36 community organizations and three community leaders submitted a letter yesterday afternoon to each member of the Hawai'i State Legislature, urging that they vote no on HB499 HD2 SD2 CD1 during their final floor vote on the bill on Tuesday, April 27.

The letter voiced the group's concerns regarding the 40-year lease extensions that would be authorized by the bill, including the potential for inappropriate or outdated industrial, commercial, resort, and government/military uses of public trust lands to be continued for another four decades, and for a tidal wave of century-long leases that would all but privatize public lands and foreclose unrelinquished Native Hawaiian claims to stolen "ceded" lands.    

The letter also provided examples of the Department of Land and Natural Resources' poor decisionmaking in its administration of public and "ceded" lands, which only heighten concerns regarding the additional authority and discretion the bill would provide the Department. 

​Finally, the overwhelming opposition to the bill throughout the legislative process was raised as another indication that this bill is not an appropriate step for the legislature to take at this time.

Read the letter here.

2.  It invites sweetheart deals for corporate and military interests that have already enjoyed exclusive use of public and "ceded" (aka stolen Hawaiian lands) for multiple generations -- over half a century -- by giving them another four decades of exclusive use of these lands.  Meanwhile, the public and the Native Hawaiian community will not have had any ability to reassess and ensure the best uses of these lands for up to 105 years, or longer.

3.  It will lead to the loss of public and "ceded" lands.  Multigenerational long-term leases make lessees feel so entitled that they invariably seek to repeatedly extend their leases, and even obtain the fee interest in lands they feel like should be theirs to own.  This bill makes every industrial, commercial, resort, and government/military lease of public and "ceded" lands (other than University of Hawai'i leases) eligible for a 40 year extension -- which will create tremendous political pressure to just continue extending these leases or even selling off our limited public and "ceded" land base.   

4.  It will perpetuate the historic injustice inflicted upon the Native Hawaiian people, who continue to struggle with the far-ranging intergenerational impacts of the theft of their lands and government.   The state and federal governments have acknowledged these historic and ongoing harms and have pledged to seek reconciliation with the Native Hawaiian people -- yet this bill would all but sell off the "ceded" lands stolen from the Hawaiian Kingdom, extinguishing Native Hawaiians' claims and the ability of the future lāhui to negotiate for a land base. 

5.  It is systemic racism in bill form. Non-Hawaiian lessees were originally able to obtain their public and "ceded" land leases because of the socioeconomic advantages they had over Hawaiians (and other ethnic groups) dealing with the challenges of an anti-Hawaiian, white-dominated oligarchy.  HB499 would allow these lessees to continue profiting off of lands that were stolen from the Hawaiian people for another four decades, notwithstanding the concerns and overwhelming opposition of Native Hawaiians and Native Hawaiian serving organizations, and the broken promises of reconciliation it would leave behind.  


And there are many more.  Legislators cannot ignore these reasons and cannot ignore the voices of their constituents forever.  We can stop this bad bill -- but only if we continue to call and e-mail our elected officials and spread the word to others.  Please take a moment to e-mail the legislators (feel free to use these talking points) and share this post far and wide!

E-mail these legislators and ask that they KILL HB499 HD2 SD2: 
seninouye@capitol.hawaii.gov; senkeithagaran@capitol.hawaii.gov; senmisalucha@capitol.hawaii.gov; senfevella@capitol.hawaiigov; senkouchi@capitol.hawaii.gov; reptarnas@capitol.hawaii.gov; repjohanson@capitol.hawaii.gov; repcullen@capitol.hawaii.ogv; repmcdermott@capitol.hawaii.gov; repsaiki@capitol.hawaii.gov

*PLEASE SHARE!*  YOUR KŌKUA NEEDED BY 10 A.M. TOMORROW, TUESDAY, APRIL 13. 
​
Please see the April 12 Action Alert from the Kupuʻāina Coalition and with easy-to-use links from Ka Lāhui here: APRIL 12 ACTION ALERT.

Quick Summary:
1.  E-mail all Senators to STOP HB499 (105+ year leases of "ceded" a.k.a. stolen Hawaiian crown and government lands to corporations and the military) and HB902 (99+ year leases of the same, for un-"affordable" housing)
2.   E-mail all House Representatives to STOP SB2 (same as HB902)
3. Call your Senator and Representative to ask that they stop these bills until the concerns of all stakeholders and the claims of Native Hawaiians can be properly addressed! 
4. *PLEASE SHARE!*  this Action Alert!

January 17.  A mob of armed white men stormed the grounds of the seat of government, seeking to overthrow the country they had sworn allegiance too.  A police officer, who had discovered their plot, was shot and killed.  A corrupt U.S. official, in league with the Insurrectionists, called in the U.S. Navy -- not to stop the madness, but to prevent the citizenry, and their beloved Queen, from resisting.    

"To prevent the shedding of the blood of my people, natives and foreigners alike," the Queen wrote, "I opposed armed interference, and quietly yielded to the armed forces brought against my throne."

The Insurrectionists celebrated the success of this original Grand Theft ʻĀina, one that would plunge the Hawaiian Islands into an oligarchy where Native Hawaiians and non-white immigrants were systematically oppressed and persecuted while land and power were brokered by the ruling corporate class for generations to follow.  

The forceful theft of their lands and governance also uniquely and particularly impacted the Native Hawaiian people, who continue to live with the legacies of this historic injustice.  

But we the people of Hawaiʻi nei, Hawaiians and non-Hawaiians alike, never stopped fighting to restore pono and righteousness to these islands.  And we never will.  ​Ua mau ke ea o ka ʻāina i ka pono.

But just as we have never stopped fighting, those who have benefitted from this Grand Theft ʻĀina continue to try to maintain control of the lands, the ʻāina, that they should never have been entitled to in the first place:

HB499, which would allow these stolen and now "public" lands to be leased by corporations and the U.S. military for 105 years at a time -- setting the foundation for their permanent alienation --  is poised for its final committee hearing on Wednesday, April 7, 2021.  

SB2, which envisions the mass leasing of stolen "public" lands to developers for 99 years at a time, will also be decided upon by its final committee on Wednesday, April 7 as well.

​And HB902, which is a replica of SB2, has already been passed by its last Committee, with only one Senate vote, a closed "Conference Committee" meeting, and a final round of votes by the Senate and House before it becomes law.  

If you live in and love these islands, please take a stand and fight back against these terrible measures.   Click here to TAKE A STAND AGAINST THE LEGACY OF THE ORIGINAL GRAND THEFT ʻĀINA:  ACTIONS NEEDED *NOW*.
​