Hawaiian rights activist Dennis Pu'uhonua "Bumpy" Kanahele's planned constitutional convention for Native Hawaiians won't take place next month as some had envisioned.

Kanahele said he is still gathering support from Native Hawaiians for the effort, which would be separate from a Hawai'i state ballot issue in November asking voters whether they want a convention that would consider changes to the Hawai'i State Constitution. Kanahele believes a Native Hawaiian convention could work toward unifying the historically fractured Hawaiian independence movement.
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Kanahele last week said [...] he is now focused on getting a minimum of 50,000 signatures supporting a constitutional convention before he wants to move forward.

He would not say how long he thinks that will take. He estimated that he has "over a few thousand right now." About 10,000 forms have been released and those have the potential of becoming 100,000 signatures, he said.

"We're just plugging away and getting more signatures," Kanahele said.

The signatures are considered important because they would form the basis for people who would vote in a constitutional convention and because the signatures would establish credibility with an international tribunal or independent entity.

The leader of the Independent and Sovereign Nation State of Hawaii (Nation of Hawaii), Kanahele has stressed that while he wants to take the lead organizing a gathering, his group's view will be only one of the views that would be presented for participants to consider.

Convention participants may ultimately decide they favor federal recognition for a Native Hawaiian entity through the Akaka bill as advocated by OHA instead of sovereignty, he said.

But that's not likely, given that most sovereignty groups don't think federal recognition will offer enough in compensation for the 1893 overthrow of the Hawaiian government and that a Hawaiian government entity should be negotiating with an international tribunal rather than the U.S. government.

Thomas Clark, a candidate for the Territorial senator from Maui, holds that it was an unconstitutional proceeding on the part of the United States to annex the Islands without a treaty, and that as a matter of fact, the Island (sic) are not annexed, and cannot be, and that if the democrats come into power they will show the thing up in its true light and demonstrate that that (sic) the Islands are de facto independent at the present time. Thomas, necessity knows no law, and it was absolutely necessary to access the Islands at the time it was done. And further, Thomas, if it becomes necessary to annex Cuba, it will be done quicker than a wink. It is but fair to give you credit for being honest in your views, Thomas, but you don't quite understand the American people just yet, hence you are very misleading.

It was a time of healing for Iolani Palace on Sunday morning, more than a week after Hawaii sovereignty activists briefly took over the palace.
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Four royal societies marched in full regalia in a show of support for the palace and its place as an historic Hawaiian treasure.

"It served as the home of our aliis. It served as the government of our aliis. It served for the people of Hawaii," said Edward Akana of Alii Ai Moku.

The societies included the Royal Order of Kamehameha, Kaahumanu Society, Hale o Na Ali'i o Hawaii and Daughters and Sons of Hawaiian Warriors.

Privately, supporters of the bill believe they have the 60 votes necessary to break a Senate filibuster. The strategy is to get the bill through the Senate and then possibly attach it to other legislation to reduce the chances of a Bush veto. Even if Bush were to veto the bill, some supporters say, it would be in a stronger position if re-introduced in the next Congress because of having finally cleared the Senate after eight years.

Ikaika Hussey, an organizer with the Movement for Aloha No ka Aina, a group seeking independence, said the discussion should go back to the question of reconciliation raised by the 1993 apology resolution.

"I think even the people who support the Akaka bill recognize it doesn't really address the question of reconciliation. It's sort of a work-around," he said. "It's bad legislation, all the way around."

Hussey said reconciliation is not the same as an apology and he would urge Obama or McCain to look at the issue differently than how it is presented in the bill. He said it should not be about federal recognition, but how to return land and correct the effects of private development and military expansion.

Hussey would like something more akin to the Waitangi Tribunal in New Zealand, which reviews claims brought against the government by the indigenous Maori, or the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which heard accounts of government abuses under apartheid.

"I would tell them that we do need to arrive at a political agreement," he said. "But it needs to be based on the question of making right the wrongs of the past and making sure that, moving forward, we have an equitable solution."

ARTICLE 22.

