Response

The biggest issue facing the state of hawaii whose motto is uamau keia o'kaaina ika pono, ""the life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness "". No righteousness can be perpetuated in the life of the land if the original inhabitants of the land, are not treated righteously in regards to their land.

Prince Jonah Kuhio 100 years ago promised and guaranteed that the Kanaka Maoli would be put on his land. 61 years ago the state of Hawaii in the statehood act assumed the promise and the solemn responsibility of putting the kanaka on his land.

Today their are 28,000 kanaka on the DHHL waitlist waiting for this promise to be fulfilled. There are thousands of other qualified Kanaka that have not bothered to put their name on the list for what is their birthright because they know the promise will not be kept.

There is a simple solution that doesn't require federal involvement that can be done overnight, either by executive order or legislative action. Establish a property tax exempt status for Kanaka Maoli that are on the DHHL waitlist and already own fee simple homes. The status is already in place for churches, and places of worship and other non profit organizations. If DHHL ever delivers on the promise that they are responsible for carrying out, which they never will, these Kanaka owned properties may return to the tax roll.

Until this Hewa is made pono, Hawaii will always fall short of what she could be.