| Congressman Faleomavaega recently testified before
the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs in support of S.2899 – a bill to
express the policy of the United States regarding its relationship with
Native Hawaiians. Earlier this year, Senator Daniel Akaka, the first
Polynesian and Native Hawaiian to sit as a member of the U.S. Senate, introduced
the bill to clarify the political relationship that exists between Native
Hawaiians and the federal government.
“This bill is a beginning,” Congressman Faleomavaega explained.
“It is a measure for organization. It is an act of empowerment.
It gives voice to those whose voices have historically been made mute.
As Senator Akaka has noted, this measure provides Native Hawaiians with
a seat at the table of government. It provides authority for Native
Hawaiians to define their future and participate in the process of choice.
It provides Native Hawaiians with the opportunity to choose their own leaders
to represent them before state and federal agencies. It assures that
the United States Congress, as part of its constitutionally mandated authority,
duly recognizes, accepts and acknowledges Native Hawaiians as a sovereign
people in the same way that Native Americans and Native Alaskans are recognized
under the U.S. Constitution.”
Congressman Faleomavaega also noted that the measure provides the
Native Hawaiian community with an opportunity to form a government-to-government
relationship with the United States within the context of the U.S. Constitution
and federal law. The bill also provides a process for Native Hawaiians
to negotiate with the state of Hawaii and other appropriate officials and
agencies of the federal government regarding such long-standing issues
as ceded lands.
“The Native Hawaiian issue has deep implications for American Samoa,”
Faleomavaega said. “It goes to the heart of how the federal government
interacts with indigenous people. More importantly, it speaks to
the issue of cultural preservation. That is why I fully support the
bill.”
Faleomavaega concluded his remarks before the Senate Committee on
Indian Affairs by saying, “I honestly believe it is time for Congress to
correct the inequity that exists in our current process with respect to
Native Hawaiians. It is time for Congress to recognize and acknowledge
that Native Hawaiians, or Kanaka Maoli, are a sovereign people with the
inherent right to establish a government-to-government relationship with
both the state of Hawaii and the federal government.”
Faleomavaega then urged the members of the Senate Committee on Indian
affairs to consider the words of Black Elk, Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux,
as they deliberate the outcome of the bill. “If I could borrow the
words of Black Elk and apply them to this setting as a reminder of what
I believe our responsibility to the Kanaka Maoli should be,” Faleomavaega
said, “I would simply say –
Some little root of the sacred tree still lives.
Nourish it then
That it may leaf
And bloom
And fill with singing birds!
Hear me, that the people may once again
Find the good road
And the shielding tree.”
- # # # -
Note: Full text of Congressman Faleomavaega’s statement before
the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs is attached.
Attachment
STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA
SENATE COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS
HEARING ON S.2899 – A BILL TO EXPRESS THE POLICY OF
THE UNITED STATES REGARDING THE UNITED STATES’
RELATIONSHIP WITH NATIVE HAWAIIANS
14 SEPTEMBER 2000
Mr. Chairman:
There are well over 200,000 Native Hawaiians living in Hawaii.
I suspect there are approximately another 100,000 living throughout the
continental United States. In number, Native Hawaiians are the largest
indigenous group of people living in the United States today.
As one of Polynesian ancestry, I thank God that the Kanaka Maoli,
or the Hawaiian people, have not become an extinct race. Given the
unfortunate turn of historical events that have now made Native Hawaiians
strangers in their own lands, it is only by the grace of God that Native
Hawaiians now number over 300,000.
Mr. Chairman, the Kanaka Maoli are my kin. For purposes of
giving you a sense of who we are, I would like to share with you something
Captain James Cook once noted about the Kanaka Maoli, or Polynesian, nation.
Captain Cook observed that the Kanaka Maoli nation established settlements
from as far north as Hawaii and as far south as Actearoa (or what is now
known today as New Zealand). In between, the Kanaka Maoli settled
in Samoa, in Tokelau, in Tuvalu, parts of Fiji and Tonga. The Kanaka
Maoli nation also stretched as far east as Rapanui (now known as Easter
Island) and constituted what Cook thought was the largest nation on the
earth.
Since Cook’s time, we have had our fair share of romantic writers
coming to the South Seas depicting our women coming out of the Garden of
Eden on moonlit, tropical shores with the scent of romance forever in the
air. We’ve also had our share of anthropologists who think they know
more about us than they know about themselves. We do not need anymore
Margaret Meads or Derek Freemans to describe to the world who we are as
a people. We know how we first came into being. We know our
past and are committed to our present. We are here today to define
our future.
