Honorable Representative Mazie Hirono
Member of the US House of Representatives
October 23, 2007
Dear Madame Representative:
It has come to my attention that the full House will be voting on the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act tomorrow, Wednesday the 24th. I must ask that you insist that the vote be delayed until hearings are held in Hawaii. This is a minimum expectation in a democratic society; and even without democracy, we still demand to be heard. The “Akaka Bill” is a serious measure, with drastic consequences for the Kanaka Maoli people and for all people of Hawaii.
You are of course aware that hearings were only held once in Hawaii, at the beginning of this decade, and on a completely different iteration of this bill. The current draft decimates any possibility of an honest reconciliation process between Hawaii and the United States by rendering it impossible to sue on historic breaches of domestic trust and international law. It contains specific exemptions for the US military, which is the single largest polluter in Hawaii (and the US), and controls more than 25% of the island of Oahu. It also weakens current federal Indian law, by forcing the Hawaiian Governing Entity to enter into a three-way negotiation process with the state and federal governments, instead of the customary federal-Indian negotiations that are common in Indian Country.
Honorable Representative, the people of our shared homeland should not be ignored on this measure. We have legitimate concerns which deserve a hearing.
Please uphold the spirit of democracy – convene hearings in Hawaii now.
Respectfully,
Ikaika Hussey
