Hearings for Ceded Lands

Aloha mai kākou,

We previously mentioned that there would be A hearing on Wednesday, February 4 with the House Committee on Hawaiian Affairs for the "ceded" lands bill. There is one hearing for the state House and another hearing for the state Senate.


HOUSE HEARING
Information sent to us from Representative Mele Carroll's office yesterday indicates that the hearing will be at 9 am, on Wednesday February 4, in Conference Room 329 at the Capitol.

The House Bill related to the "ceded" lands moratorium is HB 1667. Click here to read House Bill 1667.

HB 1667 seems to be the second item on the committee's agenda. After this bill passes the House Hawaiian Affairs Committee, it will then go to the House Water, Land and Ocean Resources Committee, the Judiciary Committee, and then to Finance.

Another House Bill also introduced by Mele Carroll is HB 1805, which has been described as "prohibiting the disposition in fee simple of ceded lands." It has been referred to the same committees as HB 1667.


SENATE HEARING
If you click here, you can watch the January 28, 2009, legislative Hawaiian Caucus press conference. At that press conference, Senator Clayton Hee mentioned that he and four of the Native Hawaiian senators in the caucus proposed a full-moratorium bill. This Senate Bill (SB 1085) will also be discussed in a Senate Committee hearing (the Senate Committee on Water, Land, Agriculture, and Hawaiian Affairs)

The Senate Committee Hearing is also scheduled for Wednesday at 2:45 PM in Conference Room 229. This Bill will then go to the Senate Judiciary and Government Operations Committee.

Supporters of these bills can (AND SHOULD) submit testimony online by CLICKING HERE.

News Release from the Office of Representative Mele Carroll

News Release – Office of Rep. Mele Carroll

January 29, 2009 - For immediate release


Legislative Hawaiian Caucus meets with Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Kupu‘āina Coalition about moratorium goals


Honolulu. Office of Hawaiian Affairs leadership spoke with members of the Legislative Hawaiian Caucus at a Kūkākūkā meeting on Thursday, January 29 about strategies in protecting “ceded lands” currently in dispute.

Chair of the OHA Board of Trustees Haunani Apoliona, Administrator Clyde Namu‘o, Trustees Oz Stender, and Robert Lindsey advised the Caucus to urge other lawmakers to back a single moratorium bill and to move it through legislation quickly.

“For the legislative action to be the most effective is to have a bill passed before February 25,” Namu‘o said of the date on which the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on whether or not the 1993 Apology Resolution by Congress stripped the State of its right to sell “ceded lands.” “We’re at the point where we no more time to quibble over which version [of the moratorium bill to go with].”

Rep. Mele Carroll, Chair of the Legislative Hawaiian Caucus, asked the OHA members for their opinion on how they feel that legislators should proceed forward in the coming month regarding the support of the moratorium legislation on “ceded lands.”

Namu‘o said that the public needs to be educated on the issue of “ceded lands” and let their representatives know where they stand.

“People need to realize that this is absolutely one of the most serious issues to affect our people in a long, long time,” Namu‘o said. “Gov. Lingle needs to hear that not only the Hawai‘i community is upset over this bill, but the broader community as well.”

While Gov. Linda Lingle has not stated any plans to sell “ceded lands,” to have the U.S. Supreme Court to comment on Native Hawaiian claims to those lands is the worst thing to happen, when the State and Native Hawaiians are currently in a process of reconciliation, Namu‘o explained.

“I think the important thing right now is the legislation,” Rep. Mele Carroll said. “Kupu‘āina and ‘Iliu‘okalani Coalitions are out there right now working really hard to educate the public. But we all need to communicate.”

Apoliona agreed: “The common ground of the moratorium, let’s all get on board on that.”

Members of Kupu‘āina Coalition (who organized StopSellingCededLands.com) presented counterarguments to what was stated by Attorney General Mark Bennett at a previous Legislative Hawaiian Caucus meeting. Bennett had said that a legislated moratorium would bring lawsuits against the State, hamper the government’s ability to generate finance, and that having the federal government settle a State issue was the moral thing to do. The Coalition and the OHA members both stated that the Attorney General’s arguments were misleading the public.

“We thank you [The Legislative Hawaiian Caucus] for moving forward and rising against the fear that potential litigation would come forward,” Kupu‘āina Coalition member Derek Kauanoe said.

Kauanoe told the Caucus that legal disputes will come to the State even if the Attorney General and the Governor win their case in the U.S. Supreme Court. He also quoted the Attorney General as agreeing that the issue of “ceded lands” should be resolved in the political arena, not in the courts.

It seems as if the Attorney General and Gov. Lingle want to do away with the unique laws that shape Hawai‘i,” Coalition member Hoku Price said. “It is up to the legislators … to recognize and not challenge the rights of the first people of Hawai‘i.”

Coalition member Jocelyn Doane also told the Caucus that a moratorium would not prevent the State from making money and that licenses, permits, and other economic uses of the land would carry on in the same way that it has.

“This issue is not one that pits the Native Hawaiian community against the non-Native Hawaiian community,” Doane said. “Hawaiians have a special relationship with the land, and so does the rest of the community.”

The Legislative Hawaiian Caucus is composed of 28 members for the 2009 session, the largest membership it has ever had: Rep. Mele Carroll (Chair), Sen. J. Kalani English (Vice-Chair), Sen. Clayton Hee, Sen. Brickwood Galuteria, Sen. Michelle Kidani, Sen. Norman Sakamoto, Sen. Suzanne Chun-Oakland, Rep. Karen Awana, Rep. Pono Chong, Rep. Faye Hanohano, Rep. Hermina Morita, Rep. Roland Sagum III, Rep. James Kunane Tokioka, Rep. Chris Lee, Rep. Maile Shimabukuro, Rep. Sharon E. Har, Rep. Lyla B. Berg, Rep. Angus McKelvey, Rep. Joe Bertram, Rep. Joey Manahan, Rep. Cindy Evans, Rep. Cindy Evans, Rep. Tom Brower, Rep. Jessica Wooley, Rep. Lynn Finnegan, Rep. Scott Saiki, Rep. Sylvia Luke, Rep. Della Au Bellatti, and Rep. Gene Ward.

-end-

Legislative Hawaiian Caucus, makawalu postcards, more donations, and an amicus brief.

The legislative Hawaiian caucus is holding a hearing next week Wednesday. We'll be sure to keep you updated here when information is made available.

Kupu‘āina organizers, Jocelyn M Doane, Derek Kauanoe, and Davis Kahōkū Price spoke with members of the legislative Hawaiian caucus today about the ceded lands moratorium. Derek spoke about Mark Bennett's comments from the previous caucus discussion about the potential for lawsuits to arise as a result from moratorium legislation. Davis Price spoke about the state's public policy towards the ceded lands and Native Hawaiians, and Jocelyn M Doane spoke about the effects and benefits of moratorium bills.

POSTCARDS

We mailed out another 42 postcards today. No, we're not quite running out yet, but we will be. Since tomorrow is Friday and the start of the weekend, I'm thinking it's probably better for legislators to receive mail earlier in the week instead of right before the weekend starts. It's easy to forget about mail over the weekend, but harder earlier in the week.

STAMP DONATIONS
Mahalo nui to Benton Keali'i Pang who donated a roll of 100 stamps. We'll be using these stamps for the postcards we're sending to legislators. Mahalo nui.

