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minutes 03-08-00Page 8 of 35
<br />HERKES: Are you answering John’s question?
<br />JIM: That’s his answer, and his answer is saying that you have authority. You don’t. But I’m going to tell you we can suggest
<br />things. And as far as the public and the services, those are just encroachment of Hawaiian Home Act.
<br />HERKES: Thank you.
<br />JIM: And number 2, if things will come up with those benefits that can be added, this discussion has been done 20 years ago,
<br />when I was young, with Hawaiian Homes. They were thinking about paying the County for doing it because of the
<br />maintenance of the roads within the Act. They did that, but they found that it’s better to encroach, and use our lands, and steal
<br />our money and water, more better. Today, that’s why we’re in lawsuits. That’s why we’re in the courts. You can stop it all
<br />because then you would force the Federal government, and the State to go into the funds of 2-20 and pay all those facilities.
<br />And I’ll tell you what else you’re doing wrong that you are coming with a monstrosity lawsuit, trust me, the encroachment.
<br />When the County have accepted those roads there, and come ‘what they call’ dedicated, that came out. There is million and
<br />millions of dollars involved, and it’s right on the agenda. And I’ll give you another one so you can understand, if you like to
<br />understand. We had a water pump down right around here, Panaewa. That water pump came back to us this last year. That
<br />gives you an idea what we’re doing. We’re coming in and reserve our rights to our land. Trust me. We will right so you can
<br />be out of trouble because we pay, you pay, we all pay. I own land. I still pay because why, we got Councilmans inside paying
<br />for people doing something wrong and we pay for it. That all needs to stop. Thank you very much, and if you decide you
<br />want to get a little mana’o, understanding, of one line of telling that, it clearly can be done. The laws support that. Cases
<br />support that. Cayetano’s case supports that. If you read it real carefully, it supports it. They didn’t address it, but they did
<br />support it. (indiscernible) did support it. So if we can assist you, we’d really like to see that the Charter - Hawaiian Homes
<br />lands, that it’s restricted, and if that’s so, then you can stop a lot of pilikia and stop us from fighting and go get money that’s
<br />owed to us. We’re in Federal Courts. We’re in suits. There’s about nine more going to be sued again. These suits. We don’t
<br />think they’re right. We’re going to find out in the Court. Thank you.
<br />RAY: Roland.
<br />KAHAWAIOLA’A: If you want, we’ll work on something.
<br />HIGASHI: Okay, at least we’ll look at something. I mean, it’s kind of complicated issue.
<br />KAHAWAIOLA’A: It is. It is and that’s why we only stuck to that one article within your Charter.
<br />JIM: Nowhere else.
<br />KAHAWAIOLA’A: Nowhere else. We didn’t go to any other portion of your Charter but that area. However, what I did
<br />object to was that there was a failure for even us to address it even at an earlier time. So, I thank you for the opportunity. It’s
<br />available for us to do something because, trust me, what disturbs me as a Native Hawaiian is Commissioner Herkes
<br />mentioned, she understands the Indian law. She understands the Pueblo. They happen to be an indian tribe. The Supreme
<br />Court clearly stated we’re not tribes.
<br />JIM: We’re not tribe. We’re stockholders.
<br />KAHAWAIOLA’A: They said we’re not tribes, so when people get an understanding of tribes, and try to integrate that to us,
<br />we’re not tribes. So that’s where I rest my case, as a Native Hawaiian. You have to understand Hawaiians and then you can
<br />turn back to tribes, but we’re not tribes, and we’re not here to go on the warpath. We just believe your language in the
<br />Charter just makes it so Hawaiians get nothing to do. We just got to do it. Reason is because the word is public safety. The
<br />example is if we call 911 at night - Trust me, I asked that same question seven years ago of the Chief of Police and
<br />Wurdeman. His answer was this. If you call, we’re going to come, just as anybody. It’s not the County Charter that’s
<br />protecting me. It’s the United States Constitution that’s protecting me. You see, that’s why he’s going to come. That’s what
<br />he told me. This Charter is not the reason. There’s ways to go get - Department of Hawaiian going to pay you guys to come,
<br />send your policemen over there. Pay you guys to maintain the road. Come pay for the fire protection on Hawaiian Home
<br />lands. That’s what they used to do, but it never come out of the Charter that says automatically we can do what we like on
<br />Hawaiian Home and you guys belong us. That’s the problem Hawaiians have. We have an identity and just refuse, right now,
<br />at this particular, the new millennium - I just hate to go until the year 2022 thinking that am I a Native Hawaiian, or am I a
<br />person, or I belong to the public. This Constitution, that you all swore to uphold, says this, and I will leave you with this
<br />message, obviously, in this state there’s three different classes of people because the Constitution says, right in the beginning,
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