RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, during the 1980s and early 1990s, there were many impediments at the federal level to consideration and resolution of issues relating to ceded lands and to Hawaiian political status; and

WHEREAS, in 1983, the federal "Native Hawaiian Study Commission Majority Report" concluded that the federal government was not liable for the loss of sovereignty or lands arising from the overthrow; and

WHEREAS, in 1989, the Bush Administration disavowed the position of the Carter administration that there was a trust relationship between the Hawaiian people and the federal government; and

WHEREAS, in early 1993, the U.S. Department of the Interior's Solicitor's Office issued a legal opinion that the federal government "had no trust responsibilities to the native Hawaiians either before Statehood or thereafter"; and

WHEREAS, the Clinton Administration rescinded the Department of the Interior's legal opinion and enacted Public Law 103-150, commonly referred to as the "Apology Resolution"; and

WHEREAS, other federal efforts sympathetic to the Hawaiian people have included the return of Kahoolawe in 1994 and the creation by the Office of Management and Budget of a distinct category of Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders for federal purposes; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii's Congressional delegation has been strongly supportive of negotiating at the federal level for resolution on Hawaiian issues; and

WHEREAS, U.S. Senator Daniel K. Akaka has supported the concept of establishing a United States Office for Native Hawaiian Relations to address the political status of Hawaiians and to provide coordination with Congress on potential remedies; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii's entire Congressional Delegation of Senator Daniel Inouye, Senator Daniel K. Akaka, Congressman Neil Abercrombie, and Congressman Ed Case, along with Hawaii's Governor Linda Lingle and Lieutenant Governor James Duke Aiona, have all proclaimed their full support for this recognition, demonstrating the high priority of this issue for the people of Hawaii and its importance over and beyond any political party affiliations; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2003, the Senate concurring, that the President and Congress are requested to recognize the political relationship between the United States government and the indigenous Hawaiian people in a similar manner afforded to Native Americans and Alaska natives; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the federal government designate a permanent agency to address indigenous Hawaiian reconciliation proceedings and the political status of indigenous Hawaiians; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, Majority Leader of the United States Senate, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, members of the Hawaii Congressional delegation, Governor of the State of Hawaii, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and Chair of the Hawaiian Homes Commission.

Report Title:

Indigenous Hawaiian Federal Recognition