For anyone else interested in contributing, below are the prices for postcard stamps:
- 10 postcard stamps = $ 2.70
- 50 postcard stamps = $13.50
- 100 postcard stamps = $27.00

E-mail us at kupuaina@gmail.com and we'll be sure to let you know where to send the postage stamps.

AMICUS BRIEF
Keith Kamisugi, Director of Communications, for the Equal Justice Society has informed us that, earlier today, the Equal Justice Society and the Japanese American Citizens League (two civil rights organizations) filed a friend-of-the-court (amicus) brief today at the Supreme Court in support of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

Read more about this topic by clicking here.

Legislative Hawaiian Caucus, postcards

Today was an awesome day and very inspiring. Prior to the 10am press conference for the Legislative Hawaiian Caucus, there was a meeting with different leaders from various Hawaiian organizations. I donʻt doubt that there will be future meetings.

LEGISLATIVE HAWAIIAN CAUCUS
Anyway, the Legislative Hawaiian Caucus Press Conference today was great! Surprisingly, it was about an hour, or slightly longer and the media stayed for most of it. Included at the bottom of this e-mail will our statement to the press. Representative Mele Carroll, leader of the caucus discussed the 10 bills that caucus members are supporting. Rep. Carroll briefly described each individual bill. The tenth and last bill she discussed was the "ceded" lands moratorium bill. There was a good number of people in attendance. There were not enough chairs for audience members and people crowded near the door standing to hear the statements during the press conference.

Anyway, check out the video below to listen to some of the statements from the Legislative Hawaiian Caucus.


POSTCARDS
Mahalo to Uncle Walter and Aunty Audrey Kawaa for their contribution to our efforts. The Kawaaʻs donated 100 postcard stamps that will support our Makawalu Initiative. The Makawalu initiative is our attempt to give our supporters a voice to their elected legislators through the use of postcards. To date, we have mailed out nearly 600 postcards, signed by Hawaii residents and citizens, to their elected officials. Today we mailed out 74 postcards.

If you know 20 people (family, friends, neighbors and/or co-workers) who want to put their names on postcards to tell their elected officials to protect the ceded lands by passing moratorium laws, let us know by e-mailing us at kupuaina@gmail.com and weʻll make arrangements to get those postcards to you.


KUPUʻAINA PRESS STATEMENT
The Kupuʻaina Coalition, an organization led by current University of Hawaii law students and recent law school graduates, is supportive of the proposed full moratorium on the sale of ceded lands. The Coalition believes that, given the state’s history of public policy towards both the public land trust and its relationship with Native Hawaiians in addition to our State Supreme Court’s January 31, 2008 ruling, the moratorium is appropriate and consistent with Hawaiʻi state law.

A moratorium on the sale of ceded lands is a re-affirmation of the Hawaii Supreme Court’s landmark decision in the Office of Hawaiian Affairs v. Housing and Community Development Corporation of Hawaii. The introduction of a moratorium bill, on the sale of ceded lands, is also consistent with statements made by the Attorney General Mark Bennett, in addition to statements made in the State Supreme Court’s ruling.

- Honolulu Advertiser (11/23/08) the Lingle Administration believed, and continues to believe, that the claims that Native Hawaiians have should be addressed through the legislative process — through the Legislature and the Congress . . . but not in the courts. - Mark Bennett

- January 31, 2008 [T]he OHA plaintiffs admit that the ultimate resolution of the [N]ative Hawaiian claims must be through the political processes, and it is actively engaged in these processes. But this struggle for justice will be futile if the assets in dispute [i.e., the ceded lands] no longer exist when a solution is found. [T]he plaintiffs are not seeking a judicial resolution of the underlying claim for a return of lands, but [are] rather asking the judiciary to protect the trust assets while the dispute is being resolved by the political branches. - The Hawaiʻi Supreme Court

The Kupuʻaina Coalition organizers are also aware that a good number of Hawaiʻi residents have begun to inform their elected legislators (both Senators and Representatives) by mailing in postcards expressing their desire to have the “ceded” lands protected through moratorium laws. It is our hope that our elected legislators will take heed of their constituents' voices and act accordingly.

Additional information regarding the ceded lands case and the effort to protect the ceded lands can be found at www.stopsellingcededlands.com E-mail can be sent to kupuaina@gmail.com.

Press conference on ceded lands moratorium, and we're presenting to the legislative Native Hawaiian Caucus

PRESS CONFERENCE!
Tomorrow (Wednesday) there will be a press conference at 10:00 am. Originally the idea was to have the press conference by the Queen Lili'uokalani statue. The meeting has now been changed to room 423 in the capitol. If you're planning on coming to the press conference, I recommend checking our twitter updates to the left side of our blog or by going to our twitter page to see if there are any last minute room changes. If there are any room changes we'll be sure to post those changes immediately through twitter. We're going to try and live-stream it on our website.

LEGISLATIVE HAWAIIAN CAUCUS


Representative Mele Carroll, the legislator credited with reactivating the legislative Hawaiian caucus, has asked Kupu‘āina Coalition organizers to speak with the members of the Hawaiian caucus. This discussion is currently scheduled to take place this Thursday, January 29, 2009 at 1pm. We've been told that this will take place in room 423 as well. We'll be sure to update twitter if there are any room chages. We will try to live-stream this on our website also.

We encourage supporters to come to both events on Wednesday and Thursday. Visit us here for updates.

Hawaiian Caucus and chatting?

Immediately after I finished this week's live webcast, I checked my e-mail and found out that we will be presenting to the Hawaiian caucus at 1pm on Thursday, January 29. The room is yet to be determined and may even change the day of.

We'll see if we can live-stream the event. Be sure to check out our twitter updates so that you know whether or not we'll be live-streaming and to also find out which room we'll be in.

Although I knew we had the capability to do so, I never realized until it was too late, that people were chatting online during our live-streaming webcast. I thought I'd paste here part of that chat conversation between two of our viewers.

Welcome to the 'kupuaina' room
18:16 Kanani : "are you in agreement with the Gov and AG regarding the upcoming US supreme court etc he just went to town and spoke very forcefully, but at the end I repeated
18:17 Glen V in PuertoRico : I would say, IMHO, that his political career, at least in terms of Kanaka Maoli voters, is all downhill because of his association with Linda Lingle
18:17 Kanani : myself and said you did not answer my question and repeated and he said YES he supports the GOV
18:18 Glen V in PuertoRico : wow
18:18 Glen V in PuertoRico : of course he supports the governor
18:18 Glen V in PuertoRico : what a shame
18:19 Kanani : but I wanted everyone to hear him because he skirted a yes or no answer they made me wait a long time to speak to him and he was made aware of my question ahead
18:19 Glen V in PuertoRico : that was good that you called in to ask
18:20 Glen V in PuertoRico : i have seen many people post messages in different forums asking to know his poosition or saying, please ask him what he things
18:20 Glen V in PuertoRico : thinks
18:20 Glen V in PuertoRico : but it is no surprise that he 100 percent backs the opinion of Linda Lingle
18:20 Glen V in PuertoRico : for any matter
18:21 Glen V in PuertoRico : he can join her sinking ship i guess
18:21 Glen V in PuertoRico : in terms of these issues
18:21 Glen V in PuertoRico : the only people who are happy about what they are doing seems to be people who think like the Grassroots Institute

72 more postcards mailed out, t-shirts info,

I picked up 72 postcards today from a well-known Hawaiian organization and dropped off about 370 postcards to get signed. These postcards, hopefully, will eventually make its way to members of various Hawaiian Civic clubs. Mahalo nui to those of you who responded to our e-mail update offering to send/donate postcard postage stamps to help us in our efforts. Those contributions are greatly appreciated, and as I'm sure you know, there's not much else we can do with postage stamps (unlike money) so please feel free to donate postage stamps and rest assured that we're using those postcards stamps only to give a voice to Native Hawaiians and non-Native Hawaiians who wish to let their elected legislators know that they want the "ceded" lands protected.


