BLOOD QUANTUM
Today I received my Iulai (July) '99 issue of the Ka Wai Ola O OHA (The Living Water of OHA) ka nupepa (newspaper). In it I found some very disturbing articles that dealt with some issues of Hawaiian life affected by the inequity of "blood quantum". And once again I was reminded how very much the theft of what was once the sovereign Kingdom of Hawai'i has affected all of us of Hawaiian blood.
It was the greed of the "foreigner" that led to the theft of our Hawaiian national heritage. It was their greed that caused them to make up rules they felt sure would sooner than later cause all that was of the Hawaiian nation to come into their hands in its entirety. That is where "blood quantum" comes into the picture. It was believed that at the rate of death and intermarriage the Hawaiian people would soon lose their qualification of the 50% blood quantum that had been set as the criteria for the Hawaiian subjects to be eligible for participation in the programs established by the usurpers. But unfortunately for the greedy, the Hawaiian race outlasted the optimistic calculations.
But now comes the true obscenity established by the blood quantum...the pitting of Hawaiian against Hawaiian. There is so much talk of lokahi -- unity, agreement, unison, harmony, agreement in unity -- but I see little evidence of this when it comes to the issue of blood quantum.
The first issue addressed in the July Ka Wai Ola O OHA that struck me was in reference to the "Hou file amicus brief in Rice" section in the article on "Hou Hawaiians lose Ninth Circuit appeal" found on the front page. In brief, it stated that the Hou Hawaiians had asked the Supreme Court to limit qualification for voting to Hawaiians of 50% blood quantum as they do not feel those of less than the quantum should benefit of the public land trust.
The next thing that screamed out at me did so as I was reading the "Community Commentary" section on page 14 of the July issue. There were interviews, two in particular, of Hawaiian high school juniors from across the islands that dealt with leadership, government, culture, sovereignty, and the legislative process that once again confirmed the poisoned attitudes of some Hawaiian people against their own people. And they saddened me deeply.
I have seen too many of our people buy into the greed established by those long time ago foreigners who out of their pure greed set up the blood quantum. The fear that allowing all Hawaiian descendants to be equally represented in all things that affect the people would diminish their own eligibility. They fear the idea of having to share with even more people what is now limited to only a few and not the whole. It seems that when it comes to fighting for the Hawaiian rights and sovereignty, the support and work of those who are not of blood quantum is greatly desired. But when it comes to sharing in the benefits of being Hawaiian, it is felt that only those of quantum should be eligible.
I cry for all our youth who are still supporting what the foreigners established as a means to take away what was and is Hawaiian. I sorrow for their not realizing what that will mean to their own people--children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren--in years to come. This is a very real form of prejudice that was incorporated by those foreigners of yesteryear that is being perpetuated by so many of our Hawaiians of today. Somehow, if we are not at least 50% blood quantum, then we are not valid...we do not count...we no longer are considered Hawaiian...we are not eligible. Our beloved Queen Lili'uokalani must be reeling in her place of rest, seeing her own people turning against one another. She loved all her people and did not consider them to be less valid because they were of "mixed" blood. How ashamed we should be of ourselves to have adopted such an attitude that makes all of us "less."
As to what will be lost. The unity of our people... And what if the children and grandchildren do not decide to marry blood quantum as a minimal requirement? Their children will lose their eligibility. And if they do marry strictly by quantum, how long will it be before our gene pool will have exhausted itself and cause a genetic weakness to develop among our people?
Love is not something that is so easily calculated. When I was in high school, a group of Kamehameha high school students came up to Washington, D.C. and stayed with families from the islands who lived here. One night we had a discussion on marriage. We agreed at that time that it would be best for all of us to marry one of our own. But that was when I was young and naive. Many years later reality set in. I was still living in the Washington, D.C. area and fell in love. Being as there wasn't a large community of young Hawaiian men living here, it was reasonable to believe that the prior dream of continuing the bloodlines was not to happen for me and my children.
My question now is, how many of our people are we willing to throw away because their hearts have led them to marry and procreate with those not of our blood? How many of our people will we declare not to be valid before all that is Hawaiian is lost to all of our people due to the lack of blood quantum? How many of our sisters, brothers, cousins, nieces, nephews, sons, daughters, grandsons, and granddaughters, etc. are we willing to sacrifice on the foreigners' block of blood quantum? How many of our own people are we going to alienate in the name of a rule that was made up by those who sought to divide and conquer, and seem to be doing so even now from their very graves?
copyright--August 9, 1999; J. Pualani McBee
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