Hawaiians argue qualifications for ethnic perks

Critic: 'Hawaiian is not just blood'
Shannon Kahalepauole, 25, lives on property designated under the 1921 federal law for people with at least half Hawaiian blood. But she said all people of Hawaiian ancestry should be treated the same.

“If you’re Hawaiian, you’re Hawaiian,” Kahalepauole said as she and nine other Hawaiian women prepared for a dance exhibition Saturday in seaside Waimanalo. “Hawaiian is not just blood. It’s culture and attitude.”

Another dancer, Oriana Coleman, with an orange flower in her ear, said that she is 47 percent Hawaiian and that it is rare to find people who are more than 50 percent. Hawaiian programs “should be opened up for all Hawaiians,” she said.

The other recent dispute involves non-Native Hawaiians who are threatening to sue if they aren’t allowed to sign up on the voting rolls for a potential government for Hawaiians. (Congress is considering legislation to grant Hawaiians a degree of political autonomy similar to what American Indians have.) The voting registry is open only to Native Hawaiians.

“Their scheme to have racially restrictive elections doesn’t work. Just stay tuned,” said the non-Hawaiians’ attorney, H. William Burgess.

Supreme Court ruling
In 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Hawaii law that permitted only Native Hawaiians to vote in trustee elections for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, citing the constitutional ban on racial discrimination in voting. Now, all Hawaii voters participate and candidates themselves need not be Native Hawaiian.

The two current disputes do not directly challenge the 1921 federal homestead program that offers Native Hawaiians 99-year leases for $1 a year. Federal law also provides loans and loan guarantees to Hawaiians for home construction and repair and special assistance to Hawaiian farmers and ranchers.

As for the 6.700-student Kamehameha Schools, established under the 1883 will of a Hawaiian princess, they have so far survived lawsuits from students who were denied admission because they were not at least part Native Hawaiian.

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