ONLINE PETITION
Dr. Trisha Kehaulani Watson, has created an online petition for people to sign. You can sign it by going to the following URL http://apps.facebook.com/causes/petitions/44?m=66d429cd#sign. It doesn't look like you need a facebook account to sign the petition either.

T-SHIRTS

The Pa'i Foundation is also selling the popular red HEWA! t-shirts. You can buy the HEWA! shirts at the following website, https://paifoundation.ejoinme.org/MyPages/HEWATshirt/tabid/127188/Default.aspx.

You can also buy the Ku I Ka Pono - Protect Ceded Lands Shirt also by going to https://paifoundation.ejoinme.org/MyPages/ProtectHawaiianRights/tabid/123495/Default.aspx


KUPU'AINA LIVE!
Don't forget to watch our live-streaming webcast today at 5:30pm.

Mailed more postcards. "Ceded" Lands Informational Session w/ Mark Bennett, Clayton Hee, John Waihee, Bill Meheula and Bill Tam

Yesterday we mailed off 156 postcards that will be delivered to the State capitol tomorrow. Or at least it should reach the capitol by Monday, January 26, 2009, and reach the various legislators they sent to. At the bottom of this blog entry is a list (by last name) of people whose postcards were mailed out yesterday. If you see your name on the list, we encourage you to call your legislator and follow up with them.






We're proud to announce that we now have complete video footage of our January 7, 2009, "Ceded" Lands Informational Session that had the following panelists: Attorney General Mark Bennett, Hawai'i State Senator Clayton Hee, (former) Governor John Waihe'e, and attorneys Bill Meheula and Bill Tam. The event was moderated by Neil Hannahs.

You can watch the video from the "Ceded" Lands Informational Session below. The video is long and may take a while to load. You can also watch it by going to http://tinyurl.com/dx9rpe

---

The list of names of people whose postcards were mailed out yesterday (Saturday) is as follows: (please call your legislator to follow-up)
Ah nee, Edward, Aiona-Wilson, Kiele, Amona, Lydia, Arce, Yun (?), Baker, Mary, Branco, Mikela, Campbell, Pono, Carvalho-Aweau, Kawena, Coito, Wayne, Cox, Sara, Cuba, Kekoa, Dela Cruz, Abbie, Derit, Beverly, Doane, Jocelyn, Donlin, Amanda, Donn, Kawika, Ebanez, Darcy, Ebanez, John, Egger, Chad, Egger, Roger, Garces, Micah, Gohier, Damien, Herndon, Sandra, Hiapo, Kalani, Ho, Kenneth Jr., Ho, Roseline, Ho-Lastimosa, Ilima, Honda, Clarice, Ingram, Pamela, Johnson, Keone, Kaha, Aleysia-Rae, Kahiapo, Dorothea, Kahoalii, Kaiolu, Kahuanui, Ekela, Kalima, Haywood, Kamakawiwoole, Douglas, Kauanoe-Sagapolutele, Tippany, Kaupu, Leivallyn, Kealoha, Donavan, Kekipi, A Lehua, Kema, Paul, Keonaonaona-Ah Ching, Wallace, Kon, Stephanie K, Laikona, Glenn P, leu cordy, Dominique, Lincoln, Lancelot Haili, Long, sarah, Lyons, Daniel, Macomber, Kahiwa, Macomber, Steven, Manoi-Cuban, Leialii, Manuwai, Kaiulani, Marfil, Sanoe, Matsuura, Aubrey, McAleavey, Margaret, McMillan, Mary, Mei-En Chen, Hilary, Midado, Victoria, Mikkelsen, Patricia, Mora, Kealoha, Morgan, Donna, Nahinu, Laverne, Nakama, Nedrick, Nakamoto, Alberta, Naone, Shawn, Nihipali-Day, Nohea, Novikoff, Kahili, Obrey, Steve, Olpa, Eri, Ondayog, George, Onekea, Kaui, Paaoao-Bowman, Jeff, Prade, Nicoleta, Roldan, Keanuenue, Roynesdal, John, Ruffin, Madison, Salangdren, Noriko, Saranillio, Dean, Seeger, Leinaala, Serrano, Joshua, Seto, Kaohu, Solomon, Shanelle-Leilani, Souza, Joana, Sproat, Kapua, Stevens, Jan, Tavares, Sherilyn, Tim, Alexa, Tui, H. Hanakia, Unu, Malia, Uyeoka, Cady, Waialeale, Uluhani, Weems, Angela, Wendt, Edward, Wendt, Mahealani, Wilcox, Gordon, Williams, Pamela, Wilson, Kalani, Wond, Royce, Wong, Kehaulani, Yasuhara, Kaina, and Zuern, John

MAHALO NUI FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

Twitter, 255 out of 1200+ postcards and some new videos

If you haven't noticed already, you can keep up with just about every little detail about what we're doing through "Twitter updates" that are viewable on the left side of our blog page or by logging onto Twitter and following us. Yes, you'll learn more details than you probably cared to, but, hey, what the heck. Now that we can make Twitter updates using cell phone text messaging, you can stay up-to-date by the minute or hour on what we're doing.

Today, we mailed out 255 postcards signed by people like you, supporters and people who want the "ceded" lands protected. These 255 postcards were signed by 170 individual people. But we still need more of your help. We're hoping to go into communities like Palolo to gather more signatures for these postcards. If you're willing to help us out, please let us know by e-mailing us at kupuaina@gmail.com. We're also hoping for postcard stamp donations to help defray the costs of postage for our postcards. We've gotten more than 1200 postcards total and we're still trying to get more to let our legislators know that we want them to pass laws that will protect the ceded lands.

I've uploaded two new videos clips and am uploading a much longer one. Mahalo to the folks at ‘Ōiwi TV and Palikū Documentary Films for filming and editing to make the overall video available for us.

The first video is of Attorney General Mark Bennett doing a 15-17 minute presentation for the January 7, 2009 Kupu‘āina "Ceded" Lands Informational Session


This second video is of both the Attorney General Mark Bennett and attorney Bill Meheula responding to questions submitted by the audience at the same 1/07/2009 informational session.

Legislative Hawaiian Caucus

We attended the legislative Hawaiian caucus meeting today. It was moved from the original room, to room 309. The people asked to speak at the caucus meeting were the Attorney General Mark Bennett and attorney Sherry Broder.




