BY KENNETH R. CONKLIN, PH.D. — On July 6, 2011 Governor Abercrombie signed Act 195, to begin the process of creating a membership roll for Klub Kanaka (KKK). All persons 18 or older, worldwide, can join if they have a drop of Hawaiian native blood and participate in some sort of ethnic Hawaiian political or cultural activity.
According to Act 195 the State of Hawaii has now already recognized the existence of Klub Kanaka even though we don’t yet know exactly who are the members or what the Klub’s bylaws might be. A commission not yet appointed by the Governor will set the rules for building the Klub’s membership roll, probably hiring a bunch of Koko Kops — genealogists with expertise in verifying Hawaiian native ancestry.
Act 195 is closely related to the Akaka bill, and contains some of the same language. It contemplates that an established state-recognized tribe with a membership roll, internal governing board, and set of bylaws will have an easier time of getting federal recognition than a bunch of individuals without an organization. But Act 195 is also “stand-alone” legislation to be implemented by the state regardless whether Congress passes the Akaka bill.
Barely one week later, on July 13, the Committee on Hawaiian Affairs of the House of Representatives will hold an informational briefing. Every department or agency of the state government has been summoned to appear if it has assets that could be turned over to Klub Kanaka, or activities which might provide revenue for Klub Kanaka.
Although KKK is a private, members-only, racially exclusive group, it feels entitled to huge amounts of land, money, and jurisdictional authority; and the state government seems eager to hand over whatever KKK wants. It might take a year or two for KKK to establish its membership list, decide who are its officers, approve a set of Klub bylaws, and make a list of what it wants from the state. But meanwhile both KKK and the state are wasting no time to prepare for the massive potlatch (the Indian name for a festival where the “winner” is the one who gives away the most stuff).
The July 13 informational briefing might be thought of as a preliminary meeting in the early stages of a divorce. At this particular meeting the husband (State of Hawaii) has no attorney to represent him. The wife (KKK) is bitterly angry and wants to grab everything possible in the way of property (land, money, and jurisdictional authority) and alimony (payments forever from tax dollars and ceded land revenues). The husband is going to be interviewed by the wife’s attorney (House Committee on Hawaiian Affairs) so that the attorney can begin to find out what assets and income the husband has. This preliminary, informal meeting will help the attorney to formulate a list of questions which the husband must answer under oath during a future deposition and eventual court hearing, leading to a formal document ordering a division of the marital assets and payment of alimony for the foreseeable future.
The wife is very angry. She says their relationship got started with rape (overthrow of the monarchy), followed by a shotgun marriage (annexation) and continued abuse ever since then (poverty, disease, disparate incarceration). She has instructed her attorney to begin divorce proceedings by treating the husband in a very gentle, respectful way in order to encourage him to reveal any hidden assets he might have. But she has also told her attorney that as the process goes forward the attorney should “tighten the noose around my husband’s neck, not to mention other parts of his anatomy, and squeeze that bastard ruthlessly until the pain forces him to give up everything he’s got.”
The notice for the July 13 informational briefing includes date, time, place, and a list of the government agencies who have been “invited” to appear. It can be seen at https://tinyurl.com/6zbcor7
The committee slogan, posted right at the top of every hearing notice this year, is first in Hawaiian and then in English
“He lā hou, e ho`oulu lāhui” A new day, building a nation
Throughout 2011 this committee has passed bills and resolutions hostile to the State of Hawaii, including an absurd history-twisting resolution to rip the “Treaty of Annexation” out of the hands of President McKinley’s in his statue at McKinley HighSchool, https://tinyurl.com/3rpmlow and another history-twisting resolution to convene formal hearings under oath with perjury penalties regarding a claim that Queen Liliuokalani and President Grover Cleveland had a legally enforceable agreement to put her back on the throne following the revolution of 1893. https://tinyurl.com/4t5pecj
Anyone would be crazy to think this state government committee of elected representatives is capable of protecting the interests of the people of Hawaii against the rapacious demands of Klub Kanaka. There is, quite simply, nobody in the state government who will defend us, except for one very lonely and powerless state Senator from Hawaii Kai — the only one among 76 members of the legislature who had the courage to vote “no” on Act 195. And he’s not a member of this House committee.
The hearing is an “informational briefing” allowing no testimony from the public. There’s nothing on the ‘Olelo TV schedule to indicate that it might be broadcast live; although ‘Olelo sometimes does live broadcasts, or might play a video a few days later.