I
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4904
To express the policy of the United States regarding the United States
relationship with Native Hawaiians, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JULY 20, 2000
Mr. ABERCROMBIE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Resources
A BILL
To express the policy of the United States regarding the
United States relationship with Native Hawaiians, and
for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that—
(1) the Constitution vests Congress with the au-
thority to address the conditions of the indigenous,
native people of the United States;
(2) Native Hawaiians, the native people of the
State of Hawaii are indigenous, native people of the
United States;
(3) the United States has a special trust rela-
tionship to promote the welfare of the native people
of the United States, including Native Hawaiians;
(4) under the treaty-making power of the
United States, Congress exercised its constitutional
authority to confirm a treaty between the United
States and the government that represented the Ha-
waiian people, and from 1826 until 1893, the United
States recognized the independence of the Kingdom
of Hawaii, extended full diplomatic recognition to
the Hawaiian Government, and entered into treaties
and conventions with the Hawaiian monarchs to gov-
ern commerce and navigation in 1826, 1842, 1849,
1875, and 1887;
(5) pursuant to the provisions of the Hawaiian
Homes Commission Act, 1920 (42 Stat. 108, chap-
ter 42), the United States set aside 200,000 acres
of land in the Federal territory that later became
the State of Hawaii in order to establish a homeland
for the native people of Hawaii, Native Hawaiians;
(6) by setting aside 200,000 acres of land for
Native Hawaiian homesteads and farms, the Act as-
sists the Native Hawaiian community in maintaining
distinct native settlements throughout the State of
Hawaii;
(7) approximately 6,800 Native Hawaiian les-
sees and their family members reside on Hawaiian
Home Lands and approximately 18,000 Native Ha-
waiians who are eligible to reside on the Home
Lands are on a waiting list to receive assignments
of land;
(8) the Hawaiian Home Lands continue to pro-
vide an important foundation for the ability of the
Native Hawaiian community to maintain the prac-
tice of Native Hawaiian culture, language, and tradi-
tions, and Native Hawaiians have maintained other
distinctly native areas in Hawaii;
(9) on November 23, 1993, Public Law 103–
150 (107 Stat. 1510) (commonly known as the Apol-
ogy Resolution) was enacted into law, extending an
apology on behalf of the United States to the Native
people of Hawaii for the United States role in the
overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii;
(10) the Apology Resolution acknowledges that
the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii occurred
with the active participation of agents and citizens
of the United States and further acknowledges that
the Native Hawaiian people never directly relin-
quished their claims to their inherent sovereignty as
a people over their national lands to the United
States, either through their monarchy or through a
plebiscite or referendum;
(11) the Apology Resolution expresses the com-
mitment of Congress and the President to acknowl-
edge the ramifications of the overthrow of the King-
dom of Hawaii and to support reconciliation efforts
between the United States and Native Hawaiians;
and to have Congress and the President, through the
President’s designated officials, consult with Native
Hawaiians on the reconciliation process as called for
under the Apology Resolution;
(12) despite the overthrow of the Hawaiian gov-
ernment, Native Hawaiians have continued to main-
tain their separate identity as a distinct native com-
munity through the formation of cultural, social, and
political institutions, and to give expression to their
rights as native people to self-determination and
self-governance as evidenced through their participa-
tion in the Office of Hawaiian Affairs;
(13) Native Hawaiians also maintain a distinct
Native Hawaiian community through the provision
of governmental services to Native Hawaiians, in-
cluding the provision of health care services, edu-
cational programs, employment and training pro-
grams, children’s services, conservation programs,
fish and wildlife protection, agricultural programs,
native language immersion programs and native lan-
guage immersion schools from kindergarten through
high school, as well as college and master’s degree
programs in native language immersion instruction,
and traditional justice programs, and by continuing
their efforts to enhance Native Hawaiian self-deter-
mination and local control;
(14) Native Hawaiians are actively engaged in
Native Hawaiian cultural practices, traditional agri-
