Honolulu Advertiser
Tuesday, August 1, 2006

Sovereignty group attempts to claim Kaho'olawe

By Mark Niesse
Associated Press

A Native Hawaiian sovereignty group took two boats from Maui to
Kaho'olawe yesterday, landed on shore, set up a rock altar and
planted a flag laying claim to the island.

The 18 members of the group calling itself the Reinstated Hawaiian
Kingdom is challenging U.S. sovereignty over land taken during the
1893 overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy, said Henry Noa, who
identified himself as the group's "prime minister" by cell phone from
the undeveloped island.

A few hours later, state officers arrested two of the members and
issued citations to the rest for entering a restricted area, said
Randy Awo, branch chief of the Department of Land and Natural
Resources enforcement division. Their names and the exact charges
against them were not immediately released.

"Our purpose is to reclaim our national land," Noa said. "We're
staking our claim here. We're not terrorists. We're far from being
terrorists. We're reasonable people."

Kaho'olawe is the smallest of the eight main Hawaiian Islands, and
was established as a state reserve in 1993. It is seven miles
southwest of Maui and covers about 44 square miles.

Access to Kaho'olawe is restricted because it is hazardous after
decades of military training, said Sol Kaho'ohalahala, executive
director of the Kaho'olawe Island Reserve Commission.

About 65 percent of the surface has been cleared of weapons and
ordinance, and less than 10 percent of the surrounding waters are
considered safe.

Ranchers once tended sheep and goats on the mostly lava-rock island,
but it now has no permanent residents.

Members of the Reinstated Hawaiian Kingdom, which was formed in 1999
and claims 3,000 citizens, say their action on Kaho'olawe is
justified by the 1993 Apology Resolution, in which Congress voted to
apologize for the role the United States played in the overthrow of
the Hawaiian Kingdom.

"They did not have the right to take it. That's what they admitted,"
said Dale Albertson, a Big Island district representative for the
Reinstated Hawaiian Kingdom. "We're trying to remove it from future
contamination and attempt to push forward the cleanup of the 'aina."

The Reinstated Hawaiian Kingdom is one of several Native Hawaiian
groups seeking various ways to restore Native Hawaiian rights and
rule in the Islands.

The state Office of Hawaiian Affairs is moving ahead with its vision
for a Hawaiian government within the framework of the United States,
according to OHA Administrator Clyde Namu'o.

"It's too bad that people are trespassing," Namu'o said. "The United
States was apologetic, but I'm not sure you can say that's the basis
for reclaiming land."

The Navy concluded its 10-year cleanup operations on Kaho'olawe in
2003, although officials say much ordnance remains buried, rests on
the land surface or lies beneath waters offshore.

The Kaho'olawe Island Reserve Commission prohibits access except for
Native Hawaiian cultural purposes, environmental restoration,
education and rehabilitation of the habitat.

Commission officials say they prepare for such access ahead of time,
informing groups about the risks involved.

Noa said his group maintains that the Hawai'i government is the one
trespassing on Kaho'olawe, and it plans to continue efforts to
reclaim its land and national identity.