The Crown is hereby permanently confirmed to His Majesty Kalakaua, and to the Heirs of His body lawfully begotten, and to their lawful Descendants in a direct line; failing whom, the Crown shall descend to Her Royal Highness the Princess Liliuokalani, and the heirs of her body, lawfully begotten, and their lawful descendants in direct a line. The Succession shall be to the senior male child, and to the heirs of his body; failing a male child, the succession, shall be to the senior female child, and to the heirs of her body. In case there is no heir as above provided, the successor shall be the person whom the Sovereign shall appoint with the consent of the Nobles, and publicly proclaim during the Sovereign's life; but should there be no such appointed and proclamation, and the Throne should become vacant, then the Cabinet, immediately after the occurring of such vacancy, shall cause a meeting of the Legislature, who shall elect by ballot some native Alii of the Kingdom as Successor to the Throne; and the Successor so elected shall become a new Stirps for the Royal Family; and the Succession from the Sovereign thus elected, shall be regulated by the same law as the present Royal Family of Hawaii.

The Department of Land and Natural Resources has scheduled a series of statewide hearings to gather input on proposed rule amendments for the use and protection of the 'Iolani Palace State Monument.
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"The state is proposing to establish new administrative rules for 'Iolani Palace State Monument that will help protect and preserve the historic and cultural significance of this important piece of Hawai'i's history and heritage for future generations; and meet the monument's education mission to preserve the character of Hawai'i's monarchy era," said Laura H. Thielen, DLNR chairwoman.

"We invite all interested individuals to attend a public hearing to present relevant information and opinions for the DLNR to consider," Thielen said.

Meetings will begin at 6:30 p.m. except on Lana'i where the meeting begins at 5 p.m. The schedule is as follows:

Moloka'i – Aug. 12, Kaunakakai Elementary School cafeteria, 30 Ailoa St., Kaunakakai.
Lana'i – Aug. 12, 5 p.m., Lana'i High and Elementary School, room L16, 555 Fraser Ave. Lana'i City.
O'ahu – Aug. 13, DLNR Board room 132, 1151 Punchbowl St., Honolulu.
West Hawai'i – Aug. 13, Events Pavilion, Old Kona Airport County Park, 75-5480 Kuakini Highway, Kailua, Kona.
Maui – Aug. 13, Maui County Planning Department conference room, 1st floor, 250 South High St., Wailuku.
East Hawai'i – Aug. 14, State Office Building, 75 Aupuni St., conference rooms A, B and C, Hilo.
Kaua'i – Aug. 18, State Office Building, 2nd floor conference room, 3060 'Eiwa St., Room 209, Lihu'e.

Anyone unable to attend or wishing to present additional comments, may mail written testimony by Sept. 5 to Administrator, DLNR Division of State Parks, 1151 Punchbowl St., Room 310, Honolulu, HI 96813.

The proposed rules are posted at www.hawaiistateparks.org/administrative/index.cfm. A copy of the proposed rule changes will be mailed at no charge upon receipt of verbal or written request to: Administrator, DLNR Division of State Parks, 1151 Punchbowl St., Room 310, Honolulu, HI 96813. A copy may be also requested in person from the state parks offices on each island. For more information on the meetings, contact Steve Thompson at 587-0303.

A lawsuit filed today against Kamehameha Schools is once again challenging its admissions policy that favors Native Hawaiian children.

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of four children and their families “seeks an end to the ‘Native Hawaiians only’ admissions policy,” of the schools, a statement by lawyers for the children said.

Attorneys Eric Grant of California and David B. Rosen of Honolulu said the federal District Court lawsuit filed today “is essentially identical to the earlier lawsuit filed on behalf of ‘John Doe,’” which the schools settled last year.

From thousands of T-shirts to the establishment of a bureau office in Washington, D.C., the Office of Hawaiian Affairs has spent nearly $7.5 million in the past three years on three separate efforts designed to establish a Hawaiians-only government entity.

OHA spent an additional $2 million in the 2008 budget year that ended June 30 and has budgeted about $2 million for the current year, OHA administrator Clyde Namu'o said last week.

The spending is detailed in reports posted recently on OHA's Web site that represent the fullest public accounting yet on the agency's nation-building expenditures, an area of controversy for some Native Hawaiians.

To put things in perspective, the approximately $2 million that is to be spent on nation-building efforts both this year and next year represents about 5 percent of OHA's annual operating budget.

