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ISSUE 4 - DEC
2007
IN THIS ISSUE
Director's
Column |
DIRECTOR’S
COLUMN - WAO KELE O PUNA DEDICATION CEREMONY: MĀPU KE‘ALA O PUNA
by Melody Kapilialoha MacKenzie
Aloha
no e nā hoa makamaka,
In
August, I was fortunate to attend a dedication ceremony for Wao Kele
o Puna, the 25,856-acre rainforest on the flanks of Kīlauea Volcano.
The ceremony was held in the forest itself, near the site of an abandoned
geothermal well, a testament to the folly of trying to harness Pele.
The beautiful morning was hot and humid, with clouds building up throughout
the day. Wao Kele o Puna is a descriptive term that means the rain-belt
of Puna – an area where clouds attracted by the forest, accumulate.
Thus it was not unexpected when rain fell in the late afternoon and
a rainbow appeared as a blessing to close the day. It was a sweet day
indeed for the many involved in more than twenty years of protest and
litigation over the fate of Wao Kele.
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MESSAGE
FROM THE DIRECTOR OF EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT: CIVIL RIGHTS AND THE AKAKA
BILL
by Susan K. Serrano
Recent
public hearings by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (USCCR) and its
Hawai‘i State Advisory Committee (HSAC) on the Native Hawaiian Government
Reorganization Act (also known as the Akaka Bill), have highlighted
ongoing battles over Native Hawaiian history and underscored the need
to examine the larger framework being used to define Native Hawaiian
and civil rights issues.
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INDIGENOUS LAW SUMMARIES: RECENT CASES
by Carl Christensen, Visiting Assistant Professor
The
Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law promotes discourse between
the legal community, the Native Hawaiian community, and the community
at large. To further this goal, the Center is providing brief summaries
of selected state and federal court decisions that impact, or may impact,
Native Hawaiians. This issue of Ka He‘e includes summaries
of Day v. Apoliona, Navajo Nation v. U.S. Forest Service, Pono v.
Molokai Ranch, Ltd., State of Texas v. United States. The Access Fund
v. U.S. Dep’t of Agriculture, and Miner Electric, Inc. v. Muscogee (Creek)
Nation.
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Message
from the Director of Educational Development |
Indigenous
Law Summaries: Recent Cases |
Indigenous
Law Summaries: Selected Law Review Articles |
Pacific
Island Issues: Reconciliatory Justice & Why Micronesia Matters |
The
Real Victims in the Hawai‘i Superferry Debacle |
Remarks
by Professor Mark A. Levin at Hokkaido University |
Indigenous
Issues Update: Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples |
Save
the Dates! Center Presentations and Speaker Series |
Spring
2008 Course Offerings from Center Faculty |
Update
on the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act |
NAMC
Commentary: Too Early to Determine Akaka Bill Impact |
News
from the ‘Ahahui o Hawai‘i Law Student Organization |
Funding
update and Donate Now! |
What's
New at the Center? Faculty, Staff, and Board News |
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INDIGENOUS
LAW SUMMARIES: SELECTED RECENT LAW REVIEW ARTICLES
by Susan K. Serrano, Director of Educational Development
Derek Kauanoe, 3L
The Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law is committed to exploring
and critically examining the many significant and pressing issues facing
Native Hawaiians. In order to provide lawyers, community members, students,
advocates and legal scholars with helpful tools and critical analyses
of Native Hawaiian law, the Center is providing below brief summaries
of recent law review articles on issues facing Native Hawaiians and
other Indigenous peoples. This issue of Ka He‘e summarizes articles
on different aspects of self-determination, including the concept of
“nationhood” under domestic U.S. law and contemporary international
law, the institutional protection of traditional Hawaiian knowledge,
and the implications of international court decisions on the political
rights of Indigenous peoples.
