• Native Hawaiians face unsettled times Native Hawaiians face unsettled times The federal 9th Circuit Court’s decision that Kamehameha Schools must admit non-Native Hawaiian children is the latest event in an ever-increasing number of actions that will determine the fate
• Native Hawaiians face unsettled times
Native Hawaiians face unsettled times
The federal 9th Circuit Court’s decision that Kamehameha Schools must admit non-Native Hawaiian children is the latest event in an ever-increasing number of actions that will determine the fate of Native Hawaiians for generations to come.
The decision is likely to be appealed, perhaps as far as the Supreme Court. It came as a shock to the Native Hawaiian community, as well as others across the state. The court decision of Tuesday comes on top of a Senate showdown over Sen. Daniel Akaka’s bill that would create an independent form of government for Native Hawaiians within the State of Hawai‘i, and the United States. The passage of this bill is still up in the air.
Both issues show that traditions in Native Hawaiian education and goverence built up since the time of the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1893 are being changed forever.
Gov. Linda Lingle is coming out for a continuation of Kamehameha Schools’ exclusivity in admitting students with Native Hawaiian blood, and even more so in favor of passage of the Akaka Bill. But even the powers of our governor aren’t enough to turn this tide of change.
On Kaua‘i, we see a crisis coming in terms of preserving the culture and language of Native Hawaiian speakers of the Ni‘ihau dialect. The ancient roots of this dialect are being severed with each passing generation, as more and more of the children of Ni‘ihau are raised on the Westside rather than Ni‘ihau, living in an area where English is becoming more and more common as the Ni‘ihau dialect is withering with the death of kupuna who grew up on Ni‘ihau speaking the Hawaiian language in a village setting where English was little spoken.
On the South Shore Native Hawaiians are asking that a site on private land marked for development be preserved. If this request proves legitimate, Island politicans may need to intervene to resolve the conflict.
A good part of the problem is addressing concerns with ancient roots at a time when the complications of modern life are becoming more and more complex, and when lands of the Hawaiian Islands are being developed to a greater extent than ever. Mix in the strings attached to the federal funds that fund many Hawaiian programs, the push for Native Hawaiian sovereignty, controversy over income from ceded lands, successful legal challenges to Office of Hawaiian Affairs’ Hawaiians-only voting policies and you have a time of crisis, a time when decades-old ways of doing things — like Kamehameha Schools’ admission policy — are being rocked to their core.
We stand behind the Native Hawaiians-only policy of Kamehameha Schools. At the same time we see a problem if federal funds are involved in funding programs at Kamehameha Schools. If that is so, it is necessary to drop that funding and use on Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop’s legacy to fund the school. If a private school relies on its own funding it should be able to determine what its admission prolicies are without federal intervention.
