This blog is about Hawaii's status as an independent country under prolonged illegal occupation by the United States, and the history, culture, law & politics of the islands.
Kamehameha Publishing is holding a book launch event this evening, Tuesday, October 20, at William S. Richardson School of Law from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. for Native Hawaiian Law: A Treatise.
Native Hawaiian Law: A Treatise is the definitive resource for understanding critical legal issues affecting Native Hawaiians. This extensively revised and updated edition of the groundbreaking 1991 Native Hawaiian Rights Handbook offers a comprehensive overview and analysis of specific topics within this complex area of law including:
Native Hawaiians and U.S. Law
Native Hawaiians and International Law
The Public Land Trust
Water Rights
Traditional and Customary Access and
Gathering Rights
Burial Rights
The Hawaiian Homes Commission Act
The Island of Kahoʻolawe
Indigenous Cultural Property
Native Hawaiian Health
Hawaiian Language and Education
And miuch more
Native Hawaiian Law provides the tools to find relevant cases, statutes,
and regulations impacting the rights of Native Hawaiians. It focuses on
the relationship between Native Hawaiians and the state and federal governments; trust lands; vital areas of resource protection and management; protection of burials, repatriation, language, education,
and health; and emerging human rights norms affecting indigenous peoples. This in-depth guide is an essential addition to the growing body of scholarship on indigenous peoples’ law.
Native Hawaiian Law: A Treatise is a collaborative effort of the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation, Ka Huli Ao Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law at the William S. Richardson School of Law – University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, and Kamehameha Publishing.
Here’s the KS release on the private book launch held earlier.
The Aloha ʻĀina Unity March down Front Street in Lahaina on Sunday was a huge success, according to event organizers, calling it a “a beautiful day of activation.”
Determined to raise awareness about development and the exploitation of the natural and cultural resources of the Hawaiian Islands, Aloha ʻĀina enjoyed an epic day that started with a march from Mala Wharf to Mokuʻula, followed by a rally at Kamehameha Iki Park, where leaders and performers took the stage.
[…]
More than 30 organizations sponsored or endorsed the event, ranging from cultural and environmental groups to surfers and local small businesses.
The Hawaiian Kingdom’s most important national holiday — La Kuokoa, or Independence Day — officially was recognized Wednesday by the Hawaii County Council in a nonbinding resolution asking the state Legislature to add Nov. 28 to its list of state holidays.
Nov. 28, 1843, was the date Great Britain and France formally recognized the Hawaiian Islands as an independent state. La Kuokoa was celebrated openly by the Hawaiian Kingdom until 1895, two years after the 1893 overthrow, said Kale Gumapac, a Hawaiian rights activist.
The council approved Resolution 285 by an 8-0 vote, with Puna Councilman Dan Paleka absent. Three members of the nine-member council, including Paleka, have Native Hawaiian ancestry.
“This is the beginning of the reawakening of our history,” Gumapac said. “We need to restore what was erased from Hawaii schoolbooks. Worse, it was erased from kanaka memory.”
Some 209 candidates will vie for 40 delegate positions across the islands for the Native Hawaiian ‘aha constitutional convention that will work to form a Native Hawaiian government.
Kuhio Asam, president of Na‘i Aupuni, which is in charge of running the November election and subsequent Native Hawaiian convention and ratification process, said the candidates are “diverse in their age, backgrounds and purpose,” adding, “They are representative of a good cross section of the Native Hawaiian community.”
They include former and current state legislators such as state Rep. Kaniela Ing (D, South Maui); former City Council members; Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustees and administrators; lawyers; and University of Hawaii professors.
The candidates also include well-known activists such as Walter Ritte Jr. of Molokai; Moani Akaka of Hawaii island; and Mahealani Cypher, aka Denise DeCosta, a former Honolulu city clerk.
The delegates will be elected to represent Native Hawaiians who live in and outside Hawaii.
On Oahu, 110 candidates will vie for 20 delegate positions. Hawaii island has 32 candidates for seven slots; Maui, 15 contenders for three positions; Kauai and Niihau, five hopefuls for two spots; Molokai and Lanai, four candidates for one position; and out of state, 43 contenders for seven slots.
Ballots to elect the delegates will be sent to certified voters on Nov. 1, said Election-America, a private national company hired by Na‘i Aupuni to conduct the election.
Votes can be cast by mail or electronically but must be received by Nov. 30.
Native Hawaiians who have not been certified can still apply with the Native Hawaiian Roll Commission (kanaiolowalu.org) or the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (oha.org/registry).
The U.S. Department of the Interior today announced that Native Hawaiians — not the federal government — would decide whether to reorganize a Native Hawaiian government, what form that government would take, and whether it would seek a government-to-government relationship with the United States.
“The United States has a long-standing policy of supporting self-governance for Native peoples, yet the benefits of the government-to-government relationship have long been denied to Native Hawaiians, one of our nation’s largest indigenous communities,” U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell said in a statement out of Washington, D.C. “Today’s proposal is testament to the Obama Administration’s strong support for our nation’s Native peoples’ right to self-determination.”
The proposal takes the form of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that followed a series of public hearings across the islands last year.
Native Hawaiian Community Proposed Rule on Self-Governance
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
The U.S. Department of the Interior is proposing to create an administrative procedure and criteria that the Secretary of the Interior would apply if the Native Hawaiian community forms a unified government that then seeks a formal government-to-government relationship with the United States. Under the proposal, the Native Hawaiian community — not the Federal government — would decide whether to reorganize a Native Hawaiian government, what form that government would take, and whether it would seek a government-to-government relationship with the United States.
The proposal, which takes the form of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), builds on more than 150 Federal statutes that Congress has enacted over the last century to recognize and implement the special political and trust relationship between the United States and the Native Hawaiian community. The NPRM comes on the heels of a robust and transparent public comment period as part of an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) process that began last year and included public meetings. More than 5,000 members of the public submitted written comments to the ANPRM, and they overwhelmingly favored creating a pathway for re-establishing a formal government-to-government relationship.
Members of the public are encouraged to read the proposal and provide comments in writing by email to part50@doi.gov, on www.regulations.gov (docket no. DOI-2015-0005), or by U.S. mail/hand delivery to the Office of the Secretary, Department of the Interior, Room 7228, 1849 C St. NW, Washington, DC 20240. The public is also encouraged to participate in the scheduled teleconferences on the proposed rule.