Interior official to speak at Hawaiian meeting

One of the largest gatherings to focus on Native Hawaiian issues takes place next week, and establishing a more direct relationship with the federal government is expected to be one of the key topics of discussion.

U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, who could play a critical role at the federal level in helping guide the process, is scheduled to attend the conference Wednesday and give a keynote address, a conference planner said Thursday.

The 12th annual Native Hawaiian Convention opens Tuesday at the Hawai‘i Convention Center. More than 500 people had signed up to attend as of this week.

Forging a greater relationship with the federal government, including discussions on pursuing formal recognition of Hawaiians administratively rather than legislatively, is among the topics to be addressed, according to convention planners.

"We have to continue to make sure we solidify our trust relationship with the federal government," said Michelle Kauhane, president and chief executive of the nonprofit Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, which organized the convention with the help of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the Native Hawaiian Roll Commission.

Kauhane said she received word Thursday from Interior officials that Jewell will be at the convention Wednesday. Her keynote address will be about 12:30, right before the day’s luncheon, according to Kauhane.

Among the topics to be discussed during the convention is the roll commission’s ongoing campaign, called Kana‘iolowalu, to register Hawaiians so they can start their own government.

Also on the agenda: problems recently identified in a Star-Advertiser series on the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands’ month-to-month land leasing program, and the federal government’s intent to begin establishing administrative rules for the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1920.

Since its inception, the law, which created a 200,000-acre trust to benefit eligible Native Hawaiians, has not had formal regulations at the federal level.

Getting such regulations has been a top priority for Kauhane’s group, which has more than 100 Hawaiian community development organizations as members.

Part of the three-day convention will focus on ways for Native Hawaiian nonprofit groups to tap into the funding pipeline of national foundations.

That discussion will be bolstered by what roughly three dozen Native Hawaiian leaders learned in June during a trip to New York to meet with representatives of some of the country’s largest foundations, according to Robin Danner, Kauhane’s predecessor and now a part-time policy adviser to the council.

Danner said the convention brings together Hawaiians to discuss ways to tackle some of the most important issues involving the well-being of their communities.

"It’s all about working together," she said.

People interested in attending the convention but haven’t already signed up can register there for all events except the luncheons, according to Kauhane.