It was interesting. The following legislators were in attendance:
Rep. Mele Carroll
Sen. Kalani English
Sen. Clayton Hee
Rep. Scott Saiki
Rep. Chris Lee
Rep. James Tokioka
Rep. Jessica Wooley
----
Rep. Tom Brower
Rep. Pono Chong
Rep. Faye Hanohano
Sen. Brickwood Galuteria
Rep. Sylvia Luke
Rep. Della Au Bellatti
Rep. Sharon E Har
Sen. Michelle Kidani


The caucus meeting was good to attend because it allowed us to somewhat gauge what some legislators thoughts are on the "ceded" lands issue and the need to place a moratorium on the sale of "ceded" lands..

Our legislators asked very difficult questions to both the Attorney General Mark Bennett and Sherry Broder.


One question that was asked by Senator Kalani English was, "If the legislature adopts a policy in favor of moratorium, does that change things? How does that affect your case Mark Bennett?"


Generally Mark Bennett's response, (according to the notes I took) was that a state-passed moratorium does actually
change things. Mark Bennett emphasized his opinion, that the Office of Hawaiian Affairs introduced legislation to moot case so that the Supreme Court doesn’t reach the merits of the case. Mark Bennett's belief is that state-enacted legislation doesn’t moot out the case. Mark Bennett explained that if the legislature passed such a statute and it became law, the next day, (or so) those who oppose Hawaiian programs and continually sue the state, ("people we [Mark Bennett] have fended off) would then claim that the passage of this statute would put the State of Hawai'i in breach of the Admission Act.

Mark Bennett continued to explain his opinion and said that the reason the Lingle Administration has been able to fend off suits in the past is because people who are suing, claiming trust itself is illegal, cannot make that argument unless they join the US as a defendant.

Mark Bennett expressed his confidence in the idea that if our state legislature were to pass a moratorium law protecting the ceded lands from being sold until the unrelinquished claims of Native Hawaiians were resolved, that such a law would provoke people like Bill Burgess to file lawsuits charging that the state has breached its fiduciary duty to them as non-Hawaiian beneficiaries to the public land trust. Interestingly enough Mark Bennett said that if the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, or its attorneys who drafted the proposed bill would not do not, then those attorneys should be willing to put in writing that for the legislature that such proposed bill/legislation would not open up lawsuits against the state.

One reason why this was interesting was because Mark Bennett never acknowledged that, if he wins this case at the U.S. Supreme Court, that people (like Bill Burgess) would later sue the State of Hawai'i for breach of fiduciary duty.

Some people in attendance were concerned that perhaps Mark Bennett was resorting to a "fear tactic" to get the legislature to not pass a moratorium law.


To this, Representative Della Au Bellati posed the question, "Is the presumption that a moratorium on the sale of ceded lands only benefits Native Hawaiians? Can't a moratorium on the sale of ceded lands be a benefit to everybody."

Mark Bennett's response was something along the lines of, him believing that there are other possible challenges. Mark Bennett then also included in his statements, "I don’t think it’s in the state’s interst for me to detail all the potential challenges here to provide a roadmap as to how to proceed with lawsuits."

Mark Bennett said he identified potential problems with proposed OHA moratorium bill, but that he didn't think it’s in anybody’s interest for him to detail all the problems.

That might have been gratuitous of Mark Bennett (to not provide a roadmap for other lawsuits), but Rep. Della Au Bellatti responded that, "a moratorium could be good for everybody. This is something that we’ll have for discussion as a legislature. The notion that we’d be setting ourselves up for federal lawsuits, as a fear tactic, should not prevent us from exploring things as a policy options."


Senator Michelle Kidani, also asked a very interesting question, "Since you have taken an oath to uphold the laws of our State, if we pass a law that places a moratorium on the sale of ceded lands, would you cease your case at the Supreme Court?"


Mark Bennett's first response was something like, "I don't think the law would say to cease and desist the case."

Senator Kidani then responded very quickly, "But, the moratorium bill would then be a law, would you uphold that law?"

Unfortunately, my notes don't indicate what Mark's response was, but perhaps people can follow up with him on that. This raises a question though as to whether a moratorium bill is enough. Should a bill or resolution directing the the Attorney General to cease and desist be introduced? It would be interesting to see how something like that turns out.


The caucus meeting was about 90 minutes long and started at 4:30pm. At the end, when it was over, Senator Clayton Hee announced that the four Hawaiian state senators would introduce moratorium legislation to protect the "ceded" lands.


Okay. Well it's late and it's time to go to sleep. We're meeting with legislators again tomorrow (Friday) morning, and we have stuff to do.

Malama pono and mahalo for your support.

Opening Day at the Legislature

Today was a busy day at the legislature for the Kupu'aina coalition organizers. The place was crowded with a lot of different people trying to talk with every legislator and eating lunch.

I want to highlight some language from Colleen Hanabusa's speech. "As well, we know we must address the sense of betrayal that many in our Native Hawaiian community feel on the issue of ceded lands, and in particular the case now pending before the United States Supreme Court. We will not turn a deaf ear to these questions, as difficult as they may be. We have heard the call of the people and we must respond."

Colleen Hanabusa, if you didn't know, is the State Senate President. The text of her entire speech is available at http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20090121/BREAKING01/90121051

It is encouraging to know that Colleen Hanabusa wants to address the ceded lands issue. Now, we have to focus on the State House of Representatives. It may be necessary to organize something at the capitol to let the House of Representatives know that this is a serious issue and that we want them to protect the ceded lands.

We just found out today that there is an important Hawaiian Caucus meeting happening tomorrow at the State Capitol in Room 423 at 4pm. The Hawaiian Caucus will explore the "ceded" lands issue by listening to three panelists, the Attorney General Mark Bennett, Attorney Sherry Broder, and Attorney Bill Meheula.

All three panelists are involved in the "ceded" lands litigation. Sherry Broder is the lead attorney representing the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Bill Meheula represents the four individual plaintiffs and Mark Bennett represents the State of Hawai'i as the attorney general.

This caucus meeting is open to the public. The importance of this meeting is to provide information to the caucus members who are also legislators working at the capitol.

We encourage people to attend the caucus meeting which is scheduled to last 90 minutes.

The Hawai'i legislature and postcard counting

Tomorrow is the opening day of the legislature. We're going down there and we'll be sure to talk with some state representatives and senators tomorrow. It'll definitely be a full and busy day, but it will be great. I'm sensing a general feeling from people that after today's American presidential inauguration ceremony, that there is high hopes for the future with Barack Obama as a world leader. It's definitely inspiring.

I finally got around to counting the postcards. I want to thank everyone who participated with us and signed/filled-out postcards. Without giving out a specific number, I'm happy to announce that we collected well over 1,000 postcards.


There are however, some senatorial districts where we could use more signed postcards.
- Senatorial District 2 which encompasses: Waiakea Uka, Kalapana, Volcano, Kahuku (Big Island). For Senatorial District 2, we had no filled-out postcards.
- Senatorial District 16 which encompasses: Pacific Palisades, Pearl City, Waimalu, Upper 'Aiea, 'Aiea Heights.

Anyway, we began mailing out some postcards. A very generous person donated two books of stamps to our efforts on Saturday. Unfortunately, we don't know the name of the person, but we're extremely thankful. In lieu of stamps, many other people donated their loose change and then some, which will definitely be a tremendous help in covering our postage costs. Mahalo nui to all our supporters. We'll continue to mail out cards each day as part of our strategy to remind our legislators that this is an issue that we want them to deal with quickly.

