Native Hawaiians want their share of paradise

Today Governor Cayetano is gone but the Hawaiians and the legislature are at an impasse and the stakes are high. Due to the State Supreme Court's decision to toss out the law mandating 20 percent apportionment of ceded-land revenues, legislators have been given the chance to rewrite the law.

That move may prove popular with state residents. Polls show that a majority no longer favor big payouts to settle native Hawaiian claims. Further, the Federal definition of native Hawaiian - someone with at least 50 percent native blood - means that the 20 percent apportionment can only benefit a tiny fraction of the state's population.

The rich and exclusive Kamehameha Schools, a tax-exempt private educational institution serving only native Hawaiians, also ruffles feathers. "If you ... see the Kam Schools rolling in money but your kids can't go there and you see OHA demanding more with the ceded-land payments, at some point you are going to get upset," explains Dan Boylan, a political analyst and instructor at the University of Hawaii.

Right-wing opponents of native-Hawaiian entitlement programs vow to litigate any settlement of the ceded-lands issue that pays out significant monies.

"It's like the grandmother of all affirmative actions. OHA ... gives away public resources explicitly based on race," says H. William Burgess, a retired Honolulu attorney and key opponent of ceded lands settlements. Considering that the Supreme Court has already ruled against native Hawaiians rights in a previous case, Mr. Burgess believes that his challenge could dismantle the payout targeted for native Hawaiians.

For its part, the Lingle administration has sided with OHA. "The governor felt very strongly the previous governor's actions to restrict payment was not correct. She is committed to reactivating those payments," says Micah Kane, the head of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.

But the freshman governor is largely powerless to force legislation through the Democrat-dominated state house and senate. The leadership of the legislature, facing cutbacks in public-school funding and possible public-worker layoffs, seems intent on offering less than the $10 million that OHA had received in past settlements.

But after waiting decades, native Hawaiians are determined to receive reparations.

"We're not unreasonable people," says OHA administrator Clyde Namu'o. "The trustees understand there is a fiscal crisis in our state. The point is these are obligations that must be paid."

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