Race, culture and legal questions complex
The Advertiser editorial
says: "Some Hawaiians were more than a little perplexed this week when U.S.
District Judge David Ezra offered up a bench lecture on the intricacies of the
Hawaiian hanai system and its place in legal and social history... This does
raise interesting questions about whether 'Hawaiian' is a genetic or cultural
definition."The Star-Bulletin editorial
says: "KAMEHAMEHA Schools' decision to settle a discrimination lawsuit brought
by a non-Hawaiian boy strategically sheds a case that, while similar to another
the institution has thus far defended successfully, risked blurring its focus
and diffusing efforts to maintain its admissions policy. For Hawaiians
displeased with the agreement, however, the pact salts cultural wounds, more so
when the court needlessly injected an interpretation of Hawaiian adoption
traditions while hinting about an outcome had the suit gone forward.
Nonetheless, the resolution frees Kamehameha Schools to defend an appeal of a
ruling in its favor."Kealamokihana
Jackson writes a letter
saying the trustees' settlement betrayed Hawaiians.
Posted: Sat
- December
6, 2003 at 07:58 AM