As a reminder, on Saturday (1/17/09) the Kupu'aina Coalition conducted a drive to help elevate the voice of people who want the ceded lands protected. Below is a picture of Jocelyn Doane talking with a supporter and having her filling out two of our cards. One to her state representative and the other to her state senator.


Jocelyn, among with a number of other volunteers, canvassed Kapi'olani Park to get signatures of supporters.

Below is a picture of the Kupu'aina Coalition booth at Kapi'olani Park. Here, we had five people using laptops at a stationary place for supporters to go to and sign postcards.

Last night's webcast, t-shirts, and Postcards to Politicians

Aloha mai kakou,

Kupu‘āina Live!
Last night we did our fifth live-streaming webcast. Our viewers may have noticed that the last several webcasts, we've had a delayed start. We haven't quite nailed down yet what the issue is, but now we're leaning towards pre-recording those webcasts by about an hour and then playing them "live" over ustream and mogulus. We don't like having to start the webcasts late, even if it is only by a few minutes, because that's a good way to start losing viewers.

We got an e-mail from Keahi on the big island who let us know that she experienced a brief pause where there was no sound or video. My parents e-mailed me personally and said they experienced a five minute period of no sound or actual video. We'll continue to work on it.

Kū I Ka Pono T-SHIRTS!
Since Saturday's rally, we've been getting e-mails from people asking about t-shirts.

The best thing to do, is probably to go to https://paifoundation.ejoinme.org/MyPages/ProtectHawaiianRights/tabid/123495/Default.aspx

Kupu‘āina wasn't selling the shirts from our website, but we did provide a link that connected people to a site that was selling the shirts. You can also call Kaho'onei Panoke at 224-8068.

POSTCARDS TO POLITICIANS
Mahalo nui to all those who signed our postcards. We're continuing to sort through the post cards we received. We still haven't finished counting, but in my conservative estimate, I believe we have well over 1,000 signed postcards. We will start to mail these out soon and we're going to continue to get more signed. If you didn't know already, the purpose of the postcards is to convey a message to the politicians at the capitol building. That message basically is, that "as your constituents, we want you to protect the "ceded" lands by supporting and passing laws that protect the ceded lands and that may also re-affirm the Hawai'i Supreme Court's landmark January 31, 2008 ruling.

For any of you out there who would like to help out with this effort, please let us know by e-mailing us at kupuaina@gmail.com

The march and rally

Happy Aloha Monday and Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day!

Don't forget that each Monday we have our live-streaming webcast that starts at 5:30pm Hawaii Standard Time at stopsellingcededlands.com

The march this past Saturday was awesome! Thousands of people were in the streets and some tourists eventually realized that the what was happening on Kalakaua Avenue was not a "parade" but rather a march.

As can be expected, the two Honolulu dailies published articles on the march.

The Honolulu Advertiser article is titled, "Hawaiian rights activists take land case public in Waikiki march." The Advertiser also has a short video clip of the event.



Supporter Edward Hu, was quoted in the Advertiser,
"I think the issue is pretty simple," said Hu, who is not Hawaiian. "If there's property or land whose ownership is in question, the issue ought to be resolved before that property is sold. You don't even have to believe that the claims are valid, except that the Hawai'i Supreme Court has said that we need to resolve those claims before they can be sold. I don't see why Lingle has to appeal this. The highest court in her state has spoken."

Edward Hu is a Kupu‘āina Coalition member and helped out on Saturday with the organization's Makawalu Initiative. The initiative is an attempt to convey the voices of the people to their elected politicians at the state capitol and letting them know (through postcards) that the people want them to act to protect the "ceded" lands.


(image from Honolulu Star-Bulletin)

The Honolulu Star-Bulletin has its own article titled, "Hawaiian march targets lands case at high court." The article reports however, "Lingle noted that it was Gov. John Waihee, a native Hawaiian, who wanted to sell the former monarchy lands as part of an affordable housing development. That proposed sale led to the lawsuit that is now before the U.S. Supreme Court."

This statement was rather disappointing to read because it's a "political" argument and not a legal argument. It is important to realize that the factual background provided in the 1993 Apology Resolution passed by Congress did not exist when Governor Waihe`e wanted the "ceded" lands for affordable housing. Most importantly though, Governor Waihe`e never challenged Native Hawaiian claims to the ceded lands. Governor Lingle however, argues that Native Hawaiians do not have a "legal" claim. We held an event at the UH law school (on 1/7/09) where Governor Waihe`e spoke about this issue and the latter point. We have video footage of Governor Waihe`e's statements that can be watched below.

commercial, Senator Clayton Hee, Vivian Maunakea, and Volunteers needed

The commercial was shown tonight on the six o'clock news. It should show again around 10pm. I saw it on KHON and KGMB.

The other day, I posted the video of Governor John Waihe'e's comments at the "Ceded" Lands Informational Forum. Today, we have an 8 minute clip of Senator Clayton Hee. In his comments, he talks about two legislative proposals designed to protect the ceded lands. He also comments about how Native Hawaiian issues will need to be resolved politically.
See video below.


A big Mahalo goes out to Vivian Maunakea from Waimanalo for writing to her State Representative, Chris Lee and letting him know that she wants him to support a moratorium on "ceded" lands sales. This is exactly the kind of thing we need people to do.

We're starting to get e-mails from people who want to volunteer on Saturday during the rally. That's awesome. We still need more volunteers though. If you're interested send us an e-mail at kupuaina@gmail.com

Commercial

Last night Kupu'aina Coalition organizers Davis and Jocelyn worked with Na'alehu Anthony and one other person to develop a commercial that will be aired on TV this Wednesday, Thursday and Friday on Hawai'i TV networks.


Find more videos like this on Kupu‘āina Coalition


In case that doesn't turn out well, you can also watch it here.

updates updates updates 01-12-2009

Happy Aloha Monday.

We've had quite an extensive last several days.


As you know on Wednesday we had the "ceded" lands information session. Tane wrote a response in the comments about it. I don't agree with everything Tane wrote, but mahalo nui for the commentary.

On Friday, Coalition organizers Jocelyn M. Doane, Derek Kauanoe and Davis Price, accompanied by Leimomilani (Jocelyn's sister) and Tasha (Jocelyn's cousin) canvassed the Papakolea Homestead to hand out flyers and information about the "ceded" lands case and on the march and rally in Waikiki scheduled for this Saturday, January 17, 2009.

On Saturday, Davis, Leimomilani and Tasha went to Waimanalo.

On Sunday, Davis and Derek went to the homesteads in Kapolei and Tasha and Leimomilani were in Waianae.

All together, the group distributed more than 400 march/rally flyers while going door-to-door and speaking with homesteaders who were either out in their yards, in their carports, or just pulling into their driveways. We expect to do more community outreach this week and are looking for people who may be interested in helping us with that.

---

To ease transportation difficulties, there will be FREE bus and shuttle services. Please see schedule below.


Free bus and shuttle schedules for Ku I ka Pono March - January 17, 2009

Waimanalo:

· 8:15am Pick up at Waimanalo Beach Park
Drop off at Saratoga Road and Kalakaua Ave.

· 1:30pm Pick up at Mansarrat (Kapi'olani Park Bandstand lot)
Drop off at Waimanalo Beach Park


Wai'anae:

· 8:00am Pick up at Butler Building.
Drop off at Saratoga and Kalakaua Ave.

