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Representatives of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs testified in support of the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act of 2007 before the Hawai'i State Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

Representatives of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs testified in support of the Akaka Bill before the Hawai'i State Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

"Passage of the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act (NHGRA) will finally give official and long overdue recognition to Native Hawaiians, many of whom still suffer from the adverse social, economic, environmental, spiritual and cultural impacts of the United States' overthrow of our world-recognized sovereign Hawaiian government more than a century ago," OHA Board of Trustees Chairperson Haunani Apoliona told the committee.

Sixteen of the 17 members of the advisory committee held an all day session at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Wednesday. Kealoha Pisciotta was not present.

During a morning planning session, the committee first heard from representatives of organizations including the Hawai'i Civil Rights Commission, to discuss broad civil rights issues.

In the afternoon, the committee heard from testifiers with differing views on the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act of 2007 also known as the Akaka Bill. 

OHA Trustee Chair Haunani Apoliona addressed the panel while former Hawai'i Supreme Court Justice Robert Klein waited for his turn.

Chairperson Apoliona told the committee that the Akaka Bill is not based on race.
“It is based on the fact that Native Hawaiians, like the American Indians and Alaska Natives, are the aboriginal, indigenous, native people whose ancestors settled and exercised sovereignty in these lands predating the founding of the colonies and the United States,” she said.

Apoliona also told the committee that a poll conducted by Ward Research and commissioned by OHA shows overwhelming support for federal recognition.

“The bottom line is that support for federal recognition and programs that serve Hawaiians has remained consistent in Hawai'i, even in the wake of the blizzard of misinformation and unreliable 'push polls' designed to manipulate public opinion rather than measure it,” Apoliona said.

Also testifying on behalf of OHA was Trustee Boyd Mossman.

“I speak as a Hawaiian who is concerned about the future of the Hawaiian people. Our continued existence is at risk,” Trustee Mossman said.

OHA continued to raise concerns about the composition, independence and integrity of the committee, which has been criticized for being “stacked” with a majority of members opposed to the Akaka Bill. Some opponents are associated with the Grassroot Institute.
“What the Grassroots organization, to which I presume many of you belong, seeks is a complete assimilation of Hawaiians into the rest of the society,” Trustee Mossman also said

Robert Klein, former Hawai'i Supreme Court justice and current OHA board counsel, also testified. “Because the Akaka Bill does not discriminate based on ancestry but only furthers the political relationship Congress has already fostered with Hawaiians through numerous pieces of federal legislation, this body should recommend support for the measure to the United States Civil Rights Commission.”

OHA Trustee Boyd Mossman addressed the panel while Grassroot Institute fellow Jere Krischel looked on.

The committee also heard from independence advocate Kekuni Blaisdell and Grassroot Institute fellow Jere Krischel. They spoke against the bill.

The committee on Tuesday did not take testimony from the general public. The panel will hold three more meetings during which it plans to hear from the public:

• Sept. 12 in Honolulu at the state Capitol from 1 to 5 p.m.
• Sept. 13 in Hilo at the State Office Building Conference Rooms A, B, C. from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m.
• Sept. 14 in Lïhu'e at the Kauai Community College Performing Arts Center from 1 to 5 p.m.