Kauaians and the Hawaiian problem

Much as America wants to believe that the Hawaiian problem is handled, it will not go away and may take years to settle politically, yet there is new impetus on our island to seek a uniquely Kauaian solution starting now.

The more pessimistic we become that America will ever do the right thing by Hawaiians, the more optimistic we become that Kauaians are at least moving in the right direction.

As we move away from politics and toward community thinking, we are finding ways to restore our host culture to its rightful place in our island society.

The new push to form an islandwide

Kupuna Council is one example to which we will return after a quick scan of recent developments in the Hawaiian sovereignty arena.

There is much in this muddle about which we might be amazed. Looking nationally, we laugh in derision at the legal back ips the U.S. is using in the Rice case. Looking statewide, we gasp in surprise at the large fraction of non-Hawaiians who report they would support an independent Hawai`i.

And here on Kaua`i, we chuckle in delight as non-Hawaiian friends report that they find the Lawful Hawaiian Government initiative rather compelling, at least on its reading of American and international law.

There is much about this moment on independent-minded Kaua`i that makes us want to go it alone. Indeed, correspondents throughout our Kauaian community network report a general quickening of the pulse in our common desire to break through the pilikia of the past and leap into a new form of community governance that works for all Kauaians.

Is it possible, at least on Kaua`i, that we can blend the best of Hawaiian and non-Hawaiian, local and newcomer, ecological and economic to achieve an inclusive vision of future governance?

Perhaps. But perhaps only on Kaua`i. Here’s why.

Nationally, we cannot help but notice that if Hawaiians do not go along with America’s proposed “Indian” solution, the U.S. may be cruisin’ for a bruisin’.

It is likely to lose the Rice v. Cayetano case in the Supreme Court, and it is using this threat of lost federal funding to herd Hawaiians toward accepting something like Native American status, which it believes can be fixed in the law by Congress.

Simultaneously, the federal government is scurrying to launch reparations talks with Hawaiians as a final step in the reconciliation process envisioned in the Congressional Apology six years ago.

When the federal Justice and Interior Departments come to the islands for hearings next month, they will be preliminarily exploring how may zero’s are likely attached to any prospective Hawaiian reparations bill.

Yet, Hawaiians may not be so easily herded into the Indian solution, and the punitive damages for America’s breach of Hawaiian trust may be too expensive. Let’s face it, America’s timing on this reconciliation offer couldn’t be worse.

Just as the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs closes in on such an offer, Native America is telling Hawaiians, “You don’t wanna go there!” Among other things, the 30-year-old deal with the Alaskan Natives is on the verge of blowing up, and Native nations across the U.S. encounter repeated Congressional attacks on their already limited sovereignty.

Moreover, the cost of cleaning up the Hawaiian mess could well exceed the value of the stolen lands, especially if you include the permanent damage to Hawaiian health, education, culture and ecosystems, in which case Hawaiians might accept the land back in lieu of cash.

Either way, these complexities at the federal level are not likely to be resolved anytime soon.

Meanwhile, closer to home, non-Hawaiians throughout the islands may not defend State government against expanding the practice of traditional Hawaiian rights, and in this sense Hawai`i is already skating on thin ice.

State and business interests have been in a general legal tizzy since the PASH case about how to limit Hawaiians’ ability to interfere with private property, and they have been stonewalling on payment of those portions of a Hawaiian settlement that have already been negotiated.

Nevertheless, OHA’s recent statewide poll shows that most non-Hawaiians strongly support both the values and the rights associated with traditional cultural practices, and many island residents are sufficiently distressed with State government that they may not be inclined to support its continued resistance to Hawaiian claims.

Moreover, on each island a new era of community initiative and consensual decision-making is being driven by a savvy generation of new Hawaiian leaders, from kupuna to `opio, who are inclined to “just do it” in their own `aina.

They are already hard at work with friends and neighbors in ahupua`a throughout the state to restore a more traditional approach to resources management.

And here, Kaua`i shines. Of all the islands, Kaua`i is perhaps closest to an inclusive vision of community governance, and Kauaians may now be willing to forge informal agreements that cut to the heart of the cultural quandry.

We notice, among other distinguishing marks that non-Hawaiians on our island support sovereignty by a 2-1 margin, far higher than Maui, O`ahu or Hawai`i, according to the OHA poll.

And we have been making great progress in our community-based organizations (CBOs) and our island-wide consensus-building, such as the Citizen’s Advisory Committee for the General Plan Update.

Comes now both state legislature and Kauaian CBO proposals for the formation of a Kupuna Council, or group of elders, to provide sage counsel on significant community issues. And we cannot help but think that here is an opportunity to show how this could work on our island without changing any laws.

Our island already has a number of informal community agreements in force, including those recently forged with commercial boaters and helicopters. Developers already have informally agreed to seek out community input early in the project planning process.

PMRF has informal agreements with westside `ohana and Ni`ihau folks, as does the Robinson family.

The Planning Commission informally agrees to check with community associations on any proposals affecting them.

Many of us participated in an informal agreement to collectively fix our county parks under the Ho`olokahi program. And so on.

Why not an informal agreement to include Kupuna counsel in our community decision-making process? What would this look like?

Drawing from the text of recent State legislation, those kupuna who are recognized within their community as persons with extensive cultural and historical knowledge of their `aina, and who remember, preserve and pass on the Hawaiian culture to the younger generation, will be asked to identify, examine and resolve outstanding issues and impacts on Hawaiian people and their culture and to make recommendations regarding island areas that are culturally sensitive and regarding traditional practices that must be protected.

With our without State legislation, we Kauaians might simply agree to include a Kupuna Council as a kind of informal tweaking of our community decision-making process.

This is not to say that we can unilaterally resolve all historical Hawaiian grievances on our island. Yet this will be a step in the right direction toward reintegrating ancient wisdom into our care-taking for this precious garden island.

And it provides a practical means for all of us to begin fitting our community experience with the changing needs of our global village, including the need to make things right with all indigenous peoples.

Perhaps most important, it provides a simple method for us not to replace politics but to balance politics with community thinking, to fit our island circumstances with our sense of what is right.

As we move through this fascinating transition period in America and in these islands, we can really use this vision of community thinking and sage advice to see how we can all help resolve the Hawaiian problem in our own Kauaian way.

Stokes (kaimiau@hotmail.com) is a green economist who runs Ho`okipa Network’s “virtual taro patch” website and hosts aThursday Noon KKCR talk show focused on community initiatives. His Garden Island column appears alternate Wednesdays.