· 1:30pm Pick up at Mansarrat
Drop off at Butler Building.

SHUTTLE:

· Comp USA to Saratoga and Kalakaua Ave.
Shuttle will pick-up at 8:00am; 8:40am; 9:20am

· Kapi`olani to Comp USA
Shuttle will pick-up at 1:00pm; 2:30pm

---

Since our 1/7/09 "Ceded" Lands Informational Session, a lot of people have inquired about former Governor John Waihe'e's statements regarding the issue. The video is available on viddler, google and veoh. We're also working towards making a more complete video of the evening available online. Mahalo nui for your support and patience.



Watch Gov. Waihee speaks out against Gov. Lingle's decision to go to U.S. Supreme Court in How to Videos  |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com
The Veoh player looks more clear, but the Google video may sound better.

Ceded Lands Informational Forum

Aside from a few issues that arose throughout the event, the "ceded" informational forum was a success. Despite the quality of the online live stream, statistics from our live-stream host shows that we had 48 visitors of our live-streaming event today. Forty-eight doesn't seem like a big number, but I don't know how many people can get roughly 48 strangers to sit and listen/watch in front of a computer for over 2 hours.

Dee Jay Mailer, CEO of Kamehameha Schools, was in attendance (in her personal (Not professional) capacity along with Ann Botticelli, Vice President for Community Relations & Communications of Kamehameha Schools. Immediately after the end of our event, these two women approached me and thanked the Kupu'aina Coalition for hosting the event. Ms. Mailer described it as a "gift" that she was able to learn so much from. They both expressed appreciation for the format, the content and the speaking panelists, one of which was an unexpected, yet pleasant surprise.

A good number of notable people were in attendance. We were able to identify three Hawai'i legislators in the audience.
- Former Governor John Waihe'e also made an appearance and also became a panelist.
- Senator Russell Kokubun
- Representative Mele Carroll
- Representative Chris Lee
- Colin Kippen
- Office of Hawaiian Affairs Trustee Oswald Stender (or someone who looks exactly like him), and
- Dr. Lilikala Kameeleihiwa.

Hopefully, we'll be able to fix the video so that it comes out much better. We did live-stream the event, but when I play it back at ustream, it doesn't play back very well and freezes up often. If you watched the live-stream event online, I'm interested in knowing how well it worked out for you. I realize that in the beginning the audio wasn't very good, but any other feedback you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

A big Mahalo nui goes out to Na'alehu Anthony and Paliku Documentary Films who brought all their video recording equipment to the law school to film this event. We're looking forward to the finished product.

I'll be sure to post some pictures up later.

Testing for Live stream

TESTING - sorry folks, especially those of you who have subscribed. I'm currently using the blog for testing purposes.

Webcast 3 2009-01-05

You can watch our third webcast below by clicking on the arrow on the video feed.
Unfortunately, it looks like the recordings of our live-stream webcast do not have the text overlays on the video, so you can't see the text on the video screen while we're talking, like we intended.

E-mail Rep. Pono Chong

Send e-mail to repchong@capitol.hawaii.gov

Feel free to use the below text as a template for your e-mail.

---

Dear Majority Whip Pono Chong,

My name is _______________. I called you yesterday about protecting the ceded lands and wanted to follow up with you by sending an e-mail.

As the Majority Whip of the House, I want you to arrange for Senate Bill 1085 to be heard in the House Committees that it will be referred to. Senate Bill 1085 is an important piece of legislation and it should be heard immediately. I want you to support these SB 1085 so that it can be heard, discussed and voted on in committees.

Please feel free to e-mail me if you have questions.

Thank you,
___________________

e-mailing Ken Ito Again

Send e-mail to repito@capitol.hawaii.gov

Feel free to use the below text as a template for your e-mail.

Dear Representative Ken Ito,

My name is _______________. I have called you and e-mailed you before about protecting the ceded lands and wanted to follow up with you AGAIN by sending an e-mail.

As the Chair of the Water, Land & Ocean Resources Committee, I STILL want you to arrange for moratorium bills in your committee to be heard. Although it may be too late for bills that were first introduced in the House, there are Senate Bills that are crossing over to the House. I am concerned that if these bills receive triple referrals, these bills won't get passed. Moratorium bills are important pieces of legislation and they should be heard immediately. These bills should be heard, discussed and voted on in committee.

Please feel free to e-mail me if you have questions.

Thank you,
___________________

Calling Rep. Ken Ito again

Send e-mail to repito@capitol.hawaii.gov

Feel free to use the below text as a template for your e-mail.

Dear Representative Ken Ito,

My name is _______________. I called you yesterday about protecting the ceded lands and wanted to follow up with you by sending an e-mail.

As the Chair of the Water, Land & Ocean Resources Committee, I want you to arrange for moratorium bills in your committee to be heard. Although it may be too late for bills that were first introduced in the House, there are Senate Bills that are crossing over to the House. I am concerned that if these bills receive triple referrals, these bills won't get passed. Moratorium bills are important pieces of legislation and they should be heard immediately. These bills should be heard, discussed and voted on in committee.

Please feel free to e-mail me if you have questions.

Thank you,
___________________

E-mailing Calvin Say Again

Send e-mail to repsay@capitol.hawaii.gov

Feel Free to use the text below as a template for your e-mail

Dear Speaker Calvin Say,

My name is _______________. I've called you twice and sent you one e-mail before regarding the protection of the ceded lands.

As the Speaker of the House, I want to remind you that I want you to arrange for moratorium bills to be heard in the House Committees that you have referred them too. Although it may be too late for such bills originally introduced in the House, there are Senate Bills that have crossed over. Moratorium Bills continue to be important pieces of legislation and they should be heard immediately. I still want you to support these bills so that they can be heard, discussed and voted on in committees.

Please feel free to e-mail me if you have questions.

Thank you,

E-mailing Representative Marcus Oshiro

Send e-mail to repmoshiro@capitol.hawaii.gov

Feel free to use the below text as a template for your e-mail.

Dear Representative Marcus Oshiro,

My name is _______________. I called you previously about the ceded lands issue and wanted to follow up with an e-mail.

As the Chair of the House Finance Committee, I want you to arrange for moratorium bills in your committee to be heard. Although it may be too late for bills that were first introduced in the House, there are Senate Bills that will soon cross over to the House. I am concerned that if these bills receive triple referrals, these bills won't get passed. Moratorium bills are important pieces of legislation and they should be heard immediately. These bills should be heard, discussed and voted on in committee. Please make sure it is heard in the Finance Commitee.

Please feel free to e-mail me if you have questions.

Thank you,
__________________

e-mailing Rep. Jon Riki Karamatsu

Send e-mail to repkaramatsu@capitol.hawaii.gov

Feel free to use the below text as a template for your e-mail.

Dear Representative Jon Karamatsu,

My name is _______________. I called you previously about the ceded lands issue and wanted to follow up with an e-mail.

As the Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, I want you to arrange for Senate Bill 1085 to be heard in your committee, jointly with the Water, Land & Ocean Resources Committee. SB 1085 should be heard immediately. This bill should be heard, discussed and voted on in committee.

Please feel free to e-mail me if you have questions.

Thank you,
__________________

E-mail Rep. Sharon Har

Send e-mail to rephar@capitol.hawaii.gov

Feel free to use the below text as a template for your e-mail.

