Hello Punatics!

[DaVinci]

quote:

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Originally posted by Mauka

Hawaiian Homelands were initiated in 1893 as way to give Hawaiians the vote.

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I think the idea was first discussed then, but that was during the Republic of Hawaii period. Here is an excerpt from Wikipedia:

Upon the 1893 Overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom, the idea for "Hawaiian Homelands" was first born. In his testimony before Congress regarding the Hawaiian Islands on January 3, 1894, William Alexander reported:

"In order to save them, President Dole and his colleagues have elaborated a plan for giving the Kanakas homesteads out of the Crown lands, not transferable, on condition of occupation."[1]

In 1921, the federal government of the United States set aside as approximately 200,000 acres (810 km2) in the Territory of Hawaii as a land trust for homesteading by Native Hawaiians. The law mandating this, passed by the U.S. Congress on July 9, 1921, was called the "Hawaiian Homes Commission Act" (HHCA) and, with amendments, is still in effect today. The act is often also attributed to the year 1920, when it was written. The avowed purpose of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act was to rehabilitate Native Hawaiians, particularly in returning them to the land to maintain traditional ties to the land. The Hawaiian politicians who testified in favor of the act specifically referred to the devastation of the Hawaiian population and the loss of the land, and the need for Hawaiians to be able to grow traditional crops such as kalo (taro).

So perhaps the Republic of Hawaii did initiate something called Hawaiian Homelands. I am not clear on the details of that period. I am clear, however, that in 1898, the McKinley Administration made Hawaii a territory of the US, and that the subsequent Hawaiian Homelands Commission Act was not enacted until the Harding Administration, a full generation later. And the DHHL is, as I mentioned before, the designated administrator of the Hawaiian Homelands Trust that originated in 1921 under that act. For my error in attributing passage of the act to the year 1920, I apologize.