Ballots have gone out in Hawai'i to elect delegates to a convention which could create a government independent of the United States.
Polls to the convention, or 'aha, opened on Monday. Only Native Hawai'ians will be able to take part in the election, which will last till the end of the month.
The delegates will then meet over the winter months to draft a constitution that—if ratified by the people—will guide them toward self-governance. The 122,000+ Native Hawaii'ans registered with the Native Hawai'ian Roll Commission are currently the only indigenous group in the US that lacks an independent political structure.
“People come to Hawaii and think it’s just a tourist destination,” Rowena Akana, a trustee of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs who is seeking a delegate spot told Aljazeera America. “They know nothing about how the natives here have suffered and still suffer today. This election is very important because it’s an opportunity to seek some reparation. This is our chance to make a comeback.”
“For the first time in over a hundred years, there will be a definitive voice on Native Hawaiian issues,” Robin Danner, who sits on the Native Hawaiian Roll Commission, told Aljazeera America. “A definitive and recognized government to speak for our culture, our people, our issues, instead of county or state government attempting to have a sub-committee within their agencies or structures to mouthpiece the value of native viewpoints, which has not worked well at all.”
See more here.