The American Bar Association’s leadership has passed a resolution urging Congress to extend federal political recognition to Native Hawaiians. On Feb. 13, 2006, the organization’s House of Delegates, which includes about 550 members, passed a measure in support of “legislative efforts to fulfill the legal and moral obligation of the United States to reconcile with the Native Hawaiian people, and to create a process for their formal federal recognition and self determination.” (Click here to download a copy of the resolution.)

The resolution urged the passage of federal legislation that would allow Hawaiians to form an “authority similar to that which American Indian and Alaska Native governments possess under the Constitution to govern and provide for the health, safety, and welfare of their members.”

"American Indians and Alaska Natives have political authority to deal with the United States on a government-to-government basis," ABA President Michael S. Greco said in a press release. "Native Hawaiians as an indigenous people in our country should be afforded the right to create their own governing body."

Supporters of the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act hailed the ABA’s support as a valuable boost in the effort to get the bill passed.

“The validation of our efforts by such an esteemed legal organization is a significant step forward in our efforts to enact a process to extend the policy of self-governance and self-determination to Native Hawaiians,” said Sen. Daniel Akaka, primary sponsor of the recognition measure. Akaka said he was continuing to work with Senate leaders to secure a date for “prompt consideration” of the bill.

Office of Hawaiian Affairs Chairperson Haunani Apoliona told the Honolulu Star-Bulletin that the ABA's support "recognizes and affirms that there's no question Congress can extend federal recognition to Native Hawaiians."

According to the ABA’s website, the association, with more than 400,000 members, is the largest voluntary professional membership organization in the world and the “national voice of the legal profession.”