HawaiianSon (hawaiianson) wrote, @ 2006-06-21 13:11:00

On being Native - the Albuquerque experience


I have wanted to write about this for a long time because of the relativity of the topic to many different people, despite a lack of “native-ness.”  While this post may refer to native Hawaiians and other native peoples, in essence, it speaks of identity in terms of how we define ourselves.




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So, I was fortunate enough to be sent to the 31^st Annual Federal Bar Association Indian Law Conference in April at Albuquerque, New Mexico with some fellow schoolmates: Jason Iokona Baker, Tia Blankenfield, Jocelyn M. Doane, and Laura Edmunds.  We were very fortunate to have been sponsored by the Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law.  Soon after arriving in New Mexico, Amy Ono (our advisor who also went) and I met with Heidi Nesbitt in our hotel lobby.  Ms. Nesbitt is the Director of the Pre-Law Summer Institute for Native Americans and Alaska Natives(“PLSI”) which operates at the University of New Mexico.  We had previously never met and all our prior interactions were through e-mail and phone conversations.  When we met, she was able to share with us some details about PLSI.  The reason for meeting with Ms. Nesbitt is because I am interested in creating a program to prepare Native Hawaiians for the rigors of law school by either creating a comparable program to PLSI for Native Hawaiians or if we can’t do that, then I would like to provide funding to send Hawaiians to PLSI so as to help us to produce competent and excellent Native Hawaiian legal scholars.  A program like PLSI for native Hawaiians would complement our current efforts to increase the number of Native Hawaiian law students. 




 




Anyway, later that day, Jocelyn M. Doane, (who is also my moot court team partner) and I were reunited with several of the friends we made in February at the Moot Court competition we participated in at the University of Washington.  Friends such as: Daron, Kealoha, Maymangwa, Natalie, Brooke, Yon, Brad, Eric, April and several others.  Unfortunately, not all the people we met in February were able to make it to the conference this year.  We also made several more new friends as well, like:  Dave “aka ‘Spring Break’,” Casey, Dana, Naomi from UCLA ( and I probably should have written this earlier so that I’d remember more people).




 




Anyway, the last day of the conference I was particularly interested in two discussions; Tribal Enrollment and Disenrollment: (Ab)using Sovereignty? and Hiding Behind Tribal Sovereignty Immunity:  Good Insurance Defense or Exploitation of Tribal Sovereignty?  I’m only going to write about the first because that’s what is relevant to what I want to express here today.  I was interested in the enrollment/disenrollment issue for various reason, one being, should either federal recognition for Native Hawaiians occur, or independence, citizenship is going to be an issue that needs to be dealt with appropriately and adequately.  With the 6-year attempt at the Akaka Bill from the Hawaii congressional delegation, enrollment and disenrollment seemed to be an important discussion panel to witness. 




 




But for now, rather that discuss that actual topic, I would like to focus more on what one of the panelist said that day.  His name is the Honorable Philip D. Lujan.  Philip Lujan, in addition to being a Professor Emeritus (ret.) at the University of Oklahoma is/was also the Chief District Judge for the Potawatomi Nation, Kaw Nation and the Iowa Nation; Federal Magistrate, Court of Indian Offences for Western Oklahoma, Anadarko Agency.




 




Prof. Lujan spoke about how Indians lived prior to their use of horses and asked the audience, “How did the white man’s introduction of horses become an ‘Indian thing’?”  He answered, “It is because of the practicalities observed by Indians back then and they weren’t as confused about their Native identity as us.”  He went on to describe that the implementation of horses (introduced by the white man to the tribes) increased their ability to hunt and gather more food.  The use of horses was deemed more efficient and helped to ensure survival of the people. 




 




Prof. Lujan spoke about Native American identity today, and how many Natives are “confused” about their identity; that too often, being Native means just being different and/or doing things differently.  He then said, practically verbatim, “White men ride on horses backs, but, today to be Indian we’ll ride horses differently by riding upside down on the stomach.”  He further went on to discuss how riding on the stomachs of horses, just to be “Indian” was impractical.  What I took away from Prof. Lujan’s discussion is, implementing modern innovations into one’s culture for practical purposes does not take away from the unique-ness of that culture or people, instead, it adds to it.  Integrating those modern innovations into our lives and communities, whether it be horses, automobiles, weapons, technology, etc., does not make one less native or somehow removed from their own community.




 




For Hawaiians (and actually all people) I think this is something we must keep in mind.  I remember as a teenager feeling like I had to do things differently and unique just to have “my own identity.”  There was a period in my life where I felt that I had to do things the old way just to maintain my “Hawaiian” identity.  While I shed those misperceptions long ago, it was comforting to know that a Native elder felt the same way. 




 




As Hawaiians, we should not fear that the integration of new technologies somehow makes us less Hawaiian.  I know for a fact, that my ancestors would not want me to struggle and do things the same way they did.  They’d want me to find more efficient ways of doing things.  I’m willing to bet that they’d be pretty disappointed in me if I was to commute from Ewa Beach to Honolulu by an outrigger canoe when there are vehicles that could get me there faster.  And I’m confident that they’d prefer that I use e-mail (or a cell phone) to communicate rather than finding the fastest runner in my region to relay the same message to my intended receiver.  I too would not want my descendants to rely on old methods to complete certain tasks.  




 




All-in-all, Albuquerque was a great experience for me.  I still maintain the same idea however; while Hawaiians are culturally indigenous, unlike many Native American tribes, they are neither legally nor politically indigenous, at least under the standards of international law.  But, Hawaiians have been placed in an awkward position under U.S. domestic law and Hawai'i State law and are considered to be indigenous. 

(Anonymous) 2006-12-03 03:02 (link)

Aloha No ku'u kamakane: I haven't been able (and I don't know why) to visit your journal for awhile. E kala mai au, other things going on. I must say though, Derek, that I do enjoy reading of your experiences and, you write it so well. Mahalo Kamakane, for keeping Mom and me abreast of what is going on in your life. We will always visit your journal. Mahalo Piha. What a remarkable man Prof. Lujan, I enjoyed his speech, as if I was there. The Prof. reminds me of your Grandfather, he was a remarkable man as well. He was the most innovative and practical person I knew throughout my youth, if not my whole life. He was an awesome person and I loved him dearly and was always so proud of him and his accomplishments. To tell you the truth Derek, I have always idolized him. He was "The Man". I especially enjoyed your thoughts on Cultural Identity and not being afraid of the Integration of New Technologies into our culture. I would hope and in fact, I do believe that today's youth is very much into technology (of any kind) but, they need people like you Derek, to remind them, to enlighten them, and to inform them of their culture, or Our Culture. I am very proud of you for what you are doing to prepare for your future, I am also very proud of what you have done, on your own, to learn of your Heritage and how you manage to live effectively in both worlds. Reading your journal tonight was like hearing your Tutukane voice agin. Impressive. Mahalo Piha Ku'u Kamakane. Malama o 'oe pono'i. Maika'i Po, Moe maika'i. Aloha no kaua ia 'oe, Mama a me Papa. O.I.H (Reply to this) (Thread)