Hawaii Tribune-Herald: Hawaiians excluded

Thursday, Jul 29, 2004

Hawaiians excluded

By SAMANTHA YOUNG
BOSTON - Support for Native Hawaiian rights was left out of the Democrats' 2004 platform, dismaying Hawaii national convention delegates who expected the party would once again get behind the sovereignty effort.

The absence of any reference to Native Hawaiians in the platform document that was adopted Tuesday took Hawaii leaders by surprise, given the fanfare the party staged at its convention four years ago to spotlight Hawaiians.

"There must have been some very heavy discussions with it being deleted," said state Sen. Lorraine Inouye of Hilo.

"I am disappointed," she added.

In 2000, the Democratic platform contained a plank calling for legal recognition of Native Hawaiians similar to that given to Native Americans.

This year, the platform supports self-governance for Guam, American Samoa and the Virgin Islands, all U.S. territories. Native Hawaiians are not on the list.

Former Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono said Hawaiians likely did not make it into the platform because they did not have a representative on the drafting committee as they did four years ago.

"It's not because the party has rejected Native Hawaiians," Hirono said. "It all depends on who is on the platform."

Democrat Party spokesman Nicholas Shapiro rejected the suggestion that Native Hawaiians were slighted. Rather this year's platform document which serves as the party's guiding principles was written to encompass broad thematic principles, he said.

"We didn't want to have this platform be a large list," Shapiro said. "This is a document that incorporates the needs of all Americans, including Native Hawaiians and Native Americans."

Unlike the 2000 document, this year's platform makes mention of few constituencies. It is more concise and focused on national security.

Still, the platform has drawn criticism from women and human rights groups who also have felt shortchanged by the Democrats.

Ave Dias of Haiku, Maui, who was in Miami earlier this month to help work on the platform, said delegates had little input in the final document.

"It was a small group of people that did the document in secrecy and there wasn't an opportunity to amend it," added Bart Dame of Honolulu.

The Hawaii congressional delegation has introduced legislation creating a process for Native Hawaiians to gain formal recognition from the United States. But it has faced Republican opposition in the Senate. The Bush administration also has been somewhat critical of the bill, but not formalized a position.

Hirono said Sens. John Kerry and John Edwards support the legislation.

Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, the bill's lead sponsor, did not return a call seeking comment.

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