Mr. Chairman, as we proceed today, I would like to add this thought
for the record. When we discuss the rights of Native Hawaiians, we
in effect discusss the inalienable rights of any people. As such,
what happened historically to Native Hawaiians in effect happened to all
of us. In this context, I would like to present the following for
consideration.
More than 100 years ago, ambitious descendants of U.S. missionaries
and sugar planters, aided by the unauthorized and illegal use of U.S. military
forces, overthrew the sovereign nation of Hawaii then ruled by Queen Lili’uokalani.
More than one hundred years, the United States Congress issued a formal
apology acknowledging that the Native Hawaiian people never relinquished
their right to their sovereignty or their sovereign lands.
Earlier this year, Senator Daniel Akaka, the first Polynesian and
Native Hawaiian to sit as a member of this distinguished body of U.S. Senators,
introduced Senate Bill 2899 to express and define a firm policy of the
United States Congress and the U.S. government regarding its relationship
with the Native Hawaiian people. Two weeks ago, the Senate
Committee on Indian Affairs and the House Resources Committee held joint
hearings for five days in Hawaii to consider S.2899 and H.R. 4904, its
companion measure.
The purpose of the measure is to clarify the political relationship
that exists between Native Hawaiians and the federal government.
Specifically, the measure provides the Native Hawaiian community with an
opportunity to form a government-to-government relationship with the United
States within the context of the U.S. Constitution and federal law.
The bill provides a process for Native Hawaiians to organize a Native Hawaiian
governing body, or essentially a Native Hawaiian government. The
bill also authorizes the Native Hawaiian governing body to negotiate with
the state of Hawaii and other appropriate officials and agencies of the
federal government regarding such long-standing issues as ceded lands currently
controlled by both the state and federal governments. The bill also
protects education, health, and housing programs that have been established
by federal law to benefit Native Hawaiians.
The bill does not relinquish the claims of Native Hawaiians to
their native lands. The bill does not address the issue of lands.
The bill is a beginning. It is a measure for organization.
It is an act of empowerment. It gives voice to those whose voices
have historically been made mute. As Senator Akaka has noted, this
measure provides Native Hawaiians with a seat at the table of government.
It provides authority for Native Hawaiians to define their future and participate
in the process of choice. It provides Native Hawaiians with the opportunity
to choose their own leaders to represent them before state and federal
agencies. It assures that the United States Congress, as part of
its constitutionally mandated authority, duly recognizes, accepts and acknowledges
Native Hawaiians as a sovereign people in the same way that Native Americans
and Native Alaskans are recognized under the U.S. Constitution.
More than 150 people presented oral testimony at the Joint Congressional
Hearings in Hawaii. Many more have presented written testimony.
Though some are opposed, those representing major Hawaiian organizations
and associations lend their full support for the bill. The bill has
been revised to reflect the input of the Native Hawaiian community.
Revisions include a clarification of purpose to provide for the
reorganization of a Native Hawaiian government and for the recognition
by the United States of the Native Hawaiian government for purposes of
continuing a government-to-government relationship. Revisions also
authorize the United States Office for Native Hawaiian Affairs to enter
into a contract with or make grants for purposes addressed in section 7
for a period of 3 years from the date of enactment of this Act. In
addition, Senate and House Appointments to the Native Hawaiian Commission
have been added for purposes of certifying that adult members of the Native
Hawaiian community on the roll meet the definition of Native Hawaiian.
Findings, particularly those related to the issue of ceded lands, have
been more fully clarified. Most importantly, the process has been
streamlined to provide a more fluid approach to reconciliation.
I fully support the changes that have been made and I honestly believe
it is time now for the Congress to correct the inequity that exists in
our current process with respect to Native Hawaiians. It is time
for Congress to recognize and acknowledge that Native Hawaiians, or Kanaka
Maoli, are a sovereign people with the inherent rights to establish a government-to-government
relationship with both the state of Hawaii and the federal government.
If I could borrow the words of Black Elk, Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux,
and apply them to this setting as a reminder of what I believe our responsibility
to the Kanaka Maoli should be, I would simply say –
Some little root of the sacred tree still lives.
Nourish it then
That it may leaf
And bloom
And fill with singing birds!
Hear me, that the people may once again
Find the good road
And the shielding tree.
With this, Mr. Chairman, I extend my thanks to you and the other
distinguished members of the Committee for hearing my testimony in behalf
of my kin. |
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