David Shapiro’s “Volcanic Ash” column in today’s Star-Advertiser:
The telescope protests atop Mauna Kea have spurred increased political activism by Native Hawaiians, but it’s heading in different directions.
At last weekend’s Aloha Aina rally in Waikiki, leaders urged more Hawaiian involvement in state and county politics to preserve lands they consider sacred.
Molokai activist Walter Ritte said sovereignty remains the long-term goal, but Hawaiians must assert themselves in state politics to save diminishing resources.
“We’re losing them much too fast,” Ritte said. “By the time we get to our long-term goals, we’re not going to have any natural resources to pass to our future generations.”
He was rebuked on Facebook by nationalist leader Bumpy Kanahele, who accused Ritte of never supporting Hawaiian independence and asked mockingly, “You still believe in the American Dream?”
“Desecration, evictions, homelessness, poverty, abuse … overcrowding, traditional and customary rights will never win in the federal and state judicial system,” Kanahele declared. “I guarantee you when we form our own independent Hawaiian government, all these separate fires will stop.”
Kanahele is urging nationalists to focus on “taking over” the upcoming constitutional convention sponsored by the state Office of Hawaiian Affairs, which they’ve shunned until now.
Nationalists have seen the convention as an attempt to impose OHA’s vision of state-within-a-state sovereignty, giving President Barack Obama a pretext to recognize Hawaiians as the equivalent of an Indian tribe, which Hawaiians overwhelmingly opposed during hearings.
Kanahele believes nationalists can use the constitutional convention to create a provisional Hawaiian government, complete with a military, to negotiate Hawaii’s independence from the United States.
The Hawaiians-only election and convention face a legal challenge in federal court, and it remains very much to be seen if a majority of Native Hawaiians support independence in which they give up their U.S. citizenship.
Kanahele has the logistical challenge of getting enough nationalists registered for the Hawaiian Roll and accredited as convention candidates before the filing deadline, Sept. 15.
His effort is at odds with other nationalists who believe Hawaii wasn’t legally annexed by the United States and already is an independent nation. They shun state and federal negotiations and press their claims at the United Nations and other international forums.
The Hawaiian Roll, called Kanaiolowalu, has been considered a farce after signing up only 40,000 of more than 500,000 Native Hawaiians worldwide despite years of soliciting and millions spent.
The majority of the 95,000 Hawaiians now on the roll didn’t voluntarily register, but were filched from other lists.
Nevertheless, if the ConCon survives in court, it could be lively if Kanahele and others with hard nationalist views are elected as delegates.
And the 2016 state and county elections will become a lot more interesting if Hawaiians who share Ritte’s views get involved with the energy they’ve brought to the Mauna Kea protests.
My Opinion in Comment: Let me introduce myself, I am Mel aka Wildman, Paralegal Prose Litigant. I had done research since 1987 and still continue to do so. Matter of opinion,I must agree with Mr. Kanahele..I’ve known him in the past but reluctantly his ethics are not my style, Yet, Born and raised in Waimanalo as well,he originally was the titled first to expose Native Hawaiian Rights when it began in Waimanalo. Walter Ritte came years after, I had not met either Gentlemen in the past but recently met with Mr. Ritte at the Unity March, seemed too busy to talk or was not interested. No problem, first impressions are most likely to be what would be the future outcome. In he past generations of Politics, Mr. John Waihe’e in past Office as Governor,should had reconciled the Hawaiian Constitution and Rights of Native Hawaiians’. In office he failed his own Heritage,and now jumps at the opportunity to gain leadership with intent of democracy to pursue financial gains along with those in collaboration in OHA, bear in mind, “OHA”is State owned,not Hawaiian Owned, therefore State runs its own State Program, for the State, and by the State. Mr. Peter Apo, is the likeness of Waihe’e…smiling faces tend to impair true meanings..Mr. Apo himself showed his true colors,voted against TMT, and recently revoked his vote to agreement for TMT. Did Money make a difference ?. Transparency of all whom i had named is the key issue. Organization cannot be complete where disparity and corruption is imminent from its past. Mr. Waihe’e directly and factually speaking did you not have Business dealings in the past with those who were forsaken and executed evictions from Crown land farming in Manuwili ?…to whom should we trust ?…in reference to the present status of review, TMT on Mauna Kea a sacred Mountain , Ho’opili Development on Farmland…we have lost more lands in Hawai’i since the reign of Governor Ariyoshi,and John Waihe’e to Mainland Developers…The State of Hawai’i uses the Hawai’i Constitution from 1890’s to establish the HRS (Hawaii Revised Statues), yet as I tried to explain to Mr. Ritte, who will probably have to read it instead, that the Hawaii Constitution used today for the HRS is ” MOOT “. Since 2003 to todays date, Amendments are all Moot. In 1893, a provisional Constitution was made and in 2003, The Hawaiian Constitution Ka Lahui became the Only Constitution after the annexation to be Proclaimed by a U.S President,a Senator,a Congressman. This same Constitution was noted for Rights to Access. And, the State of Hawai’i bypassed it to cover-up using a Constitution which was invalid up to present date. The Constitution they are using was never proclaimed by a U.S President,witnessed by a Senator, or Congressman. In further, the Ka Lahui Constitution was the only one used in a Supreme Court case, annotated the PELE DEFENSE FUND v.PATY 837 P.2d 1247 (Haw.1992). Quoted the Hawai’i Constitution Article 1, Sec. 18-3 Rights to Access. If Hawaii is going to Organized a Committe or Board,it needs to deplete is Corrupted insurgency within. Mahalo, Mel aka Wildman.