cultural methods, fishing and subsistence practices,
maintenance of cultural use areas and sacred sites,
protection of burial sites, and the exercise of their
traditional rights to gather medicinal plants and
herbs, and food sources;
(15) the Native Hawaiian people wish to pre-
serve, develop, and transmit to future Native Hawai-
ian generations their ancestral lands and Native Ha-
waiian political and cultural identity in accordance
with their traditions, beliefs, customs and practices,
language, and social and political institutions, and to
achieve greater self-determination over their own af-
fairs;
(16) this Act responds to the desire of the Na-
tive Hawaiian people for enhanced self-determination
by establishing a process within the framework of
Federal law for the Native Hawaiian people to exer-
cise their inherent rights as a distinct aboriginal, in-
digenous, native community to reorganize a Native
Hawaiian governing body for the purpose of giving
expression to their rights as native people to self-de-
termination and self-governance;
(17) the United States has declared that—
(A) the United States has a special respon-
sibility for the welfare of the native peoples of
the United States, including Native Hawaiians;
(B) Congress has identified Native Hawai-
ians as a distinct indigenous group within the
scope of its Indian affairs power, and has en-
acted dozens of statutes on their behalf pursu-
ant to its recognized trust responsibility; and
(C) Congress has also delegated broad au-
thority to administer a portion of the federal
trust responsibility to the State of Hawaii;
(18) the United States has recognized and re-
affirmed the special trust relationship with the Na-
tive Hawaiian people through—
(A) the enactment of the Act entitled ‘‘An
Act to provide for the admission of the State of
Hawaii into the Union’’, approved March 18,
1959 (Public Law 86–3; 73 Stat. 4) by—
(i) ceding to the State of Hawaii title
to the public lands formerly held by the
United States, and mandating that those
lands be held in public trust for the better-
ment of the conditions of Native Hawai-
ians; and
(ii) transferring the United States re-
sponsibility for the administration of the
Hawaiian Home Lands to the State of Ha-
waii, but retaining the authority to enforce
the trust, including the exclusive right of
the United States to consent to any actions
affecting the lands which comprise the cor-
pus of the trust and any amendments to
the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act,
1920 (42 Stat. 108, chapter 42) that are
enacted by the legislature of the State of
Hawaii affecting the beneficiaries under
the Act;
(19) the United States continually has recog-
nized and reaffirmed that—
(A) Native Hawaiians have a cultural, his-
toric, and land-based link to the aboriginal, na-
tive people who exercised sovereignty over the
Hawaiian Islands;
(B) Native Hawaiians have never relin-
quished their claims to sovereignty or their sov-
ereign lands;
(C) the United States extends services to
Native Hawaiians because of their unique sta-
tus as the aboriginal, native people of a once
sovereign nation with whom the United States
has a political and legal relationship; and
(D) the special trust relationship of Amer-
ican Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Ha-
waiians to the United States arises out of their
status as aboriginal, indigenous, native people
of the United States.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) ABORIGINAL, INDIGENOUS, NATIVE
PEO-
PLE.—The term ‘‘aboriginal, indigenous, native peo-
ple’’ means those people whom Congress has recog-
nized as the original inhabitants of the lands and
who exercised sovereignty prior to European contact
in the areas that later became part of the United
States;
(2) ADULT MEMBERS.—The term ‘‘adult mem-
bers’’ means those Native Hawaiians who have at-
tained the age of 18 at the time the Secretary pub-
lishes the initial roll in the Federal Register, as pro-
vided in section 7(a)(4) of this Act.
(3) APOLOGY RESOLUTION.—The term ‘‘Apol-
ogy Resolution’’ means Public Law 103–150 (107
Stat. 1510), a joint resolution offering an apology to
Native Hawaiians on behalf of the United States for
the participation of agents of the United States in
the January 17, 1893 overthrow of the Kingdom of
Hawaii.
(4) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’
means the commission established in section 7 of
this Act to certify that the adult members of the Na-
tive Hawaiian community contained on the roll de-
veloped under that section meet the definition of Na-
tive Hawaiian, as defined in paragraph (6)(A).
(5) INDIGENOUS, NATIVE PEOPLE.—The term
‘‘indigenous, native people’’ means the lineal de-
scendants of the aboriginal, indigenous, native peo-
ple of the United States.
