The Office of Hawaiian Affairs will hold a special meeting Thursday to gather public comment on the agency’s nation-building efforts — the possible first step in what may lead to a delay in the process.
The idea for the meeting — scheduled for 10 a.m. in the boardroom of OHA’s Nimitz Highway headquarters — apparently arose May 19 during a closed-door meeting with the OHA trustees and CEO Kamana‘opono Crabbe.
The private executive session was held to discuss Crabbe’s job performance in the wake of his "unauthorized" letter to Secretary of State John Kerry, asking whether the Hawaiian kingdom still exists under international law. In his letter, Crabbe suggested that OHA back off on the nation-building process until it is able to determine whether the agency is violating international law in that pursuit.
The trustees rescinded the letter, saying it did not reflect board policy. Crabbe then held a news conference to explain his action despite being asked by OHA Chairwoman Colette Machado to cancel it.
In addition to the job review, the trustees and Crabbe engaged in a session of hooponopono, the Hawaiian practice of reconciliation and forgiveness. Afterward they emerged together to announce they are moving on with "one voice" and with a promise to continue nation building — a process to which the OHA trustees have pledged $3.9 million.
Just how fast the nation-building process goes from here appears uncertain.
As it stands now, May 1 was the final day to register to participate in the nation-building effort, and the official roll is expected to be certified by the Native Hawaiian Roll Commission next month.
The current proposed timeline calls for the election of delegates in September. A convention, or ‘aha, to draft a governing document, would happen in October or November. An up-or-down vote on the document would be held in January with only those listed on the official roll eligible to vote.
However, Crabbe said he’s heard concerns that there needs to be more time for the process and more education — as well as consideration for another way to sign up participants.
"At the same time, we have heard from many who support the current timetable and process as approved by the trustees," Crabbe said in a statement. "These issues must have full deliberations before the Board of Trustees."
Former Gov. John Waihee, chairman of the Native Hawaiian Roll Commission, said he’s fine with the current timeline and the number of people signed up during the commission’s Kana‘iolowalu drive — more than 125,000, including thousands of names that were transferred from similar rolls.
"Of course, the commission has always taken the position that it wants to be accommodating as possible," Waihee said.
The more people who register, the better, he said. However, he cautioned, verifying Hawaiian status does take time.
The U.S. Department of the Interior recently disclosed that it is considering a proposal to formally recognize Native Hawaiians in a government-to-government relationship. OHA officials say they’ve been pushing for the proposed rule — which acknowledges Native Hawaiians as an indigenous people — as a way of protecting entitlements.
In a related development, the state Office of Information Practices has received a half-dozen complaints accusing the trustees of violating the state’s Sunshine Law when it held meetings in Washington, D.C., in early May.
The trustees voted to rescind Crabbe’s letter May 9 from Washington following a week of meetings with lawmakers and other national and international officials.