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PACIFIC
ISLAND ISSUES: MĀORI LEGAL SCHOLAR ROBERT JOSEPH ON “RECONCILIATORY
JUSTICE” AND CHAMORU SCHOLAR-ACTIVIST JULIAN AGUON ON “WHY MICRONESIA
MATTERS”
by D. Kapua Sproat, Visiting Assistant Professor
Susan K. Serrano, Director of Educational Development
The Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law promotes education,
scholarship, community outreach and collaboration on issues of law,
culture and justice for Native Hawaiians and other Pacific and Indigenous
peoples. This semester, the Center has increased its emphasis on Pacific
Island rights and issues by hosting two exciting presentations: Reconciliatory
Justice: Addressing Historic Injustices Against Indigenous Peoples
featuring Māori Legal Scholar Dr. Robert Joseph, and Why Micronesia
Matters: Present-Day Realities of the U.S.-Micronesia Relationship,
with Julian Aguon, a Chamoru human rights scholar and activist.
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THE
REAL VICTIMS IN THE HAWAI‘I SUPERFERRY DEBACLE
by Representative Hermina Morita
District 14: Hanalei, Anahola, Kealia, Kapa‘a, Waipouli
Note:
The Center asked Representative Hermina Morita to author a piece on
the Superferry for this issue of Ka He‘e. The following is the author's
opinion and analysis.
If
one were to make lemonade out of lemons, the Hawai‘i Superferry provides
an excellent opportunity for a civics lesson to closely examine the
roles and balance of power between the three branches of government.
Unfortunately, the victim in this debacle is not the Superferry, but
the Hawai‘i Environmental Policy Act, Hawai‘i Revised Statutes ch. 343
(HEPA). Disputes over the Superferry’s failure to complete an Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS) to consider potential impacts of establishing
and operating ferry service between O‘ahu, Kaua‘i and Maui on natural
and cultural resources, were eventually spun out of control. HEPA was
wrongly fingered as a barrier to business, trashed by Hawai‘i’s executive
branch, considered suspiciously by many members of the legislature,
and is now threatened with being gutted in the next legislative session.
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REMARKS
BY PROFESSOR MARK A. LEVIN AT THE CENTER FOR AINU AND INDIGENOUS STUDIES
AT HOKKAIDO UNIVERSITY, SAPPORO, JAPAN
Note:
The following is the text of a lecture delivered by WSRSL Professor
Mark A. Levin at the Center for Ainu and Indigenous Studies (CAIS) at
Hokkaido University, in Sapporo, Japan on July 14, 2007. After preparing
a draft in English, Professor Levin worked together with Hokkaido University
Professor Teruki Tsunemoto, Director of CAIS, and graduate student Ken’ichi
Ochiai to translate the talk into Japanese.
Professor
Levin delivered the talk in Japanese at CAIS followed by a vigorous
Q&A session. The Japanese language translation is available from
the Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law for community members
who wish to introduce Native Hawaiian law issues to native Japanese
language readers. CAIS plans to publish Professor Levin’s remarks in
Japanese as well.
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INDIGENOUS
ISSUES UPDATE: DECLARATION ON THE RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES &
INDIGENOUS MAYA LAND RIGHTS VICTORY
by Melody Kapilialoha MacKenzie, Director
UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Adopted
On
September 13, 2007, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the
long anticipated Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People. Only
four states – the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia
– voted against the Declaration, while eleven others abstained.
The
Declaration recognizes a wide range of basic human rights and fundamental
freedoms of Indigenous peoples. Among these are the right to self-determination
and to freely determine their political status; an inalienable collective
right to the ownership, use and control of lands, territories and other
natural resources; and the right to maintain and develop political,
religious, cultural and educational institutions along with the protection
of cultural and intellectual property.
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SAVE
THE DATES! CENTER PRESENTATIONS AND SPEAKER SERIES
This
semester, the Center launched its popular Maoli Thursdays,
a lunchtime forum and speaker series on Native Hawaiian and other Pacific
and Indigenous issues, held every first Thursday of the month. Save
the dates for Maoli Thursdays in the Spring Semester: February
7th, March 6th, and April 3rd. Visit the Center’s website soon
for Maoli Thursday topics!