(6) NATIVE HAWAIIAN.—
(A) Prior to the recognition by the United
States of a Native Hawaiian governing body
under the authority of section 7(d) of this Act,
the term ‘‘Native Hawaiian’’ means the indige-
nous, native people of Hawaii who are the lineal
descendants of the aboriginal, indigenous, na-
tive people who resided in the islands that now
comprise the State of Hawaii on January 1,
1893, and who occupied and exercised sov-
ereignty in the Hawaiian archipelago, including
the area that now constitutes the State of Ha-
waii, as evidenced by (but not limited to)—
(i) genealogical records;
(ii) Native Hawaiian kupuna (elders)
verification or affidavits;
(iii) church or census records; or
(iv) government birth or death certifi-
cates or other vital statistics records;
(B) Following the recognition by the
United States of the Native Hawaiian gov-
erning body under section 7(d) of this Act, the
term ‘‘Native Hawaiian’’ shall have the mean-
ing given to such term in the organic governing
documents of the Native Hawaiian governing
body.
(7) NATIVE HAWAIIAN GOVERNING BODY.—The
term ‘‘Native Hawaiian governing body’’ means the
adult members of the governing body of the Native
Hawaiian people that is recognized by the United
States under the authority of section 7(d) of this
Act.
(8) NATIVE
HAWAIIAN
INTERIM
GOVERNING
COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Native Hawaiian Interim
Governing Council’’ means the interim governing
council that is authorized to exercise the powers and
authorities recognized in section 7(b) of this Act.
(9) ROLL.—The term ‘‘roll’’ means the roll that
is developed under the authority of section 7(a) of
this Act.
(10) 
SECRETARY.—The 
term 
‘‘Secretary’’
means the Secretary of the Department of the Inte-
rior.
(11) TASK FORCE.—The term ‘‘Task Force’’
means the Native Hawaiian Interagency Task Force
established under the authority of section 6 of this
Act.
SEC. 3. UNITED STATES POLICY.
The United States reaffirms that—
(1) Native Hawaiians are a unique and distinct
aboriginal, indigenous, native people, with whom the
United States has a political and legal relationship;
(2) the United States has a special trust rela-
tionship to promote the welfare of Native Hawaiians;
(3) Congress possesses the authority under the
Constitution to enact legislation to address the con-
ditions of Native Hawaiians and has exercised this
authority through the enactment of—
(A) the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act,
1920 (42 Stat. 108, chapter 42);
(B) the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for
the admission of the State of Hawaii into the
Union’’, approved March 18, 1959 (Public Law
86–3; 73 Stat. 4); and
(C) more than 150 other Federal laws ad-
dressing the conditions of Native Hawaiians;
(4) Native Hawaiians have—
(A) an inherent right to autonomy in their
internal affairs;
(B) an inherent right of self-determination
and self-governance; and
(C) the right to reorganize a Native Ha-
waiian governing body; and
(5) the United States shall continue to engage
in a process of reconciliation and political relations
with the Native Hawaiian people.
SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE OFFICE OF SPECIAL
TRUSTEE FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN AFFAIRS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—There is established within the
Office of the Secretary of the Department of the Interior
the Office of Special Trustee for Native Hawaiian Affairs.
