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OHA: Office of Hawaiian Affairs

OHA applauds federal rule

OHA Applauds Federal Rule to Recognize Native Hawaiians’ Indigenous Status, Create Option of Government-To-Government Relationship
Statement Attributable to Office of Hawaiian Affairs Chairperson Robert K. Lindsey

HONOLULU, Hawaiʻi (Sept. 23, 2016) – “The Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) applauds the Obama Administration for bringing Native Hawaiians closer to having equality with other indigenous groups in the United States. Native Hawaiians have been the only major indigenous group in the 50 states without a process for establishing a government-to-government relationship with the federal government. This rule finally remedies this injustice. OHA will spend the next few days closely examining the rule to better understand how the Native Hawaiian people can – if they choose – pursue a government-to-government relationship.”

“As fiduciaries for the Native Hawaiian trust, the OHA Board of Trustees has supported federal acknowledgement of Native Hawaiian indigenous status in order to further strengthen and protect Native Hawaiian rights and resources. Having a federal rule available to Native Hawaiians is also an important step towards achieving Native Hawaiian self-determination and self-governance. During the 1978 Hawaiʻi State Constitutional Convention, these two goals served as bases for the creation of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. Constitutional convention delegates in 1978 envisioned Native Hawaiians achieving ‘self-determination, methods for self-sufficiency through assets and a land base, and the unification of all [N]ative Hawaiian people.’”


Additional Information on DOI Final Rule Part 50:

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