OHA has come under fire in some quarters for its aggressive efforts lobbying for passage of the Akaka bill, enrolling Hawaiians in the Kau Inoa voter registry, and establishing the Ho'oulu Lahui Aloha Hawaiian Governance Initiative.

Authority questioned

Some feel that OHA, as a state agency, is not the right party to be at the head of any effort that would lead to negotiating what reparations are due to Hawaiians as a result of the U.S. role in the 1893 overthrow of the Hawaiian government.

Native Hawaiian protesters on the beach clashed with construction workers yesterday after a tense day at a home site at Naue Point where at least 30 bodies are buried.

No one was arrested or injured, but both the protesters and the construction workers filed complaints with the police, who arrived at about 1 p.m.

The site, where a home is being constructed by California businessman Joseph Brescia, has been the subject of numerous legal battles over where to put the building, how far it should be set back from the ocean, and where the property line exists.

Hawaii’s Board of Land and Natural Resources is considering whether to approve a public hearing on proposed new rules for Iolani palace after on-site protests by native Hawaiians.
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But International law professor at the University of Illinois, Francis Boyle, says the group is within their rights to possess what is essentially their land and under international law have an airtight case.

“I think its significant for the fact that they have actually now tried to reclaim the Iolani palace, that was the headquarters of the Queen where she lived until she was overthrown and imprisoned. So I think it has a great deal, certainly of symbolic, and political and legal significance.”

An indigenous Hawaiian senator says Ionai [sic] palace is a public space and native Hawaiians are entitled to use the property.
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Senator Kalani English says many native Hawaiian groups are determined to protect and utilise what they say is rightfully their land.

“One of the things that always strikes me is that people always try to romanticise our culture and turn us into a museum piece. And that’s always very scary, because we’re still here, we’re still 20 percent of the population, quite a large segment of the population, and yet we still have real issues.”

Oh, honest Americans, as Christians hear me for my downtrodden people! Their form of government is as dear to them as yours is as precious to you. Quite warmly as you love your country, so they love theirs.

—Queen Lili'uokalani, Hawaii's Story by Hawaii's Queen, 1898

The state Office of Hawaiian Affairs has enlisted larger-than-life retired U.S. Sen. Ben Night-horse Campbell to help its efforts to push the Akaka bill through Congress.

Campbell, 75, is the son of a Northern Cheyenne Indian, and was the first American Indian to serve in the U.S. Senate when he represented Colorado from 1992 to 2004. For a time, he chaired the Indian Affairs Committee, the only American Indian to do so.

OHA administrator Clyde Namu'o said OHA's strategy is to try to get the Akaka bill out of Congress and into the hands of President Bush before the end of the year. Failure to do so would send the matter back to the drawing board.
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Namu'o said Campbell is being retained under a subcontract with Patton Boggs, the Washington, D.C.-based lobbying firm that OHA has paid more than $2 million to help win support for the Akaka bill.

Namu'o noted that Campbell is a longtime Republican. "There were certain Republican senators who Patton Boggs felt former Sen. Campbell could be helpful in discussing the positive aspects of the Akaka bill," Namu'o said.
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Namu'o said OHA is still aiming to get enough senators to pass a cloture petition on the Akaka bill, which would lead the way to a Senate floor vote on the issue before the end of the year.
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The Bush administration has indicated opposition to the bill, and the president may veto it if it passes.
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If the debate over the Akaka bill were to drag into next year, the dynamics of the discussion would change immensely with the changing landscape of Washington. Not only would there be a new Congress, there would be a new president. Democrat Barack Obama supports the bill, and Republican John McCain opposes it.

"The legal cause for the restoration of the kingdom is air-tight," said Francis Boyle, professor of international law at the University of Illinois, who has been advising Hawaiian independence groups since 1992.
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"Native Hawaiians operate in accordance with the Aloha spirit, which is similar to Mahatma Gandhi's Satyagraha force, and I take the position that if Gandhi can throw the mighty British Empire out of India with Satyagraha, Native Hawaiians can throw the mighty American empire out of Hawaii with Aloha."