Dear Representative Sharon Har,

My name is _______________. I called you previously about the ceded lands issue and wanted to follow up with an e-mail.

As the Vice-Chair of the Water, Land & Ocean Resources Committee, I want you to arrange for moratorium bills in your committee to be heard. Although it may be too late for bills that were first introduced in the House, there are Senate Bills that are crossing over to the House. I am concerned that if these bills receive triple referrals, these bills won't get passed. Moratorium bills are important pieces of legislation and they should be heard immediately. These bills should be heard, discussed and voted on in committee.

Please feel free to e-mail me if you have questions.

Thank you,
__________________

e-mailing Representative Ken Ito

Send e-mail to repito@capitol.hawaii.gov

Feel free to use the below text as a template for your e-mail.

Dear Representative Ken Ito,

My name is _______________. I called you yesterday about protecting the ceded lands and wanted to follow up with you by sending an e-mail.

As the Chair of the Water, Land & Ocean Resources Committee, I want you to arrange for moratorium bills in your committee to be heard. Although it may be too late for bills that were first introduced in the House, there are Senate Bills that are crossing over to the House. I am concerned that if these bills receive triple referrals, these bills won't get passed. Moratorium bills are important pieces of legislation and they should be heard immediately. These bills should be heard, discussed and voted on in committee.

Please feel free to e-mail me if you have questions.

Thank you,
___________________

E-mail Rep. Magaoay

Send e-mail to repmagaoay@capitol.hawaii.gov

Feel free to use the below text as a template for your e-mail.

Dear Vice-Speaker Michael Magaoay,

My name is _______________. I called you yesterday about protecting the ceded lands and wanted to follow up with you by sending an e-mail.

As the Vice-Speaker of the House, I want you to arrange for Senate Bill 1085 to be heard in the House Committees that it will be referred to. Senate Bill 1085 is an important piece of legislation and it should be heard immediately. I want you to support these SB 1085 so that it can be heard, discussed and voted on in committees.

Please feel free to e-mail me if you have questions.

Thank you,
___________________

E-mailing Calvin Say

Send e-mail to repsay@capitol.hawaii.gov

Feel free to use the below text as a template for your e-mail.

Dear Speaker Calvin Say,

My name is _______________. I called you yesterday about protecting the ceded lands and wanted to follow up with you by sending an e-mail.

As the Speaker of the House, I want you to arrange for moratorium bills in the House Committees that you have referred them too. Even if it may be too late for the bills that were originally introduced in the House, there are Senate Bills that will be crossing over to the House. If you are going to triple refer these bills, please make sure the committee chair, under your leadership, hear the bills in their committees. Moratorium Bills are important pieces of legislation and they should be heard immediately. I want you to support these bills so that they can be heard, discussed and voted on in committees.

Please feel free to e-mail me if you have questions.

Thank you,
___________________

E-mailing Senator Taniguchi

Send e-mail to sentaniguchi@capitol.hawaii.gov

Feel free to use the text below as a template for your e-mail.

Dear Senator Taniguchi,

My name is _______________. I called you yesterday about protecting the ceded lands and wanted to follow up with you by sending an e-mail.

As the Chair of the Senate Judiciary and Government Operations Committee, I want you to schedule a hearing for Senate Bill 1085 as soon as possible to meet deadlines. Senate Bill 1085 is an important piece of legislation and it should be heard immediately. I want you to support this bill so that it can go to the State House.

Please feel free to e-mail me if you have questions.

Thank you,
___________________

Calling Rep. Ken Ito again

Call Rep. Ken Ito at 586-8470

Aloha, my name is ____________________. I've called and e-mailed Representative Ito once before about protecting the "ceded" lands.

I'm calling Representative Ken Ito AGAIN because I want him to support and pass Moratorium Bills to protect the ceded lands. My family and I STILL want a Moratorium Bill to pass out of Ken Ito's committee. Since Ken Ito is the Chair of the Water, Land & Ocean Resources committee, his support is important. We STILL want Representative Ito's support and commitment to protect these lands. Please give Representative Ito this message for me. If he has any questions, he can contact me at _________________.

Calling Calvin Say Again

Call Calvin Say at 586-6100.

Feel free to use the text below as a script when calling.

Aloha, my name is ____________________. I'm calling Representative Calvin Say AGAIN. I want to remind him to support and pass Senate Bill 1085 to protect the ceded lands. I ALSO want to remind him that my family and I want a SB 1085 to pass out of all its committees. Because of Calvin Say's position as Speaker of the House, his support is important. We STILL want Speaker Say's support and commitment to protect these lands. Please give Representative Say this message for me. If he has any questions, he can contact me at _________________.

Call Representative Marcus Oshiro

Call Marcus Oshiro at 586-6200.

Feel free to use the text below as a script when calling.

Aloha, my name is ____________________. I'm calling Representative Marcus Oshiro because I want him to support and pass Moratorium Bills to protect the ceded lands. My family and I want a Moratorium Bill to pass out of all its committees. We recognize that Representative Oshiro is the CHAIR of the House Finance Committee. Because of that his support is important. We want Marcus Oshiro's support and commitment to protect these lands. Please give Representative Oshiro this message for me. If he has any questions, he can contact me at _________________.

Call Representative Jon Riki Karamatsu

Jon Riki Karamatsu at 586-8490.

Feel free to use the text below as a script when calling.

Aloha, my name is ____________________. I'm calling Representative Jon Riki Karamatsu because I want him to support and pass Senate Bill 1085 to protect the ceded lands. Because of Representative Karamatsu's position as Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, his support is important. We want Karamatsu's support to protect these lands and a commitment to have Senate Bill 1085 heard in committee. Please give Representative Karamatsu this message for me. If he has any questions, he can contact me at _________________.

Call Representative Sharon Har

Call Sharon Har at 586-8500.

Feel free to use the text below as a script when calling.

Aloha, my name is ____________________. I'm calling Representative Sharon Har because I want her to support and pass Moratorium Bills to protect the ceded lands. My family and I want a Moratorium Bill to pass out of all its committees. Because of Sharon's position as VICE-CHAIR of the Water, Land & Ocean Resources Committee, her support is important. We want Sharon Har's support and commitment to protect these lands. Please give Representative Har this message for me. If she has any questions, she can contact me at _________________.

Call Representative Ken Ito

Call Rep. Ken Ito at 586-8470.

Feel free to use the text below as a script when calling.


Aloha, my name is ____________________. I'm calling Representative Ken Ito because I want him to support and pass Moratorium Bills to protect the ceded lands. My family and I want a Moratorium Bill to pass out of all Ken Ito's committee. Since Ken Ito is the Chair of the Water, Land & Ocean Resources committee, his support is important. We want Representative Ito's support and commitment to protect these lands. Please give Representative Ito this message for me. If he has any questions, he can contact me at _________________.

Calling Senator Brian Taniguchi

Call Brian Taniguchi at 586-6460.

Feel free to use the text below as a script when calling.

Aloha, my name is ____________________. I'm calling Senator Brian Taniguchi because I want him to support and pass Senate Bill 1085 to protect the ceded lands. My family and I want Senate Bill to pass out of Senator Taniguchi's committees. Because of Senator Taniguchi's position as committee chair, his support is important. We want Senator Taniguchi's support and commitment to protect these lands. Please give Senator Taniguchi this message for me. If he has any questions, he can contact me at _________________.

