Comments by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs Trustee Oz Stender in the recent Office of Hawaiian Affairs Ka Wai Ola newsletter regarding an October Small Business Hawaii breakfast meeting that I spoke at is factually inaccurate on so many levels it begs response, beginning with his following statement:

The keynote speaker, Elain Willman of Citizens Equal Rights Alliance, claims to be of Indian descent and gave reasons as to why recognition for her tribe was not a good thing. She claims that the tribe continued to live in poverty and ignorance and could not govern themselves. She concluded that recognition for Hawaiians would offer them the same fate. I did not hear compassion for her people nor did I hear any solutions on what she was going to do to help them survive this malaise.

First, I was not the keynote speaker; I shared the morning in equal time with a lovely attorney by the name of H. K. Bruss Keppeler from the Native Hawaiian Chamber of Commerce whose supportive positions on the Akaka Bill were also clearly reported to the attendees but apparently ignored by Mr. Stender.

Second, my mother and grandmother were both enrolled members of the Cherokee tribe, North America’s largest federally recognized Indian tribe and most certainly not known for its “ignorance … poverty …” or "inability to govern itself.” If Mr. Stender did not acknowledge or hear Mr. Keppeler and his strong statements in support of the Akaka Bill, it’s quite likely he would not hear my compassion or get other facts straight as well.

To describe Native Hawaiians who disagree with Mr. Stender as “token” Native Hawaiians is as despicable as entirely disregarding Mr. Keppeler’s presentation. The Small Business Hawaii leaders made concerted efforts to present a balanced program that shared the perceptions of those who support and those who oppose the Akaka Bill. Not once during the event were inflammatory words such as assimilation or annihilation expressed. Such egregious language springs solely from Mr. Stender's mind; not mine -- and not Mr. Keppeler’s.

My position, and that of Citizens Equal Rights Alliance (CERA) is expressed best with our theme for the past 30 years: ”Many cultures, One people, One law.” All American Indians became full U.S. citizens in 1924. Equal treatment under the law does not equate to either assimilation or annihilation. I recall sharing at the October event that I believe that the elderly immigrant who became a naturalized U.S. citizen yesterday, the infant child born 5 minutes ago in the United States -- and me, are entirely equal under the U.S. Constitution and our respective state constitutions.

Equality under one set of laws provides you and me the opportunity to cherish our various ancestries, practice whatever cultural and religious traditions we choose, and civilly express our opinions without denigrating each other as equal citizens of the United States. I personally value the integrity of the Amish community as the highest example of a people choosing to honorably preserve their ancestry, religion and culture without demands of federal subsidies, nor attitudes of superiority over other fellow U.S. citizens.

The Amish do not burden taxpayers by insisting upon federal dollars in order to honor their ancestry. They do so of free will and live in a country where such a cultural choice is highly respected. The Amish do the obvious. They earn respect because they know genuine respect cannot be demanded.

Equality under the law does not create the radical polarized extremes of assimilation or annihilation expressed by Mr. Stender. The depth of history, beauty and culture of Native Hawaiians is foundational to the image and wonder of the Aloha State and should forever be preserved. Culture is not government. Government is not culture. I oppose all Congressional actions, including the Akaka Bill, which continue to systematically separate and ethnically dismantle the greatest country on Earth with apartheid and balkanization. Not a single U.S. citizen is more special than another under our U.S. Constitution.

Elaine Willman is the National Chair for the Citizens Equal Rights Alliance.