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minutes 05-31-00Page 11 of 54
<br />I would like to end by saying this. Based on Mr. Yuen’s letter, I have before me, and everybody here is supposed to know,
<br />and I would think that if Mr. Tyler’s still here, he does know it correctly because he uses the term that Hawaiian lands are
<br />sovereign lands. However, I have before you my lease with the Department of Hawaiian Homes. My lease that your Charter
<br />is enforcing. In line 10 of my lease, it says this to me. ‘Compliance with laws that the lessee’, me, ‘shall comply with all the
<br />requirements of the municipal, state, and federal authorities, and observe all municipal ordinances and state and federal
<br />statutes pertaining to the said premise now in force or hereafter may be in force. Lessee will observe all setback lines
<br />effecting said premise as shown on the map if hereto attached and herein mentioned in the description of said premise, and
<br />will not erect, place or maintain any building or structure whatsoever except approved fences or walls between any street
<br />boundaries of said premise in the setback lines along such boundaries.’
<br />My purpose for this is that the compliance with laws to the municipal, which is county, state and federal is where it says I got
<br />to do. Yet and still, the County maintains they have no jurisdiction. They have no authority. But you enforce it, or I shouldn’t
<br />say you, but this County enforces it. It’s on my lease. So that’s the problem that I have, when we come here, is the lease that
<br />allows you to enforce it, to come to us as Hawaiians and say we can do it, or is it your Charter that controls where and how
<br />the Hawaiians deal in it’s relationship with all of you and your Charter? Forgive me for speaking out in the third tense as if
<br />you and I are separate. We are separate only by the difference in that I just happened to be born a Hawaiian. If there’s
<br />anybody in here in real estate, know , clearly should know I can move next to you. You cannot move next to me. And that is
<br />only clear based on the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act which says Hawaiian Home lands can only be given to those guys
<br />with 50% the blood. Do I like it? I don’t say I like it but that’s the cards I’ve been dealt. That’s where I was born and raised. I
<br />thought it was a benefit. I’m finding out it’s a hindrance. I pay a dollar more than all of you because I’ve got to go pay a
<br />dollar to somebody when I could have taken the same money and gone outside and lived a wonderful life with not having to
<br />do with all of this. So I’m just trying to say the continued confusion, the lack of interest within this county as it deals with
<br />Hawaiians, that who really believe that we’re just somebody who should be out there, not the host culture. Remember, we’re
<br />not the host culture. We’re just somebody that came after everybody else did. And if you believe that, I have some land in
<br />Kapaahu for sale. So, I’m just trying to say we come before County, we had no preconceived notions that we were going to
<br />prevail. We came here to give notice that if you proceed, because as I’ve heard in the County Council say the same thing –
<br />Mr. Tyler, in fact, asked the same valid question – If we’re going to go on Hawaiian Home lands, do we have the conveyance
<br />paper? Do we have the deeds that allow us to go on there and dedicate these lands? Because if we don’t, we can’t go there.
<br />Well, the answer is they don’t. Hawaiian homes won’t respond; won’t give it to them. Reason is they can’t. They’re bound by
<br />the Constitution of the State of Hawaii. So what this body that’s promulgating rules and regulation laws for this County needs
<br />to understand that we’re just not wolfing in the wind, but we need to make sure that you understand that we gave proper
<br />notice out there so all of you can understand because what I heard one Councilman say was this. ‘Well, we’ve been doing it
<br />and we’re going to continue to do it. We go on the property. They haven’t done anything so there’s no problem, we can
<br />continue to do it, right or wrong.’ Again, I’m going to remind you. People do things wrong for so long they believe it’s right.
<br />We need to address it. It was an opportunity for us, as Native Hawaiians, to come forward to address this within your Charter.
<br />Your Charter was the goal, the book, that says this is where all the laws are. This is the reason we came before you. It was an
<br />opportunity. We can come only once every ten years. This is the reason we’re here. However, I must say for the record, at
<br />times we were treated wonderful. But there were times that’s less than suspect and myself, as a Native Hawaiian, in where we
<br />say about I hear everybody talk about share the Aloha spirit. Sometimes it’s very hard as a Hawaiian to share that Aloha
<br />spirit. When we left – the last moment that we left here we were handed that letter. Apologies notwithstanding, take us
<br />seriously. We’re not here playing games. I’m not here to play games. I got other things to do. But I got to come here to make
<br />sure that my future which was just born a week ago, my granddaughter, has something to look forward to even if she’s stuck
<br />on Hawaiian Homes.
<br />So, that’s all I have to say to you and I hope that if you believe that I’m angry – If I’ve offended anybody, really that’s not
<br />my purpose. My purpose is just to come forward, share with you the information that we had, and answer forthright, straight
<br />out, to the letter from your counsel because it was my understanding two previous meetings from here was that Mr. Yuen
<br />works for you; not you work for Mr. Yuen. So I needed to make that clear. Again, I thank you very much for allowing me the
<br />opportunity to bring forward maybe frustration but if you’ve ever been to Hawaiian Homes Commission meeting and heard
<br />Commission sit there, Hawaiian Homes Commission take a lot of crap, so I’m sorry.
<br />JIM: My testimony’s very short. My name is Harold Jim. The last meeting when I was here, I was very disturbed, and I’d like
<br />to share you my disturb. That I understand there’s one of the Commissioners here and Susan expressed that she believes that
<br />you need the police force on Hawaiian Home lands. Let me share this with all the letters that we have. I believe – I’m a
<br />Native Hawaiian – you’re encroaching on our land. I believe that you are acting outside of your capacity. I believe that you
<br />increase the encumbrance and violate your Constitution. I believe you violated Federal law, and I believe that you violated
<br />my rights. And there’s a place that we can handle this. With respect to these Commissioners, read your Constitution. You’re
<br />vulnerable. Thank you.
<br />KAHAWAIOLA’A: Thank you very much.
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