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SPRING
2008 COURSE OFFERINGS FROM CENTER FACULTY
If
you’re interested in the PALS ‐ Specialty in Native Hawaiian Law Certificate,
the Environmental Law Certificate, or just want to understand the
fascinating issues affecting indigenous peoples or Hawai‘i’s resources,
consider these courses:
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UPDATE
ON THE NATIVE HAWAIIAN GOVERNMENT REORGANIZATION ACT
by Melody Kapilialoha MacKenzie, Director
On
October 24, 2007, the U.S. House of Representatives approved H.R.
505, The Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act of 2007, more
commonly referred to as the “Akaka Bill,” after its sponsor Hawai‘i’s
own U.S. Senator Daniel Akaka. The bill aims to establish a process
to reorganize a Native Hawaiian government that will lead to federal
recognition of that government, thereby affording Native Hawaiians
a status similar to American Indians and Alaska Natives. The House
passed the bill on a 261-153 vote.
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NAMC
COMMENTARY: TOO EARLY TO DETERMINE AKAKA BILL IMPACT
By Derek Kauanoe, Greg Schlais, Moani Crowell, Anosh Yaqoob, and Scott
Hovey Jr.
To
provide additional analysis and another perspective on the Akaka Bill,
reprinted below is a commentary by five third-year students at the William
S. Richardson School of Law, who are returning members of the Native
American Moot Court Team. This commentary first appeared in the Honolulu
Advertiser on September 4, 2007 and is reprinted here with permission.
Team members won First Place in the National Competition in Minneapolis,
Minnesota, in February 2007. Team member Anosh Yaqoob placed Second
for Best Oralist.
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NEWS
FROM THE ‘AHAHUI O HAWAI‘I LAW STUDENT ORGANIZATION AND THE NATIVE AMERICAN
MOOT COURT TEAM
by Derek Kauanoe, 3L
The
‘Ahahui o Hawai‘i kicked off the 2007-08 academic year with a reception
on August 13 to welcome first-year Native Hawaiian students to the Law
School. At the event, incoming Native Hawaiian students, along with
second- and third-year Native Hawaiian students met and mingled with
a number of Native Hawaiian and non-Hawaiian attorneys and faculty working
in the fields of environmental law and Native Hawaiian rights.
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THE
CENTER FOR EXCELLENCE IN NATIVE HAWAIIAN LAW RECEIVES NEEDED FUNDING
AND LAUNCHES NEW FUNDRAISING EFFORTS
Hulō! Hulō! On
October 4, 2007, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs’ (“OHA’s”) Board of
Trustees voted unanimously to award the Center for Excellence in Native
Hawaiian Law a $630,000 grant in support of our Na‘au Pono Initiative.
Na‘au Pono is a deep sense of justice, which is what the Center strives
to achieve for Native Hawaiians. Funding will be provided over two years
to help enable the Center’s continued existence at the Law School. OHA’s
support has proved critical, as the Center is facing a significant budget
shortfall this year.
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WHAT’S
NEW AT THE CENTER?
FACULTY, STAFF AND BOARD NEWS
On November 7th, Center Director Melody Kapilialoha MacKenzie
and 3rd year Native Hawaiian law student and ‘Ahahui o Hawai‘i alaka‘i
(student leader) Derek Kauanoe, met with the Mānoa Pre-Law
Association to discuss the law school admissions process, the Hui’s Law
School Admission Test (LSAT) Preparation Course, and the Center’s courses
and programs. In the spring of 2006, the Hui established a recruitment
program that offers LSAT Preparation classes to Native Hawaiians interested
in pursuing a legal education. For more information, please visit http://www2.hawaii.edu/~ahahui.
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