Lawmakers: OHA settlement will not be liked by Hawaiians

Star-Bulletin reports:

State leaders are raising questions about the multimillion-dollar settlement between the state and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs over the use of so-called ceded lands.

Lawmakers predicted the settlement will not be liked by native Hawaiians. "I don't think the beneficiaries are going to be pleased with this settlement," said Senate President Colleen Hanabusa.

And former Gov. Ben Cayetano, who had worked for a settlement while he was in office, said the offer he made was a better deal for native Hawaiians.

Update: One other thought. I like that the S-B refers to the "so-called ceded lands" which I think is appropriate—even though their reasons may not be the same as mine. I have referred to them that way for many years, but I haven't noticed it in the media too often. There are two related reasons.

First, from the Apology:

Whereas, the Republic of Hawaii also ceded 1,800,000 acres of crown, government and public lands of the Kingdom of Hawaii, without the consent of or compensation to the Native Hawaiian people of Hawaii or their sovereign government;

Okay, setting aside that it was the Hawaiian nationals and their sovereign government (not just Native Hawaiians), what this and the rest of the Apology says is that the so-called Republic of Hawaii had no authority to cede or transfer these lands in the first place. No consent + no compensation. Didn't ask, didn't pay. Stolen. It says they "ceded" the lands, while saying they had no such authority to do so.

Second, they were never ceded anyway. Show me the treaty of cession. This is an alleged transaction between two sovereign nations (even if one happens to have a government empowered through an illegal intervention by the other one), which can only be enacted through a treaty. But no treaty was ever ratified transferring the sovereignty or the lands of Hawaii to the United States. The lands were never ceded. Never.

That's why if you're going to call them ceded lands out of convention, it is appropriate to refer to them as "so-called ceded lands." I'm not sure of the S-B reasons, but they're right to do it.

These are the national lands of the Hawaiian kingdom. Despite its government being ineffective due to prolonged illegal occupation, the state of the Hawaiian kingdom has never lawfully been merged or terminated, never legally ceased to exist. And these lands continue today to be the national lands (Crown and government) of the Hawaiian kingdom.

Posted: Tue - January 22, 2008 at 08:17 AM

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Lawmakers: OHA settlement will not be liked by Hawaiians

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