About 300 people converged on the state Capitol yesterday and urged the Lingle administration to back off its legal claim that the state has the right to sell ceded lands.

In a case that places the state against the state Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Gov. Linda Lingle and her administration are appealing a unanimous ruling by the Hawai'i Supreme Court in January that the state cannot sell or otherwise transfer ceded lands until Native Hawaiian claims against the land holds were resolved.

"The administration's decision to appeal has the potential to adversely impact the way the people of Hawai'i deal with issues affecting Native Hawaiians locally," the groups of Native Hawaiian supporters said in a statement. "A U.S. Supreme Court decision threatens what our state Legislature and state courts have already decided — Native Hawaiians have a valid unsettled claim to ceded lands. ... The Lingle administration's appeal threatens the future of the Hawaiian community and is in direct conflict with the administration's reported support for the Native Hawaiian community."