Hawaiian rights activist Dennis Pu'uhonua "Bumpy" Kanahele is gaining support for a proposed Native Hawaiian constitutional convention aimed at unifying the historically fractured Hawaiian independence movement.

A Native Hawaiian convention would be separate from a ballot issue in November asking voters whe-ther they want a convention to amend the state Constitution.

A Native Hawaiian concon was supported yesterday by several members of Native Hawaiian organizations, including the Kanaka Maoli Tribunal Komike, the Kaua'i-based Koani Foundation and Hui Pu, an umbrella organization of various independence organizations.

The Hawaiian Kingdom Government, which is occupying the mauka lawn of 'Iolani Palace and "conducting business" there as its first step toward reclaiming Hawai'i from the U.S., also supports the intent of a constitutional convention, said spokes-man Orrin Kupau.

Kanahele said a petition drive to gather supporters for a Native Hawaiian concon has drawn more than 20,000 signatures.

Kanahele, leader of the Independent and Sovereign Nation State of Hawaii (Nation of Hawaii), said the constitutional convention would create a "free, fair and impartial process" for sovereignty advocates to discuss how they can collectively move forward.

A federal judge has ruled in favor of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs' policy of assisting all Native Hawaiians, not just those with 50 percent or more Hawaiian blood.

U.S. District Judge Susan Oki Mollway on Friday ruled in favor of OHA trustees and dismissed a lawsuit that claimed OHA could only spend money on Hawaiians of "not less than one-half part" of Hawaiian blood.

The lawsuit was filed by five men, each with 50 percent or more Hawaiian blood, who said OHA has too many beneficiaries and that money from what's known as the Public Land Trust — established under the Hawai'i Admissions Act of 1959, which admitted Hawai'i as a state — can only be used to benefit those who have at least 50 percent Hawaiian blood.

Mollway said in her ruling that "the Admissions Act is not so restrictive."

Earlier, in documents that indicated how she would eventually rule, Mollway wrote: "OHA trustees have broad discretion" in deciding how to better the condition of native Hawaiians.

OHA maintains that its mandate is to assist all Hawaiians, regardless of blood quantum.

Walter Schoettle, attorney for the plaintiffs, yesterday said of the ruling: "It's wrong, and we're going to appeal to the 9th Circuit."

HONOLULU (AP) — A U.S. District Court judge is deciding whether to once again dismiss a lawsuit filed against the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

Judge Susan Oki Mollway heard arguments yesterday in the case that pits OHA against five Native Hawaiians.

The five are seeking to stop OHA from funding programs for those who have less than 50 percent Hawaiian blood.

They say the state agency breached the public land trust by paying for programs for all Hawaiians, regardless of their blood quantum.

Mollway threw out the case in 2006. But it was reinstated last August by a federal appeals court.

On Friday, Mollway issued an "inclination" statement, indicating she was leaning toward siding with OHA and its motion to dismiss the case.

OHA's attorney said a Native Hawaiian government established by the pending Akaka Bill will have to define its membership.

"That entity would have its rules and its rules will probably have a blood quantum," Klein said.
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Even if most Hawaiians oppose a blood quantum they might be forced to accept it because under the Akaka Bill, the U.S. Department of interior must accept the Hawaiian entity's rules and it might demand a blood quantum similar to most Native American tribes.

Taro farmers in East Maui say their summer crop is being ruined by a lack of water and the failure of a state commission to maintain stream flows to their patches.

Through a system of ditches that had its beginnings in 1876, East Maui Irrigation supplies 126 billion gallons of water per year to its sister firm, Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co., and 3 billion gallons to Upcountry Maui residents and farmers.

Native Hawaiian taro farmers have argued that the ditches are on ceded lands, a portion of which belongs to them under the Statehood Act, yet they have not received the benefits from the lands.

Alan Murakami, an attorney for the Native Hawaiian Legal Corp., said Alexander & Baldwin is profiting from the agreement with the state and pays only one-fifth of 1 cent per 1,000 gallons for East Maui water, while most Maui farmers pay more than 35 cents per 1,000 gallons.

The state Commission on Water Resource Management is currently reviewing stream flow standards of five areas in East Maui, including Honopou, Hanehoi, Piinaau, Waiokamilo and Wailuanui. The comment deadline is tomorrow.