Three years have passed since a vote on the Akaka Bill, but Hawaii’s all-Democratic congressional delegation remains committed to gaining federal recognition for Native Hawaiians.
The Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act was last approved in the House in 2010, when Democrats held the chamber. It has never had a straight up-or-down vote in the Senate, where opposition remains strong among conservative Republicans.
While Hawaii Democrats say they continue to educate colleagues on the matter, they also are pursuing all other avenues to achieve the goal of establishing a process for Hawaiians to form their own governing entity and negotiate with federal and state governments on land use and cultural issues. The federal recognition would be similar to that for American Indians and Alaska natives.
Alternate approaches include requesting that President Barack Obama, who was born in Hawaii and graduated from Punahou School, use his executive authority to have the federal government recognize Native Hawaiians.
Under the 1994 Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act, an American Indian group may become federally recognized by an act of Congress, through administrative procedures or by a decision of the U.S. Supreme Court. Whether Native Hawaiians could be recognized in a similar fashion is being explored.
"The president is being asked to consider a number of potential executive actions," U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz said in a recent interview. "That could take many forms, including something by the Department of Interior, or at the secretary level or something at the presidential level.
"So the mechanics of this are still being considered alongside the really challenging public policy question, but our basic premise is that Native Hawaiians ought to be treated fairly when it comes to native groups."
All members of the delegation voiced support for Native Hawaiians last month after a meeting between Obama and members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, comprising members of Asian and Pacific Islander descent and other advocates for Asian-Americans and Pacific islanders.
Sen. Mazie Hirono said the delegation remains committed to Native Hawaiian recognition and is open to pursuing all courses of action with a president from Hawaii who recognizes its importance.
"I think the president is very committed to Native Hawaiian recognition, and he said that he is going to be reviewing the legal basis in which executive action can be taken," Hirono said. "We’re not there yet, but the delegation is definitely open to that and that route."
U.S. Reps. Colleen Hanabusa and Tulsi Gabbard added their support. Hanabusa said the goal of federal recognition was nothing new for Hawaii members.
"There are several ways the Department of Interior could pursue recognition, as they have with other native peoples in the past, and that is not an unusual process," she said. "We need to work together to decide which path forward is the best for Native Hawaiians, and I stand ready to assist them in making that important decision."
Advocates agree that getting the legislation passed through Congress would be difficult right now.
Although the Akaka Bill has passed the House three times since 2000, it has never advanced in the Senate, where Republicans have described the bill as race-based discrimination and have used procedural maneuvers to block a vote.
Former U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka, for whom the bill is named, took to the Senate floor in December, during his final weeks in office before retiring, to urge senators to pass the bill in honor of his late friend and longtime colleague Daniel Inouye. Speaking as Inouye lay in state in the Capitol Rotunda, Akaka said he and Inouye worked to "create a process that could address the many issues that continue to persist as a result of the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian kingdom in 1893."
The Senate took no action.
Critics are likely to see any action by the president as an effort to circumvent the authority of Congress.
"Congress, as the voice of the people, has made it clear for more than 17 years that Americans do not want to divide our society with the government establishment of an exclusively race-based entity," said Keli‘i Akina, president and chief executive officer of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, a group that has consistently opposed federal recognition. "The use of executive action to bypass the will of the people is both unconstitutional and an affront to democracy."
He said federal recognition would only enable a "privileged group of tribal leaders" to exploit resources and entitlements without benefiting Hawaiians.
Hirono dismissed such concerns. "If the executive branch has that authority, how is that an end run? I don’t see it that way," she said. "Congress hasn’t been able to do it."
Schatz added that opposition would exist regardless of the route taken. "We’re going to have to continue the process of educating people about the unique history of Hawaii and of Native Hawaiians," he said.
