Jade Leialoha Danner has cared for her hanai son since his birth – changing diapers and helping with his homework. But under U.S. law, she has to get written permission from his birth parents – her brother and sister-in-law – to prove she is capable of his guardianship, even when signing him up for baseball. Danner, vice president of the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement (CNHA), wants to change this complicated system and have a Native Hawaiian government, with laws focused on Native Hawaiian values.

After 10 years of standstills, vetoing and nay-saying, the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act of 2009, informally known as the Akaka Bill, is continuing to move forward in its best version yet, Danner said.

Senator Daniel AkakaThe bill, named after its main sponsor Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI), aims to reorganize a sovereign Native Hawaiian government. Akaka has introduced the bill in various forms since 2000, but the Hawaiian sovereignty movement goes back decades – for some, since the demise of the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1893.

“We’re arguing that we’re more than just a racial minority, we are in fact the first people on this island,” Danner said. “[The bill is] recognition that our cultural laws are laws.”

Danner was on Molokai last Friday to talk about the bill and answer questions from an audience of about 50.

In Jeopardy
The most heated part of the discussion was the bill’s current status. In December, the newest version of the bill went through a House of Representatives markup and a Senate markup – meaning each chamber held a committee to debate and amend the legislation. Danner said the process was intense, but in the end it passed with minor changes in both committees.

However, the Hawaiian Attorney General, Mark Bennett, and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) submitted a joint proposal of 30 amendments to the bill. Among them were changes that would affectively render any Hawaiian government a membership organization with no protection from state or federal laws, where anyone with Hawaiian lineage could sign up to join.

One original section provides the Native Hawaiian governing entity the authority to rule itself. Bennett and OHA’s change would first put that authority in front of Congress to decide.

“To say that [Congress] is going to name what [the Hawaiian government’s] powers are – it no longer comes from us, it comes from [Congress] – it’s just un-American,” Danner said.

Danner explained that the number of changes makes it difficult to negotiate and move onto Senate and House votes in a quick manner. She said the bill can’t afford delays – Rep. Neil Abercrombie (1st District), also a supporter of this bill, is retiring at the end of February.

With the health care debate and job creation as top priorities, the Akaka bill needs as many supporters as possible and Danner said 20-year veteran Abercrombie is a large part of finding supporters.

What Would the Bill Do?
At its heart, the Akaka bill will reorganize the Native Hawaiian population into a government entity, able to deal with the U.S. and other nations on a government-to-government basis.

While this is not the first time the U.S. would be dealing with another nation within its own, Hawaii’s needs are unique. Recently, the U.S. Department of the Interior agreed to reimburse Native Americans over $3 billion for land taken from them in the 1887 Dawes Act.

However, unlike Native Americans who are separated into tribes, Native Hawaiians have been united under one kingdom since King Kamehameha I in 1810. The concept of tribes is not in the Akaka bill, and the definition of Native Hawaiians will be left up to the prospective government – but is also under scrutiny in the proposed amendments.

After the creation of a government, the new Hawaiian government would have a two-year roll call to anyone with a direct lineage to a Hawaiian who was living in Hawaii on or before Jan. 1, 1893 to be apart of the new government – no blood status needed.

The Akaka bill is also not looking for cash reimbursements. Under the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1920 and the creation of OHA in 1978, land and trust money has been continually given to Native Hawaiians, which the bill will protect.

OHA manages a $300 million trust that provides economic, social and health aid for about 200,000 residents with Hawaiian blood. The trust comes from tax payer money and revenue of 1.8 million acres taken by the U.S. government after annexation, and later given to the state. Molokai has over 800 homesteaders.

Problems Within
Many questions directed at Danner at the evening meeting were about OHA’s involvement in the proposed amendments – some of which, if passed, would “kill the bill” said Danner.

By creating a Native Hawaiian government, the State of Hawaii would have to cede more public lands, but in a negotiation process that would take years, according to Danner. That means a loss of revenue for the state in the millions, as the state would no longer be able to tax or regulate Native Hawaiians or Hawaiian land – a tough thing to vote for during a recession and an election year.

Hawaiian hula practice at dusk.“If the bill passes, to me as a Hawaiian, it would actually help us move forward as a nation,” said Molokai homesteader Kammy Purdy. “I’m not going to give up our sovereignty to worry about how the state’s going to get money to function.”

According to a poll in December, 76 percent of Hawaiian citizens oppose higher taxes to pay for the new Native Hawaiian government. There are also other Native Hawaiian sovereignty groups who don’t support the bill because it doesn’t include seceding from the U.S. entirely. The Grassroots Institution and Aloha for All have both publicly denounced the bill.

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights has also lobbied against the bill, saying it discriminates on the basis of race and would further divide the American people.

“Our bill has become anti-all-those-special-people bill – anti-civil rights, anti-affirmative action,” Danner said.

The Bill’s Future
The bill’s next move is to hit the Senate floor. Danner said she hopes the bill passes without any of Bennett or OHA’s changes. It then moves on to the House – and again needs to pass with no changes, otherwise the committee reviews and amendments start all over again. President Obama has already said when it reaches his desk he will sign it into law.

Danner said the most important part of the bill that is in jeopardy is establishing sovereignty. Without it, the new Native Hawaiian nation could be sued by any other government, a protection all nations have. More importantly, Native Hawaiian people want a nation that can represent and advocate for their particular needs, in tune with their culture and history.

In the U.S. Constitution, “the power comes from ‘We the People,’” Danner said. She represents those that want ‘We the Hawaiian People.’

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What Can You Do?
If you want to express support or say mahalo for their work, call or write to Hawaii’s representatives in Congress and Governor Lingle and let them know who is behind them.
Rep. Neil Abercrombie (1st District): (808) 541-2570
Rep. Mazie Hirono (2nd District): (808) 541-1986
Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI): (808) 541-2542
Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI): (808) 522-8970
Gov. Linda Lingle: (808) 586-0221 or (808) 586-0222