'Aloha!' Akaka Bill

Engage Vol 7, issue 2, 2006

3 Pages Posted: 31 Dec 2016 Last revised: 1 Jan 2017

See all articles by Gail L. Heriot

Gail L. Heriot

American Civil Rights Project; U.S. Commission on Civil Rights; Manhattan Institute

Date Written: October 1, 2006

Abstract

The proposed Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act of 2006 (known as the "Akaka Bill") is a response to the Supreme Court's decision in Rice v. Cayetano. That case decided that a Hawaii law that allowed only ethnic Hawaiians to vote for trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, a state agency, was a violation of the 15th Amendment, which prohibits race discrimination in voting rights. The court distinguished ethnic Hawaiians from Indian tribe, which have semi-sovereign status. The Akaka bill attempts to organize ethnic Hawaiians into tribe. This essay argues that the act of transforming a racial group into a separate sovereignty is itself a violation of the Constitution.

Keywords: Native Hawaiians, Indian law, Hawaii, Native Americans, Akaka bill, Fifteenth Amendment, equal protection, race, ethnicity, Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act

Suggested Citation

Heriot, Gail L., 'Aloha!' Akaka Bill (October 1, 2006). Engage Vol 7, issue 2, 2006, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2891752

Gail L. Heriot (Contact Author)

American Civil Rights Project ( email )

P.O. Box 12207
Dallas, TX 75225
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.americancivilrightsproject.org/

U.S. Commission on Civil Rights

1331 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Suite 1150
Washington, DC 20425

Manhattan Institute ( email )

52 Vanderbilt Avenue
New York, NY 10017
United States

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