolve some of our problems that we have right now.
EWART: You made the point there about the legal issue that is tied up in this. Now, just a couple of weeks ago, we heard the chief executive of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, we heard that he’d written to the United States Secretary of State, John Kerry, asking for legal clarification on the status of the Kingdom of Hawaii and that letter in itself stirred up a certain amount of debate. How does that request, coming from the OHA sit with this apparent push for federal recognition. It would seem the two things don’t really add up?
KAUAI: Yeah. I mean one is definitely running contrary to the other, but I think what’s important is that, that was just a mere question, that was a simple question posed to the United States by a state official, of the State of Hawaii, asking for clarification, that’s all it was, was simply a question. What’s interesting is the response, not only of the board to the request, to that question, but also from the community as well. And it’s at that moment, where you can see how out of touch the Office of Hawaiian Affairs is with the Hawaiian community. I don’t necessarily think that OHA had I think realised how informed the community has become in the last 15 years, especially with regard to this idea of Hawaii being occupied, all right, or this, excuse me, not the idea, but of the fact that Hawaii is currently occupied, especially given that the United States has never shown legal title to these islands and therefore.
EWART: Are you satisfied therefore, that you were amongst a group of around 100 or so people who were present at that meeting of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. I mean do you believe that you and those people who were there are truly representative of the wider indigenous Hawaiian community?
KAUAI: I wouldn’t necessarily say that and there in lies the problem. What you’ve seen there and what OHA is pretty responsive to was this call for education, that if we’re going to go about doing these important things, such as nation building, then the 500 thousand native Hawaiians that exist in the world today should have a very clear understanding of their history and the current legal position that Hawaii is in today, so that we can move forward, not with a clear understanding of our history, but with strength we can move forward with strength in knowing that what our ancestors did in the 19th. Century and the bullet proof legal argument that they have left there is so important for Hawaii and for native Hawaiians. That, I think is what the rallying cry was from the majority of those 100 participants, but also for the larger Hawaiian community as well, yeah. that we need to become educated on these matters.
EWART: So therefore, it would seem to be vitally important from the perspective of yourself and like minded others that Barack Obama’s offer to vast track the legal recognition of native Hawaii, native Hawaiians by Washington has to be at least delayed until these matters can be put to the wider group of people?
KAUAI: Absolutely, that when I had seen that kind of fast track proposal from the Obama administration, you can, in fact, see how powerful that question to the State Department was in asking the United States to clarify their legal jurisdiction of Hawaii. We expect to see how everybody is responding to this, such as the 9 trustees, such as the State Department, and now such as Barack Obama. And that gives you, I think a feeling of how powerful education is in these matters.
So….. now as you can see the Obama administrations reply. The President has said he will consider an executive order to fast track the process, IF THATS WHAT HAWAIIANS WANT, but those who maintain that Hawaii was illegally occupied by the US in the first place say that’s VERY DEFINATELY NOT WHAT HAWAIIANS WANT. Right there in front the face, can you see ke akua at work here? or do you need more? Hawaiians wake up, remove the greed and wicked thoughts what more do you want god gave you the land for grow food, the ocean subsist the fish, the crab, the lobster, never ending god grace! Oh yah and all is free no money needed just respect. If you like money or technology then go somewhere else no bring the kaka here. mahalo ke akua
Aloha kakou.
A not to be missed “Honolulu Civil beat” article:
http://www.civilbeat.com/2014/06/hawaii-war-conciousness/
‘Imua!
Mahalo for the link. Very informative article with compelling comments.
Aloha no
EVERYONE!!!!! DO NOT RE-ELECT THE CURRENT OFFICIALS BACK ON THE BOARD. ANYTHING TO DO WITH WAIHEE IS BAD NEWS.
FURTHERMORE, WHO GAVE THESE TRUSTEE THE RIGHT TO SPEAK AND MAKE OFFICIAL DECISIONS FOR THE HAWAIIANS. THEY ARE NOT TRANSPARENT AND HONEST. SHAME, SHAME, SHAME, THEY GOT CAUGHT WITH THEIR HANDS ON THE COOKIE JAR FULL OF MONEY “MULAH”. THE KUPUNA IS WATCHING THEM AND THEY WILL PAY…
OHA IS AND ILLEGAL ENTITY AND WAS NOT VOTED OR AGREED BY THE PEOPLE. IT WAS CREATED WITH THE HELP OF “WAIHEE HIM SELF” AND OTHER OFFICIALS.
