LIHUE — The federal government is considering whether the Native Hawaiian community should be treated as its own government and is seeking input from the Kauai community. Public meetings on Kauai are from 6 to 9 p.m. Monday at the
LIHUE — The federal government is considering whether the Native Hawaiian community should be treated as its own government and is seeking input from the Kauai community.
Public meetings on Kauai are from 6 to 9 p.m. Monday at the Waimea Neighborhood Center and from 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at Kapaa Elementary School.
In response to request by community members, U.S. Department of the Interior officials said they are taking a first step to consider re-establishing a government-to-government relationship between the United States and the Native Hawaiian community.
“When I met with members of the Native Hawaiian community last year during my visit to the state, I learned firsthand about Hawaii’s unique history and the importance of the special trust relationship that exists between the federal government and the Native Hawaiian community,” Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell wrote in a statement. “We need to begin a conversation of diverse voices to help determine the best path forward for honoring the trust relationship that Congress has created specifically to benefit Native Hawaiians.”
The department has listed five threshold questions it wants to answer through the forums, which will be facilitated by Kuiwalu, a Honolulu-based consulting firm.
• Should the Secretary propose an administrative rule that would facilitate the re-establishment of a government-to-government relationship with the Native Hawaiian community?
• Should the Secretary assist the Native Hawaiian community in reorganizing its government, with which the United States could reestablish a government-to-government relationship?
• If so, what process should be established for drafting and ratifying a reorganized Native Hawaiian government’s constitution or other governing document?
• Should the Secretary instead rely on the reorganization of a Native Hawaiian government through a process established by the Native Hawaiian community and facilitated by the state of Hawaii, to the extent such a process is consistent with federal law?
• If so, what conditions should the Secretary establish as prerequisites to federal acknowledgment of a government-to-government relationship with the reorganized Native Hawaiian government?
