A nation within a nation
The Issue: The Akaka proposal to grant Native Hawaiians limited sovereignty now under review.
Our View: The rainbow of views from among Hawaiians is a tall order to secure a unified voice.
It is appropriate that the federal government apologizes for overthrowing the Hawaiian Nation more than a century ago.
The next thorny question up the ladder is keeping the essence and integrity of sovereignty now being sought of the federal government. If full sovereignty was the character of the Hawaiian Nation before the overthrow, why would they want to settle for second best or limited sovereignty?
The Hawaiian Nation movement has seen its revival strengthened, but it also must contend with the cascading effects of a recent US Supreme Court decision (Rice Vs. Cayetano) that nullifies limiting voting of Office of Hawaiian Affairs board members strictly to Native Hawaiians. This decision may have opened a box of pandoras on federally subsidized programs designed for Native Hawaiians on whether it should or shouldn’t be allowed to continue. Will it hold the scrutiny of court reviews down the stretch if a taxpayer litigates it? It remains to be seen!
The apparent difficulty in securing a unified position on current movement for a “nation within a nation” is founded in the rainbow of Hawaiians of various ethnic background. The indigenous Hawaiians no longer can boast dominance given that through the century, inter-marriage has taken place between ethnic groups who have made Hawaii their home.
Other than Polynesians, there are the other Hawaiians: Chinese, Japanese, Okinawans, Filipinos and others brought to the Aloha State to work in its huge sugar plantation as indentured slaves. They have become US Citizens and call Hawaii home. They too have different views of the current movement to attain the so-called “Nation within a Nation”.
Nothing would come easy unless everybody is focused on the issue at hand. It’s a difficult road to tread and we hope that it doesn’t in any way, form or fashion the basis to promote ethnicity as we have seen in Fiji in recent months. Let it be “E Pluribus Unum”. Si Yuus Maase`!