NEED TO GET RID OF OHA ASAP… THESE PEOPLE WILL HURT AND PUT US IN HARMS WAY WITH THEIR SELFISHNESS & GREED.
THESE PEOPLE HAVE A DEGREE IN HOW TO CHEAT, LIE, SMOOTH TALK AND MOST OF ALL HOW TO NEGOTIATE TO PUT MORE MONEY IN THEIR POCKET.
SHAME SHAME SHAME
It’s plain to see how out of touch OHA’s Trustees are with the Hawaiian community. One reason could be that nearly 80% of the people who voted the Trustees in were non Hawaiian, thanks to Harold Freddy Rice. That means approximately 18% of the people who voted for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board of Trustees was of Hawaiian Ancestry.
One reason could be the Hawaiian community doesn’t believe in the Office of Hawaiian Affair’s or they believe that since the Rice v. Cayetano verdict opened the vote for everyone, allowing Non Hawaiian’s to take part in deciding the fate of the Hawaiian People and their programs, voting for OHA’s Trustees made little sense.
When the Trustees came out of their executive session on May 19, 2014, Colette Machado mentioned that the board now believes that question’s in the letter Kamana’opono sent to Secretary of State John Kerry, were legitimate and had to be answered, but now according to Kamana’opono Crabbe in an interview with Ka Wai Ola, OHA’s Paper, the status of the letter he sent to Washington, “is rescinded”.
The Trustees got what they wanted, “No Letter”, and they’re still working the back door on the Hawaiian people by working a deal with Barrack Obama and the Department of Interior to bypass congress and create a Hawaiian Tribe. The letter would have stalled their plans.
Why weren’t we told about the meeting’s the Trustees were having with the Department of Interior to create a Hawaiian tribe since 2012? All of a sudden they want to get involved with Kana’iolowalu to push for the Hawaiian Roll Registry by providing funds, but stated they’re going to be neutral in decision making.
They’re so full of shit, this has been their plan from day one. To get federal recognition even if this means calling the Hawaiians an Indian Tribe under the Federal Government of the United States. I’m so sick and tired of these politicians who work deals from behind the scenes without communicating with their constituents. We need to vote them out.
Colette Machado was quoted as saying “We’re not dumb and deaf,” she said. “We care about the future of our people.” If she cared about the future of our people, she would communicate OHA’s intensions with regard to these secret meetings. As for Peter Apo, why would you say that OHA should abandon its role in nation building because it threatens and undermines the sacred trust of Native Hawaiians and Hawaiians, then retract that statement after it was posted on your web site. Sounds like Collette got pissed off and you changed your thinking. Grow some balls or go back to Fun Factory.
The bottom line is these Trustees have given the Hawaiian Community a reason to question their ability to represent Hawaiians in the best way possible.
David Malo stated “The big fish were coming up out of the sea to eat the little fish, unless they, (The Hawaiians) changed their way’s”.
What Malo meant was to listen less to the missionaries, for he wrote later, of them and others, that no early foreigners had been endowed with the wisdom to understand and preserve or build upon the culture of the Hawaiians. “First they came sightless, then blinded by self-righteousness, and lastly eyes open to self interest.”
Aloha Kuniole, mahalo for expressing what alot of us feel about OHA. Although I’m not surprised on how they conduct themselves. OHA is part of an illegal regime created by it’s master, the U.S. occupier. It was created only as window dressing for the appearance that the State and Fed gov’t were caring for the interests of the Hawaiians. OHA was given recognition, money and assets in exchange for federal recognition. It will never give Hawaiians Independence. We just seen for ourselves that the U.S. Master told it’s OHA puppets that if they can’t get the job done then the Master will do it for them. The U.S. was hoping OHA could pull it off so it can have at least a semblance of a Hawaiian referendum. However, just like the U.S. so-called annexation and statehood act the U.S. Master will add Nation within a Nation Federal Recognition to it’s puppet show repertoire. So don’t be surprised, Judas sold out Jesus for just 30 pieces of silver, OHA is being given millions to sell us out.