(b) DUTIES OF THE OFFICE.—The Office of Special
Trustee for Native Hawaiian Affairs shall—
(1) effectuate and coordinate the special trust
relationship between the Native Hawaiian people
and the United States through the Secretary, and
with all other Federal agencies;
(2) upon the recognition of the Native Hawai-
ian governing body by the United States as provided
for in section 7(d) of this Act, effectuate and coordi-
nate the special trust relationship between the Na-
tive Hawaiian governing body and the United States
through the Secretary, and with all other Federal
agencies;
(3) fully integrate the principle and practice of
meaningful, regular, and appropriate consultation
with the Native Hawaiian people by providing timely
notice to, and consulting with the Native Hawaiian
people prior to taking any actions that may have the
potential to significantly or uniquely affect Native
Hawaiian resources, rights, or lands, and upon the
recognition of the Native Hawaiian governing body
as provided for in section 7(d) of this Act, fully inte-
grate the principle and practice of meaningful, reg-
ular, and appropriate consultation with the Native
Hawaiian governing body by providing timely notice
to, and consulting with the Native Hawaiian people
prior to taking any actions that may have the poten-
tial to significantly affect Native Hawaiian re-
sources, rights, or lands;
(4) consult with the Native Hawaiian Inter-
agency Task Force, other Federal agencies, and with
relevant agencies of the State of Hawaii on policies,
practices, and proposed actions affecting Native Ha-
waiian resources, rights, or lands;
(5) be responsible for the preparation and sub-
mittal to the Committee on Indian Affairs of the
Senate, the Committee on Energy and Natural Re-
sources of the Senate, and the Committee on Re-
sources of the House of Representatives of an an-
nual report detailing the activities of the Interagency
Task Force established under section 6 of this Act
that are undertaken with respect to the continuing
process of reconciliation and to effect meaningful
consultation with the Native Hawaiian people and
the Native Hawaiian governing body and providing
recommendations for any necessary changes to exist-
ing Federal statutes or regulations promulgated
under the authority of Federal law;
(6) be responsible for continuing the process of
reconciliation with the Native Hawaiian people, and
upon the recognition of the Native Hawaiian gov-
erning body by the United States as provided for in
section 7(d) of this Act, be responsible for con-
tinuing the process of reconciliation with the Native
Hawaiian governing body; and
(7) assist the Native Hawaiian people in facili-
tating a process for self-determination, including but
not limited to the provision of technical assistance in
the development of the roll under section 7(a) of this
Act, the organization of the Native Hawaiian In-
terim Governing Council as provided for in section
7(b) of this Act, and the reorganization of the Na-
tive Hawaiian governing body as provided for in sec-
tion 7(c) of this Act.
SEC. 5. DESIGNATION OF DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE REP-
RESENTATIVE.
The Attorney General shall designate an appropriate
official within the Department of Justice to assist the Of-
fice of the Special Trustee for Native Hawaiian Affairs
in the implementation and protection of the rights of Na-
tive Hawaiians and their political and legal relationship
with the United States, and upon the recognition of the
Native Hawaiian governing body as provided for in section
7(d) of this Act, in the implementation and protection of
the rights of the Native Hawaiian governing body and its
political and legal relationship with the United States.
SEC. 6. NATIVE HAWAIIAN INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established an inter-
agency task force to be known as the ‘‘Native Hawaiian
Interagency Task Force’’.
(b) COMPOSITION.—The Task Force shall be com-
posed of officials, to be appointed by the President,
from—
(1) each Federal agency that establishes or im-
plements policies that affect Native Hawaiians or
whose actions may significantly or uniquely impact
on Native Hawaiian resources, rights, or lands;
(2) the Office of the Special Trustee for Native
Hawaiian Affairs established under section 4 of this
Act; and
(3) the Executive Office of the President.
(c) LEAD AGENCIES.—The Department of the Inte-
rior and the Department of Justice shall serve as the lead
agencies of the Task Force, and meetings of the Task
Force shall be convened at the request of the lead agen-
cies.
enjoyed by the Native Hawaiian people which are
not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act.
(e) INCORPORATION OF THE NATIVE HAWAIIAN GOV-
ERNING BODY.—
(1) CHARTER OF INCORPORATION.—Upon peti-
tion of the Native Hawaiian governing body, the
Secretary may issue a charter of incorporation to
the Native Hawaiian governing body. Upon the
issuance of such charter of incorporation, the Native
Hawaiian governing body shall have the same status
under Federal law when acting in its corporate ca-
pacity as the status of Indian tribes that have been
issued a charter of incorporation under the authority
of section 17 of the Indian Reorganization Act (25
U.S.C. 477).
(2) ENUMERATED POWERS.—Such charter may
authorize the incorporated Native Hawaiian gov-
erning body to exercise the power to purchase, take
by gift, bequest, or otherwise, own, hold, manage,
operate, and dispose of property of every description,
real and personal, including the power to purchase
lands and to issue an exchange of interests in cor-
porate property, and such further powers as may be
incidental to the conduct of corporate business, and
that are not inconsistent with law.