Honolulu. Rep. Mele Carroll, chair of the Legislative Hawaiian Caucus, announced lawmakers’ plans to make a priority of setting a moratorium on the selling of “ceded lands.”
“The Legislature, the ultimate policy makers of the State, in multiple acts, has further acted upon the State’s commitments to support Native Hawaiian self-determination and address Native Hawaiian claims to land,” Rep. Mele Carroll said at Wednesday’s press conference. “We believe there is a fiduciary responsibility of the State to Native Hawaiians.”
House Bill 1667, as part of the Legislative Hawaiian Caucus package, proposes to prohibit the Board of Land and Natural Resources from selling, exchanging, or otherwise alienating ‘ceded lands’ in the public land trust. The bill is a companion to Senate Bill 1085, introduced by Sen. Clayton Hee.
“This isn’t about the economy, it’s about the relationship between the first people, the Native people, and the land,” Hee said. “Any sale of ceded lands, as distasteful as it sounds to me, should only happen after reconciliation with the Hawaiian people.”
Rep. Mele Carroll explained that the bill proposed by the Legislative Hawaiian Caucus differs from other “ceded land” bills this session in that it is centered on the sole purpose of setting a moratorium—a decision that has allowed many Native Hawaiian groups to stand united in support.
“This bill is clear, no sale of ceded lands,” Hee said.
Rep. Mele Carroll also announced that the focus of the bill on setting up a moratorium at this stage of legislation, without a specific sunset or precedents on reconciliation, is tailored to allow amendments to be added later in the process with more community input.
Lawmakers from both the House and the Senate stood in support of moving forward with a moratorium bill after a 17 to 1 vote within the Legislative Hawaiian Caucus.
“The right and pono thing is to support a moratorium bill,” Rep. Della Au Belatti said.
“This is not about a legal battle,” Rep. Sylvia Luke said. “This is really about doing what is right.”
Caucus members also acknowledged the leadership of Rep. Mele Carroll in bringing lawmakers together for one common purpose and in keeping the process transparent with the community.
Moratorium unites Native Hawaiian organizations
Native Hawaiian leaders stood united in support of the Legislative Hawaiian Caucus’ bill for a moratorium.
“It’s very, very unusual to get us all [different Native Hawaiian organizations] together in one place and support one thing,” said Pu`uhonua “Bumpy” Kanahele of the Nation of Hawai‘i.
Kanahele asked the Caucus to consider also working on legislation that would protect the democratic process for Native Hawaiians and to provide a political forum that would help to establish self-governance.
“We are in total support of a moratorium on ceded lands,” Kanahele said. “We should all support a fair process. I support this process full on.”
Native Hawaiian attorney and former Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustee Mililani Trask asked the Caucus to communicate with the federal government to direct the Justice Department to move in favor of a moratorium. She also said that there needs to be a comprehensive inventory of public trust lands.
“We support a moratorium on ceded lands unequivocally,” Trask said.
‘Ilio‘ulaokalani Coalition President Vicky Holt Takamine said that a moratorium is not intended to prevent the use of “ceded lands” by Hawai‘i citizens, but to prevent the changing of ownership to outside hands.
“We have shared our lands for public use in the past,” Holt Takamine said. “We don’t have a problem with that. But we do have a problem with selling that and transferring it out of the ownership of the ‘ceded lands.’”
Clifford Hashimoto, Ali‘i Nui of the Royal Order of Kamehameha, also announced support for the Legislative Hawaiian Caucus’ move toward a moratorium.
“The Association of Hawaiian Civics Club stands in unity with all others who are here in support of a moratorium,” said Association president Leimomi Kahn.
Kahn also announced that the Association has gathered a petition to Gov. Linda Lingle to withdraw her lawsuit from the U.S. Supreme Court.
Legislative Hawaiian Caucus package
• SB LRB 09-0049-1: Education
Traditional; Hawaiian Navigation; Voyaging canoes pilot program.
• SB LRB 09-0056: State Building Code; Bamboo
Directs the state building code council to establish standards and criteria allowing the use of bamboo as an accepted construction material.
• SB LRB 09-0744: Hawaiians; Indigenous
Recognizes Hawaiians as the indigenous people Hawai‘i.
• SB 09-1042: Kuleana Lands
Kuleana Lands; 10-year Holding Period.
• SB LRB 09-1083: Historic Preservation
Burial Cave; Historic Preservation.
• SB HMNS 2009-1307: Generically Modified Taro; Prohibition
Prohibits the development, testing, propagation, release, importation, planting, or growing of genetically modified taro in the State of Hawai‘i.
• SB HMS 2008 5197: Corrections
Inmate Rehabilitation; Historic Site Restoration.
• SB HMS 2008 5219: Hawaiian Fishponds
Government—owned Hawaiian fishponds; prohibition on sale.
• 2009 0289 SB SMA-1: Hawaiian Language
Documents.
• 2009 0757 HB SMA: Ceded Lands
Moratorium on the sale of ceded lands.
The Legislative Hawaiian Caucus is composed of 28 members for the 2009 session, the largest membership it has ever had: Rep. Mele Carroll (Chair), Sen. J. Kalani English (Vice-Chair), Sen. Clayton Hee, Sen. Brickwood Galuteria, Sen. Michelle Kidani, Sen. Norman Sakamoto, Sen. Suzanne Chun-Oakland, Rep. Karen Awana, Rep. Pono Chong, Rep. Faye Hanohano, Rep. Hermina Morita, Rep. Roland Sagum III, Rep. James Kunane Tokioka, Rep. Chris Lee, Rep. Maile Shimabukuro, Rep. Sharon E. Har, Rep. Lyla B. Berg, Rep. Angus McKelvey, Rep. Joe Bertram, Rep. Joey Manahan, Rep. Cindy Evans, Rep. Cindy Evans, Rep. Tom Brower, Rep. Jessica Wooley, Rep. Lynn Finnegan, Rep. Scott Saiki, Rep. Sylvia Luke, Rep. Della Au Bellatti, and Rep. Gene Ward.
Representative Mele Carroll 