Do DNA testing to identify Hawaiians?
Carolyn Wortham, a Member of Choctaw Nation
living in Honolulu, responds
to the earlier letter by Maui
Loa, saying it is the "the first truth I have heard in this whole Akaka bill
foray." She then goes on to call for DNA testing to determine Hawaiian heritage.
Maybe I'm wrong, but—aside from the larger issue of DNA testing—it
seems to me that because Maui Loa didn't say it explicitly in his letter,
Wortham entirely missed the point that what Maui Loa is calling "fake Hawaiians"
are those with Hawaiian heritage at less than 50% blood quantum, as evident in
his testimony
on the Akaka bill. Fortunately, I don't think that can be determined by DNA
testing. Let's focus on the nationality of the country, not the blood line of a
domestic dependent nation, and hopefully we can avoid trying to DNA test all
Hawaiians to verify their identity. Yikes.
Update:
Derek detects sarcasm in her letter. I missed
it. He could be right, but it's not obvious to me. What do you
think?
Posted: Mon - March 14, 2005 at 10:35 AM