Vol. 73/No. 16      April 27, 2009

Judge Samuel Alito issued a 12-page opinion rejecting the claim that a 1993 apology by U.S. Congress for the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy in 1893 could serve as a basis to prevent the state from selling public land claimed by native Hawaiians. The decision sends the case back to the state courts, which previously ruled in favor of native rights.

The native rights group Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) leads the defense.

OHA chairperson Haunani Apoliona gave a statement March 31 pledging to continue the fight in the state court. “We consider the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision today to be a favorable one,” she said. “While we would have preferred an outright dismissal of the petition, the result in this case is workable… . As we have consistently said for months, this case should never have been taken outside of the state of Hawai’i.”

She also thanked the more than 30 individuals and organizations that filed a total of nine friend-of-the-court briefs in their support.

OHA spokesperson Crystal Kua told the Militant in a phone interview that OHA has received substantial support from the Hawaiian community in the fight against the sale of public lands and looks forward to taking the case on in state courts.

The case began in 1994 when OHA and four individuals sued to prevent the State of Hawaii from selling some 1,500 acres of “ceded lands.” These were land plots belonging to the Hawaiian government before the 1893 U.S.-backed coup and taken by the U.S. government when the archipelago was annexed in 1898. In 1978 the state constitution was amended to state that these lands were to be held as a public trust for native Hawaiians and the general public.  
 
 
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