What Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg viewed as a shrewd land transaction, many Native Hawaiians felt to be a death in the family. That’s the crux of the huge disconnect in the billionaire’s attempted — now aborted — buyout of Native Hawaiians’ land pieces embedded within his otherwise private, 700-acre parcel on Kauai’s north shore.
But after 10 days of local and global backlash, Zuckerberg on Friday announced he is dropping his legal actions that could have forced Native Hawaiians to sell land that had been in the family for over 150 years. Ceasing his eight “quiet title” lawsuits is a welcome move, much more in line with his stated desire to be a “long term” good neighbor, than with cultivating an unsavory persona of colonizing outsider.
“I regret that I did not take the time to fully understand the quiet title process and its history before we moved ahead,” Zuckerberg wrote in a letter published Friday in Kauai’s The Garden Island newspaper. “Now that I understand the issues better, it’s clear we made a mistake.”
The whole episode came to light via reporting by the Star-Advertiser’s Andrew Gomes: On Dec. 30, Zuckerberg filed eight lawsuits for quiet title claims for 13 parcels, most 1 acre or smaller, with unclear, unknown or much-diluted ownership. These sites were initially dispersed under the Kuleana Land Act of 1850, awarded to Hawaii residents by Hawaiian government officials; over generations, some descendents weren’t even aware of their fraction of claim. The quiet title process basically entails tracking down those who might hold a stake, then either buying them out or getting court OK to force a sale.
Legally, Zuckerberg was within his rights, employing court tactics that many others have used to settle unclear land ownership here. But trying to force sales of some total 8 acres to secure total privacy for his 700 acres played badly — it harkened darkly to Hawaii’s history of heavy-handed, wealthy sugar plantation or ranch owners trampling over indigenous rights.
Some of the harshest context had come from state Rep. Kaniela Ing of Kauai. “This is just a capstone of 200 years of injustices against Native Hawaiians,” he said, alluding to wrongs perpetrated mainly by sugar plantation owners. “Zuckerberg is merely completing the theft. He’s legitimizing those original sins. In my humble point of view, Zuckerberg is acting as a modern-day colonizer.”
If this complex situation had not involved billionaire Zuckerberg, it likely would not have captured the attention of the global news media and social network; more than a few noted the irony of Zuckerberg’s actions being spread, and villified, on his own social-media creation, Facebook.
Less than a week after Gomes’ initial report, Zuckerberg said he was rethinking the lawsuits, saying in part: “We want to make sure we are following a process that protects the interests of property owners, respects the traditions of Native Hawaiians, and preserves the environment.”
The intense publicity of this case has thrown a spotlight on previous wrongs done to Hawaii’s native people. And now, with this history more broadly known, it should give others pause before future quiet title actions are undertaken on kuleana lands. If the sixth-richest man in the world saw fit to divert from a protracted, adversarial path, such a route might best be avoided.
The state Legislature is expected to consider measures on the issue, and it should support Native Hawaiians against forced sales of kuleana lands.
“The right path is to sit down and discuss how to best move forward,” Zuckerberg said about dropping his quiet-title suits. “We will continue to speak with community leaders that represent different groups, including Native Hawaiians and environmentalists, to find the best path.”
Zuckerberg has a reputation for being a progressive, forward- thinker — viewed optimistically, that was reinforced by his decision to dismiss the adversarial quiet-title claims. The two-year Kauai landowner has had a rocky start. Consider this a course correction, with many here sure to help him stay on a pono path.
