After years of redrafting and setbacks, the Akaka Bill, which would grant Native HawaiÂ’ians federal recognition similar to American Indians and Alaska Natives, was reintroduced to both the United States House and the Senate on January 25 as the Native HawaiÂ’ian Government Reorganization Act of 2005.
The bill will have to pass through the Indian Affairs Committee headed by one of the bill's main combatants, recently appointed Chairman of the Indian Affairs Committee John McCain, and through the Resources Committee in the House of Representatives.
McCain announced on January 5 that he was opposed to the initiative proposed in 2000 by Senator Daniel Akaka of HawaiÂ’i. After days of anticipation for the billÂ’s supporters and opponents, the Honolulu Advertiser reported on January 12 that although McCain verbally opposed Akaka's legislation, he would not use his Senate rule to block the legislation from reaching the Senate floor.
Spokeswoman Noe Kalipi, the deputy legislative director for Akaka, said that McCain and Akaka plan to meet early this year to discuss the legislation. "Senator Akaka and Senator McCain have had a long-standing, good working relationship," Kalipi said. She said she expects the discussion to go well.
McCain said that he opposed the bill because when HawaiÂ’i became a state there was an implicit agreement that the indigenous peoples of the islands would not be granted a status parallel to Alaska Natives or American Indians. Since 2000, McCain has verbally opposed this legislation.
A member of HawaiÂ’ian Senator Daniel Inouye's staff, who asked to remain anonymous, said that the HawaiÂ’i Statehood Act contained no such statement. According to the Honolulu Advertiser, McCain has expressed interest in increasing federal funding to existing Native HawaiÂ’ian programs rather than granting federal recognition.
McCain is not the only Senator opposed to AkakaÂ’s legislation. Republican Senator Jon Kyle, also from Arizona, used Senate rules last year to prevent the bill from receiving a vote. Kyle believes that this legislation endorses "race-based preferences," which would make the bill unconstitutional according to the Honolulu Advertiser.
Senator Akaka told the Honolulu Advertiser that his bill would create a framework for indigenous governance that will empower Native HawaiÂ’ians to negotiate with the U.S. government. Although this bill is currently in the hands of the U.S. Congress, questions remain regarding how the bill would benefit Native HawaiÂ’ians.
Mililani Trask, an attorney and defender of Native HawaiÂ’ian rights, told Cultural Survival Quarterly last year that she opposes the current version of the Akaka Bill because it "provides that we will have federal recognition only by surrendering our
human rights—our rights to land and natural resources. It does not give us access as a nation to the federal court to resolve future claims, and it limits our ability to bring claims to current issues."
During the initial drafting of the bill in 2000, legislators collaborated with hundreds of Native HawaiÂ’ian community members and leaders. However, it has been five years and three drafts since indigenous peoples have voiced their concerns about the bill that will directly affect their livelihoods.
Senators Akaka and Inouye told the Honolulu Star Bulletin that they are confident the Senate will pass the bill in 2005 despite opposition.
