Roughly 10,000 more people have stepped forward to sign the Native Hawaiian Roll since March 17, when registration was reopened so more Hawaiians could take part in building their nation.
A total of 125,631 Native Hawaiians were on the Kana‘iolowalu roll as of Friday, the day after registration closed. Thousands more applications are yet to be processed, so the number will keep growing as ancestry is verified.
"There are probably another 5,000 more that are in the hopper right now," said Clyde Namuo, executive director of the Native Hawaiian Roll Commission. "We can end up with a count of roughly 130,000."
The commission expects to certify the list by the end of June, he said. The names will form the base for election of delegates to a Governance ‘Aha, or constitutional convention, where Hawaiians will consider different options for self-determination, including state, federal and international recognition as a nation.
Among those signing up on the last day was Leona M. Kalima, who had mixed feelings because the list incorporated tens of thousands of names from previous native registries.
"I’m signing up for the roll, but I object to the process," the Waimanalo resident told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. "It wasn’t an open and fair process when they transferred those lists."
But she decided to take part in the latest effort by Hawaiians to determine their destiny and address the overthrow of the Hawaiian kingdom in 1893.
"I want to be included in the nation-building," said Kalima, who appended a notarized statement to her application outlining her objections. "We do want to put in place the chance for independence."
The Office of Hawaiian Affairs has pledged to act as a neutral convener of the aha, and held town hall meetings across the islands in the last few weeks to solicit input and encourage registration.
The reception varied, but there was a lot of pushback from outspoken participants who said they didn’t trust the agency. Some feared it wouldn’t give all nationhood options a fair shake. Some said the time frame was too short, with the convention tentatively set for September and a referendum by the end of the year. Some questioned how money had been spent.
Kamanao‘opono Crabbe, OHA’s CEO, said those responses will be taken into consideration by trustees.
"I know many are skeptical of what we’re doing," he wrote in a letter to beneficiaries published in the May issue of Ka Wai Ola. "Many of you have told us we need to give the process more time; that it feels rushed. Many told us there needs to be more education so people can make the best decisions. … We are taking your feedback seriously."
In the same issue, OHA trustee Peter Apo sketched out what might lie ahead, envisioning the agency essentially putting itself out of business and handing off its assets to the new governing entity, once it is established.
"Over $550 million in trust assets, now managed by OHA, will be transferred to this new governing entity, which will succeed OHA as an independent body politic separate from state government," Apo wrote. "The ‘aha and its mission is to be shaped by a democratic process so that the outcome truly reflects the will of the people."
The Kana‘iolowalu Registry initiative was launched July 20, 2012, after passage of a state law recognizing Native Hawaiians as the only indigenous people of the islands and creating the commission to identify them. It has signed up about 40,000 new registrants, including those still awaiting processing, Namuo said. The other names on the list came from previous registries such as Kau Inoa, Operation Ohana and the Hawaiian Registry.
Fewer than 500 people contacted the commission to have their names removed from Kana‘iolowalu, Namuo said.
Mililani Trask, a pioneer in the sovereignty movement, chose not to take part in Kana‘iolowalu.
"I support the right of our people to self-determination, and my efforts in my life have been to work with our people for nationhood," Trask said. "But this process and the way that it’s being imposed is not something that I can support."
She added, "I think it’s a good goal, but we know the effort has to come from the Native Hawaiian community and people and not a political effort created by the state or federal government, which is really what we have here."
According to the 2010 census, more than 527,000 people in the United States reported Native Hawaiian ancestry, including 290,000 living in Hawaii.
In an effort to showcase diverse viewpoints, OHA has held a series of Hawaiian governance summits, known as Kamau a Ea. A session last month included presentations from Hawaiian leaders including Henry Noa, Poka Laenui, Jon Osorio, Walter Ritte, Davianna McGregor and Dennis "Bumpy" Kanahele.
Ritte demanded that the timetable be extended, perhaps as long as three years. But Kanahele, a Hawaiian nationalist whose group has had a land base for more than two decades in Waimanalo, believes now is the time for action. He is standing alongside OHA in its efforts to build Hawaiian unity.
"The thing is, everybody that I know that’s asking for more time, they don’t realize that our people no more the luxury of time," he said.
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ON THE NET:
» To view video of the summit, visit oha.org/nationbuilding.
