Hawaii-2022-SCR125-Introduced

WHEREAS, more than one hundred twenty-nine years ago, on January 17, 1893, the Kingdom of Hawaii was overthrown with the participation of agents and citizens of the United States, effectively shattering the relationship that had existed between the Kingdom of Hawaii and the United States; and

WHEREAS, the Hawaiian Kingdom was overthrown in violation of international law, and the Provisional Government was established in 1893, followed by the Republic of Hawaii, which lasted from 1894 to 1898; and

WHEREAS, in 1898, when Hawaii was annexed to the United States as a Territory, the Republic of Hawaii ceded the remaining Crown and Government Lands to the United States, which then became a public land trust; and

WHEREAS, the Crown Lands were originally part of the unique personal domain of King Kamehameha III and became a collective resource to support the Hawaiian monarchs and Hawaiian people; and

WHEREAS, the Republic of Hawaii confiscated the Crown Lands and merged them with the Government Lands and enacted the 1895 Land Act, establishing a homesteading program through which some acreage was transferred into private ownership; and

WHEREAS, the Crown Lands were not truly "public" but were an entitlement of the Hawaiian people as the beneficiaries of a trust maintained by their monarch; and

WHEREAS, the lands taken by the Provisional Government in 1893, Republic of Hawaii in 1894, and United States in 1898 were taken without the consent of or compensation to the Hawaiian people, as acknowledged in the 1993 federal Apology Resolution and comparable enactments of the Hawaii State Legislature; and

WHEREAS, in 1978, the State of Hawaii acknowledged the consequences of these actions by significantly amending the Hawaii State Constitution and enacting unprecedented legislation relating to the Native Hawaiian community; and

WHEREAS, in 1993, the 103rd Congress enacted Public Law 103-150, as, in part, an official apology to Native Hawaiians on behalf of the people of the United States for the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii by agents and citizens of the United States and the deprivation of the rights of Native Hawaiians to self-determination; and

WHEREAS, the Apology Resolution confirms that the actions of United States agents in the overthrow and occupation of the monarchy violated treaties between the United States and the sovereign Kingdom of Hawaii as well as the norms of international law; and

WHEREAS, the 1993 federal Apology Resolution confirms that one million eight hundred thousand acres of Crown and Government Lands were thereafter ceded to the United States without the consent of or compensation to the Native Hawaiian people or their sovereign government, as a result of the United States' annexation of Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, the Apology Resolution recognizes that the health and well-being of the Native Hawaiian people are intrinsically tied to their deep feelings for and attachment to the land; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2022, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands is requested to establish a working group to return Crown Lands to Native Hawaiians (Crown Lands Working Group); and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Crown Lands Working Group is requested to identify and report on:

(1) Which Crown Land tax map keys should be prioritized for return to Native Hawaiians; and

(2) Which entity or entities should receive the land from the State and assume responsibility for management of those lands in perpetuity; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Crown Lands Working Group consist of the following individuals, or their respective designees:

(1) The Chairperson of the Hawaiian Homes Commission;

(2) The Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs;

(3) The Director of the Ka Huli Ao Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law;

(4) A Native Hawaiian legal practitioner selected by the Chairperson of the Hawaiian Homes Commission;

(5) The President and Chief Executive Officer of ALU LIKE, Inc.;

(6) The President of the Executive Committee of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs;

(7) The President and Chief Executive Officer of the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement;

(8) The President of the Executive Board of the Native Hawaiian Education Association; and

(9) The Executive Director of Papa Ola Lokahi, Inc.; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Crown Lands Working Group is requested to select a chairperson from among its members; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Crown Lands Working Group is requested to submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days before the convening of the Regular Session of 2023; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor; Chairperson of the Hawaiian Homes Commission; Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs; Director of Ka Huli Ao Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law; President and Chief Executive Officer of ALU LIKE, Inc.; President of the Executive Committee of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs; President and Chief Executive Officer of the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement; President of the Executive Board of the Native Hawaiian Education Association; and Executive Director of Papa Ola Lokahi, Inc.

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

DLNR; Working Group; Crown Lands; Native Hawaiians

THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	125
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2022
STATE OF HAWAII