8/05/2014 Hereʻs a report from the South Dakota Civic Club about the DOI meeting that occurred in Minnesota. It is full of amazing and electrifying information - both good and bad. I received this report this morning and would like to share it with all of you. Please share it with your FB friends. Names were removed as they requested privacy. Meliss Aloha e Keoni ~ I can tell you that at the meeting in Minnesota (the first DOI meeting with Indian Nations) it was found out that OHA decided to have a TRUSTEE at every meeting on the continent. However, at the MN meeting, the TRUSTEE did NOT get a chance to talk. First of all, the DOI thought they were going to take up all of the time with trying to explain and convince the Indian Nations to vote in favor of supporting DOI involvement. The DOI had approximately 40 minutes of rhetoric and then they were stopped dead on the floor by one of my members. He got up to say that they (DOI) was not going to consume all of the time allotted to give their one-sided story. Also present was Carmen Hulu Lindsey, OHA trustee and Kawika Riley. My member got up and addressed the OHA trustee directly and said he wanted to know WHY a trustee was only showing up now at this meeting. I had forewarned him that Kawika Riley would be there and we didnt know what he was going to say. So he was prepped and ready to take him on. What we didnt know was that an actual trustee was going to be there, not just to listen but to try to sway the decisions of the Indian Nations. My member gave oral testimony against any DOI involvement and reasons why they should not be involved. They sent one of their minions to try and stop my member from going beyond his time, however, that DOI rep, was a First Nations member and he was realistic in understanding what was being said. When DOI offered retort ---- yes, I said RETORT to the testimony that was given by my member, they got slammed. First by the Indian Nations reps and then by other Hawaiians in the audience. Also, DOI would NOT allow videotaping of the meeting, yet, they had their own person there to videotape. My member called them on that ---- why the double standard?? If youre going to allow it for yourself, then you need to allow it for everyone. They wouldnt budge! In all, I believe there were 5 oral testimonies given by Hawaiians AGAINST DOI involvement. There were NO pro testimonies given in Minnesota. The Indian Nations represented at the meeting were AGAINST the DOI trying to involve them and so much as said that they should not be involved as this was a Kanaka Maoli issue AND they resented the fact that DOI was trying to involve them. I am extremely upset that OHA has made it a point to try to hijack these meetings on the continent and insert themselves with the Hawaiians living on the mainland, when they have NOT been present before now or involved with us before now. I believe the meeting in Minnesota was vastly different than the others I am hearing about that are taking place. At the meeting in Minnesota, I have a very strong member who can think on his feet and was directing most of his rhetoric towards the OHA reps. When DOI tried to say and kept saying that they only have 29 months in which to get this off the ground; and hinted the President Obama would in fact, sign the agreement to have Hawaiians come under the DOI with a government to government relationship, one of our kupuna, Ben Ho, brother of the late Don Ho, got up and said, Hawaiians want to be recognized, BUT not under the DOI. We can make our own decisions and control our own lands and monies. We dont need you trying to control us --- we have seen what you have done to the Indian Nations and thats the last thing we want is that kind of treatment. There was silence in the entire room. After the meeting, the trustee stuck around to talk to everyone there. The Indian Nations reps stuck around to talk to all of the Hawaiians that were there. What is really strange is that the DOI has had Indian Nations personnel at these DOI meetings and no rep of Hawaiian ancestry at these meetings. Why is that?? My member in MN spoke with a Hawaiian in the D.C. office of DOI. He said he wished he could have been involved, but was not asked. How sad is that. We also learned a number of things by directly asking the difficult questions. 1] DOI will internally evaluate all of the written and oral testimony. 2] To the DOI --- a no answer to all of the questions or even just some of the questions, doesnt necessarily mean its NO. (That doesnt make sense. In other words, they are free to judge whether a person really meant no, by reading the rest of the testimony.) 3] DOI says it only has 29 months in which to PUSH this through while Obama sits as president. 4] By all indications --- DOI has some kind of in depth relationship with Hawaii state government, OHA, CNHA and others, whom they secretly met with in D.C. (When my member directly questioned the DOI about these secret meetings in D.C., at first they tried to avoid answering the question, then skirted around the question, then when my member yelled answer the question I asked - they said, yes there were meetings; no they werent secret; yes, they werent publicized.) 5] I think that OHA thinks they have bamboozled us and that we are stupid and dont know anything because we live away from Hawaii. WOW! What a bunch of idiots. I dont think these meetings on the continent are legitimate.
Posted on: Tue, 05 Aug 2014 18:51:05 +0000
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