Wednesday, November 13, 2024
Hawai'i Free Press

Current Articles | Archives

Saturday, September 24, 2016
Video: Obama Hopeful Next President Will Pursue Tribal Government for Native Hawaiians
By Video @ 3:10 AM :: 5926 Views :: Akaka Bill, OHA

Q:  Juliet Eilperin, WaPo -- The Interior Department just finalized a rule today that would clear the way for native Hawaiians to have a government-to-government relationship with the federal government should they form a unified government.  Could you just explain why the administration is pursuing this and whether the President’s own childhood and experience in Hawaii influenced the approach the administration is taking on this issue. 

A: The President took office vowing to strengthen the relationship between the United States government and tribal governments around the country, including the Native Hawaiian population.

And next week — I’m jumping ahead here — but next week the White House will convene the Tribal Nations Conference here in Washington, D.C. This is something that the President has prioritized, and he’s regularly appeared at this conference as a demonstration of the priority that he has placed on improved relations between the federal government and tribal governments.

The President obviously does have his own personal connection to the Native Hawaiian population and the rich cultural heritage of the Native Hawaiian people. The President got to experience a little of that when he traveled to Hawaii a few weeks ago. And the President believes that that cultural heritage isn’t just worthy of our respect, it’s also worth protecting. And that’s the reason that, in designating the marine monument out there, the policy was careful to ensure that local populations could continue to engage in their ancient traditions.

So I think this also — I would put this in the category of the kind of policies the President is hopeful the next president will pursue. But there’s a lot of progress that we’ve made in terms of strengthening the relationship between the federal government and a variety of tribal governments. But there’s more work to be done.

And there certainly is more work to be done in terms of supporting and empowering the next generation of Native Americans to ensure that they’ve got access to good schools and quality health care and the kind of stable home life that so many other American kids benefit from. And we’ve made some important progress, making investments that would ensure that kind of future for native populations. But there certainly is more work to be done. And the President is hopeful that the next president will build on that progress.

LINK: WaPo -- With Obama’s help, native Hawaiians may establish their first unified government since the 1890s.

Links

TEXT "follow HawaiiFreePress" to 40404

Register to Vote

2aHawaii

Aloha Pregnancy Care Center

AntiPlanner

Antonio Gramsci Reading List

A Place for Women in Waipio

Ballotpedia Hawaii

Broken Trust

Build More Hawaiian Homes Working Group

Christian Homeschoolers of Hawaii

Cliff Slater's Second Opinion

DVids Hawaii

FIRE

Fix Oahu!

Frontline: The Fixers

Genetic Literacy Project

Grassroot Institute

Habele.org

Hawaii Aquarium Fish Report

Hawaii Aviation Preservation Society

Hawaii Catholic TV

Hawaii Christian Coalition

Hawaii Cigar Association

Hawaii ConCon Info

Hawaii Debt Clock

Hawaii Defense Foundation

Hawaii Family Forum

Hawaii Farmers and Ranchers United

Hawaii Farmer's Daughter

Hawaii Federation of Republican Women

Hawaii History Blog

Hawaii Jihadi Trial

Hawaii Legal News

Hawaii Legal Short-Term Rental Alliance

Hawaii Matters

Hawaii Military History

Hawaii's Partnership for Appropriate & Compassionate Care

Hawaii Public Charter School Network

Hawaii Rifle Association

Hawaii Shippers Council

Hawaii Together

HiFiCo

Hiram Fong Papers

Homeschool Legal Defense Hawaii

Honolulu Navy League

Honolulu Traffic

House Minority Blog

Imua TMT

Inouye-Kwock, NYT 1992

Inside the Nature Conservancy

Inverse Condemnation

July 4 in Hawaii

Land and Power in Hawaii

Lessons in Firearm Education

Lingle Years

Managed Care Matters -- Hawaii

MentalIllnessPolicy.org

Missile Defense Advocacy

MIS Veterans Hawaii

NAMI Hawaii

Natatorium.org

National Parents Org Hawaii

NFIB Hawaii News

NRA-ILA Hawaii

Obookiah

OHA Lies

Opt Out Today

Patients Rights Council Hawaii

Practical Policy Institute of Hawaii

Pritchett Cartoons

Pro-GMO Hawaii

RailRipoff.com

Rental by Owner Awareness Assn

Research Institute for Hawaii USA

Rick Hamada Show

RJ Rummel

School Choice in Hawaii

SenatorFong.com

Talking Tax

Tax Foundation of Hawaii

The Real Hanabusa

Time Out Honolulu

Trustee Akina KWO Columns

Waagey.org

West Maui Taxpayers Association

What Natalie Thinks

Whole Life Hawaii