The chaos created in the Office of Hawaiian Affairs by CEO Kamana’opono Crabbe has squashed what little credibility existed for the Native Hawaiian Roll, Kana’iolowalu.

It’s time to halt this failed project before we dump potentially hundreds of millions in public resources into a settlement with Hawaiians that settles nothing.

The state roll commission headed by former Gov. John Waihee enrolled 125,000 Hawaiians, mostly by transferring names from other lists, and OHA plans delegate elections this year for a convention to draft governing documents for an undefined Hawaiian nation.

Crabbe undercut the plan when he sent an unauthorized letter on behalf of OHA to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry suggesting Kana’iolowalu may be illegal because Hawaii remains an independent kingdom under international law and not a U.S. state.

The nine OHA trustees unanimously rescinded Crabbe’s missive, but two trustees have since rescinded their agreement to rescind.

Crabbe further defied trustees by gathering 100 supporters for a news conference to defend himself, and more than 1,000 signed petitions backing him.

Trustees plan an executive session Monday to ponder their options for dealing with Crabbe and salvaging the nation-building, but it’s likely a hopeless cause after the recent drama — especially since few Hawaiians took Kana’iolowalu seriously in the first place.

Gov. Neil Abercrombie and the Legislature launched the project in 2011 to kick-start Hawaiian nation-building after the Akaka Bill to recognize a Hawaiian nation similar to an Indian tribe stalled in Congress.

Eligible to participate are 518,000 Native Hawaiians in the United States identified by the 2010 census, about 290,000 of whom live in Hawaii.

After two years and a $4 million registration campaign, Waihee’s commission signed up only 19,000 Hawaiians — 3.7 percent of those who are eligible.

This was an overwhelming "no" vote repudiating Kana’iolowalu, but Waihee and OHA pushed ahead by spending $3 million more and convincing the Legislature to add to the roll other lists of Hawaiians collected for different purposes, such as OHA’s failed Kau Inoa initiative.

The current list of 125,000 represents fewer than a quarter of eligible Hawaiians, with the vast majority of the names transferred from the old lists rather than voluntary sign-ups for Kana’iolowalu.

Reasons Hawaiians cite for resisting Kana’iolowalu include concerns that it precludes any chance of real Hawaiian independence and has proceeded too fast without enough education.

Many consider it preposterous for Hawaiian sovereignty to be organized by the state from which Hawaiians seek to become sovereign; OHA, a state agency, isn’t a trusted steward.

Kana’iolowalu can never produce a result that will be accepted as a settlement of Hawaiian claims.

Any accepted path forward must rise from the Hawaiian community, and the state and federal governments have no business trying to organize or control it.

Reach David Shapiro at volcanicash@gmail.com or blog.volcanicash.net.