Call Representative Calvin Say.

Call Calvin Say at 586-6100.

Feel free to use the text below as a script when calling.

Aloha, my name is ____________________. I'm calling Representative Calvin Say because I want him to support and pass Moratorium Bills to protect the ceded lands. My family and I want a Moratorium Bill to pass out of all its committees. Because of Calvin Say's position as Speaker of the House, his support is important. We want Speaker Say's support and commitment to protect these lands. Please give Representative Say this message for me. If he has any questions, he can contact me at _________________.

Call Representative Michael Magaoay.

Call Michael Magaoay at 586-6380.

Feel free to use the text below as a script when calling.

Aloha, my name is ____________________. I'm calling Representative Michael Magaoay because I want him to support and pass Senate Bill 1085 to protect the ceded lands. My family and I want a SB 1085 to pass out of all its committees. Because of Mike Magaoay's position as Vice-Speaker of the House, his support is important. We want Michael's support and commitment to protect these lands. Please give Representative Magaoay this message for me. If he has any questions, he can contact me at _________________.

Write a letter to the editor of a local newspaper.

Write a letter to the editor of a local newspaper.
Letters to the editor of a local newspaper can help to shape public opinion on a political issue. With our guidelines, you can write a letter to the editor in about 5 minutes. Below is an outline for a letter to the editor. We encourage supporters to use their own words while we just provide you with ideas.

I. A moratorium on the sale of ceded lands is (provide your own descriptive word(s)) for Hawaii.

A. For the next sentence, briefly use some historical fact(s) to explain why a moratorium is good or proper

1. examples include (BUT DON’T USE more than one in a single letter):
- the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom,
- that reparations have not yet been made,
- that reconciliation efforts for historical wrongs has not fully started, etc.,

B. In another sentence, briefly describe a current situation(s) we are experiencing now that justifies a need for a moratorium today

1. examples include (BUT DON’T USE more than one in a letter):
- bad economy right now, we need to hold onto our assets,
- unlike other states, Hawaii as extremely limited land and natural resources so selling lands permanently diminishes the amount of lands that belong to the general public through the government.
- Hawaii government has committed itself to reconciliation in the recent past, and its time we make good on that.
- Our Hawaii Supreme Court ruled on the issue and we should support our judiciary’s position on this unique and complex issue.
- A U.S. Supreme Court ruling on this issue diminishes our ability as a state to deal with unique local issues. A state created moratorium shows that we, as a state, make our own decisions regarding Hawaii issues.

C. A moratorium on the sale of ceded lands is (provide your own descriptive word(s)) for the future of Hawaii also.

1. examples to explain the above sentence include:
- a moratorium protects the public land trust for future generations
- by protecting public lands, we provide lawmakers with opportunity to use these resources for the benefit of the public and not just private interests.
- With an increasing population with no more natural resources such as land coming our way any time soon, protecting the lands now allows for better management of all our resources
- If Kamehameha Schools can manage all those lands in trust and generate revenue, why can’t the state?

II. Hawaii residents (or use “lawmakers”) should _(insert descriptive word here) a moratorium on the sale of ceded lands.

A. Conclude the letter with a sentence that summarizes the previous sentences.

1. examples of concluding sentences might look like,
- A moratorium on ceded lands sales protects our present and future.
- A moratorium is an exercise of our own political will and ambition.
- The passage of a moratorium bill brings us one step closer to resolving historical wrongs we have yet to correct.
- If Native Hawaiians have a only moral claim, as Mark Bennett argues, a moratorium passed by our legislature is appropriate.
- If Native Hawaiian claims, according to Mark Bennett, are to be dealt with through the legislative process. Then, there is nothing wrong with the legislature passing a moratorium.

TIPS: Your letter to the editor should be no more than 175-200 words. You can send your letters to one or two e-mail addresses. Send your letters to letters@honoluluadvertiser.com, letters@starbulletin.com and citydesk@mauinews.com (or go to http://vnr.oweb.net/vnr/add_submission.asp?categoryID=769&publicationID=110>

In the e-mail, be sure to include:

• Your name


• the name of the area you live in


• a phone number for the newspaper to call you at.

e-mail a lawmaker

2. E-mail a Lawmaker.
Just like calling a lawmaker, there are a number of lawmakers who need to be e-mailed. We should always start off with our very own elected representative and senator. You can start off there.Use the following form to find your representative and Senator.

Do NOT add the words street, road, avenue, highway, or any street abbreviations.

Honolulu (Oahu) Hawaii Maui Kauai

The same key lawmakers we call also need to be called e-mailed:

Senators

• Brian Taniguchi sentaniguchi@capitol.hawaii.gov

Representatives

• Calvin Say repsay@capitol.hawaii.gov


• Ken Ito repito@capitol.hawaii.gov


• Sharon Har rephar@capitol.hawaii.gov


• Jon Riki Karamatsu repkaramatsu@capitol.hawaii.gov


• Marcus Oshiro reposhiro@capitol.hawaii.gov

Dear Senator Taniguchi,

My name is _______________. As the Chair of the Senate Judiciary and Government Operations Committee, I want you to schedule a hearing for Senate Bill 1085 as soon as possible to meet deadlines. Senate Bill 1085 is an important piece of legislation and it should be heard immediately. I want you to support this bill so that it can go to the State House.

Please feel free to e-mail me if you have questions.

Thank you,
___________________

---

Dear Representative ______________,

Aloha, my name is ____________________. I'm writing to you because I want you to support and pass House Bill 1667. My family and I want to see House Bill 1667 pass out of its committees. House Bill 1667 is important proposed legislation that we support. I want you to support and pass this bill. If you have any questions, feel free to reply to this e-mail address.

Thank you,

Call a Lawmaker

There are a number of lawmakers that need to be called. For starters, you should call the lawmakers of your representative and senatorial districts. If you do not know who your representative and/or senator is, you can put type in your street name below, choose the right county and click on submit. Use the following form to find your representative and Senator.

Do NOT add the words street, road, avenue, highway, or any street abbreviations.

Honolulu (Oahu) Hawaii Maui Kauai

Other key lawmakers that need to be called include:
Senators

• Brian Taniguchi (808) 586-6460

Representatives

• Calvin Say (808) 586-6100


• Ken Ito (808) 586-8470


• Sharon Har (808) 586-8500


• Jon Riki Karamatsu (808) 586-8490


• Marcus Oshiro (808) 586-6200

When you call a lawmaker it is very likely that you will speak with his/her secretary or office aide. This is okay. Leave a message for that lawmaker letting them know you want them to support moratorium bills.

When calling Senator Taniguchi, feel free to use this script below.
Aloha, my name is ____________________. I'm calling Senator Taniguchi because I want him to support and pass Senate Bill 1085. My family and I want to see Senate Bill 1085 pass out of his committee. Please give Senator Taniguchi this message for me. If he has any questions, he can contact me at _________________.

When calling a Representative, feel free to use this script below.
Aloha, my name is ____________________. I'm calling Representative _____________ because I want to urge him/her to support and pass Moratorium Bills. My family and I want Moratorium Bills to pass out of its committees. Please give Representative __________________ this message for me. If s/he has any questions, s/he can contact me at _________________.