DHHL Scams

Do you remember that video of Abercrombie in DC laughing about 200,000 acres of Hawaiian land that the state is benefiting from and not going to give up?

Do you know how some of our kupuna sit on waiting lists for decades waiting for their DHHL lots?

Have you ever read in its entirety, what Prince Kuhio truly established when he put DHHL into existence?

The date was January 21, 2015
There was a DHHL meeting in Pakukalo Homestead, Maui
Hosting the meeting: Robin Danner & Michelle Kauhane

I honestly don't know what the point or goal of that meeting was, but it was one meeting I will never forget.  A friend invited me to the meeting where some uncles were supposed to shut it down.  I was asked to simply be there for the support in numbers.

I had never gone to one of these meetings before,  having been brought up in a foreign country and lacking the necessary federal blood quantum requirements to participate in such programs.  I really did not want to go to yet another function where I would be discriminated against.  It gets a little old after awhile.  That divisive mentality is not what our ancestors taught us to be like.  Even I know that, and I didn't grow up here.  So much for the stereotypes.

Not knowing what to expect, but knowing it wasn't my place to participate, I kindly did what any activist in my shoes would have done - resorted to journalism for this event.  So I pulled out my tablet as the meeting began and hit record.  This was definitely going on facebook, youtube, twitter and any other social media I could think of.

Danner opens the meeting with a theatrical performance where she wonders why so many Hawaiians are sitting on the waiting list for so long when there are 200,000 acres of unused homestead properties.  She goes in to describe how Kuhio set it up that there would always be something for Hawaiians and how Kuhio broke that ratio down.  There was so much for ranch, so much for residential and so much for mercantile use.  I began to notice circles in her explanation.  I wondered why it was getting fuzzy all of a sudden.

Spidey-senses alert, I listened very carefully and had to look at my friend next to me for confirmation that I heard her right.  She went on to dismiss Kanaka Maoli from ever applying for mercantile lands because they won't get it, or the chances are slim. The combination of Danner and Kauhane worked seamlessly to explain how too many Hawaiians fell non-compliant and that the ratio of non-compliant Hawaiians was 35% while non-Hawaiians were only non-compliant 21% of the time.

I jumped so fast that I almost fell out of my seat! Hand went right up..
I asked what were the numbers because percentage doesn't mean anything without true value of the numbers.  Another well known Wahine Maoli detected the east coast in my accent and hastily gave me the numbers, then asking where was I from and who are my parents.  She followed up her verbal two-piece by asking me what my blood quantum was.  Oh boy oh boy... here comes the distractions!  And just where were those uncles who were supposed to be shutting the meeting down?

Turned out that because the figures were low, there actual numerical difference was 9 non-compliant "Hawaiian leases"  as she described it earlier.  Without hesitation, I answered her questions while reeling that fish in.  I knew it! I smelled a fish.  "Born & raised in Philadelphia, 3rd generation gone since 1906 to the Maui family to which the last name goes back to 1528 as far traced.  12.5% and does that make me Hawaiian or not?  Because if not, I want a refund, take your 12.5% back.  If you represent what it is to be Hawaiian, I want no part of that.  But do you want to explain to the Hawaiians in the room how non-Hawaiians got on Hawaiian-only land in the first place?"

I could feel the electric level tension across the room.  I don't know if people were more mad at me for not being 50% and showing up (like be maha'oi) or if they were mad about the lies they were sitting through.  But the other wahine directed that anger right to me by telling me I had no rights to homestead and why always the haoles want what Hawaiians get?  Blood levels burst and two other wahine jumped up and announced their blood quantum as an achievement at me, while I told the first wahine to keep her Reservation land because that means that all the state land out there belongs to me and I have more options.  I also reminded her that if they truly wanted to eradicate Hawaiians, they would hit up the homesteads first because those are the only Hawaiians.

Ooh, she turned purple! Very nice, the way her colors blended to get that color.   But it had to be done.  I went on to tell her that I never saw her taking care of houseless kupuna, which are whom I am standing there to represent.  I don't want to live in homestead.  Here are some reasons why:
You have to let some federal entity micromanage your entire existence to get in homestead, then you are micromanaged and constantly help up to some other standard.  You constantly have to go to meetings where, if you aren't paying attention (like the good blood quantum people in this meeting) they are ripping you off at every angle.  If you are having financial trouble, you get evicted faster than in a home on state land.  Last but not least, your name is being used in their corporate misdeeds where they make all kinds of bad choices concerning our people, in your name.  No thank you.

The meeting was thoroughly in a state of civil unrest as the three women up front and I  in the back carried on.  I got emotional and told them all of this and how they are using innocent and unknowing people's names without permission, to commit hewa.  I reassured them I do not want their reservation but I will not sit idly where I am helping kupuna who should have something, suffer.

Somewhere in this whole thing, the uncles showed up and took it from there.  Danner & Kauhane were extremely upset to have been caught in their mischief and right when the uncles took over the fight, giving me a little rest, Michelle Kauhane's husband got emotional and closed the meeting down.  He was ready to physically fight.  The women were so red.

The lesson in all of this:  Blood quantum is a federally based method of division among our people. We have to pay attention to what they are really doing.  Remember that while you may have the blood quantum to qualify, your grandchildren mostlikely do not.  See how the rules have changed recently.  Notice that I never got an answer on how non-Hawaiians got on Hawaiian only land.  Notice how the smoke cloud put the focus on my being there, rather than to the issues at hand.  Not one answer was given, but the ugly in people sure showed.  What limelight does that shed?

All of the experiences that I write from what I see, is nothing more than documentation from my eyes: Kanaka Maoli with identifying scars from war crimes in foreign lands.  I would encourage you to open a blog and write what you see with your eyes.  The more we have, the more clear our history will be later.  Mahalo Ke Akua for giving me channnels for my voice to be heard.  I hope to capture as many voices I can to present to you from here. Aloha Maluhia