Many Hawaiians, and particularly older Hawaiians, say a lack of unity among members of their community is a serious problem.

The latest Honolulu Advertiser Hawai‘i Poll on Native Hawaiians asked participants to state in their own words what they view as their most important issues. Those 55 years and older most often cited lack of unity or lack of leadership. Younger Hawaiians cited it after sovereignty, land and education as major issues.

The new poll provides insight into where the Native Hawaiian community stands as a whole on various issues - from ceded lands to restitution for the overthrow of the monarchy. Poll participants were of varied backgrounds, ranging from professionals to blue-collar workers, and came from all the major islands.

Pollsters randomly surveyed 401 adult residents of Hawaiian ancestry April 18-28. The margin of error from the results is 4.9 percent, meaning that 95 percent of the time, if the entire adult Hawaiian population were sampled their responses would be within 4.9 percent plus or minus of those obtained in the poll.

Twenty-four percent who were asked to identify the most important issue mentioned education; 23 percent mentioned sovereignty and/or issues of self-determination; and 21 percent said land.

And 13 percent mentioned lack of unity or lack of leadership.

"I think we have to work on that," said Lokelani Morris, 22, of Kailua.

Bryan Pate, 37, of Moanalua Gardens, said, "I believe there’s a lot of egos, people that want to be chiefs."

"Unity? It’s going to take an act of God," said Kyle Nakanelua, 40, of Ha‘iku, Maui. "It doesn’t appear that there is one particular individual, male or female, that seems to possess that divine mana."

Nakanelua said he feels that as the Hawaiian movement progresses, it will not be one person but a group of strong leaders, working together, that will bring the community into some kind of unified form.

Others suggest the quest for unity will be a tough road, without any clear direction.

"Too many of the Hawaiian people don’t agree," said Mark Perry, 44, of Kailua.

But unity is ultimately possible, some say.

"There wasn’t unity for a long time. It might be a big struggle. It will be hard, but it will be worth it," said Wayne Ho, 35, of Kihei, Maui.

The disagreement in the community isn’t just about leadership, but also about issues. While Hawaiians are overwhelmingly in agreement that the United States government owes them something in return for the overthrow of the monarchy, they are sharply divided over the form of that support.

Many self-styled Hawaiian leaders as well as elected representatives insist that land is the ultimate repayment for the overthrow. But the Hawaii Poll results indicate that the common Hawaiian is not nearly so certain of that.

One way of looking at the numbers suggests Hawaiians fall into three distinct and roughly equal groups on compensation issues.

About a third want restitution in the form of land. Another third favored help in the form of programs like education and health before land. Some think money will be sufficient.

And there is a large group - nearly a third of all Hawaiians - that in various responses asserts that Hawaiians should not be treated differently from others in the community. For example, 32 percent of those polled agreed with the statement that ceded lands were always held in trust for all the people of Hawai‘i, not just Hawaiians. Thirty-three percent disagreed with the concept that even 20 percent of ceded lands and revenues should be turned over to the Hawaiian people. And 29 percent said special treatment for Hawaiians would be wrong.

Moloka‘i resident Lance Dunbar said that for a leader with a broad following to emerge, he or she will have to express the issues in a way that rings true to the Native Hawaiian, and will also be accepted by the rest of Hawai‘i’s multicultural community.

"We lack unity because no one has prioritized the issues. (That needs to be done by) whoever is going to emerge as a collaborative leader, and that hasn’t happened yet.

"It requires trust, and it really has to puka through to where everybody (Hawaiian and non-Hawaiian) issues a sigh of relief," Dunbar said.

Hawaiians are all over the map on their support for sovereignty and the form it should take. In The Advertiser Hawai‘i Poll, the two things most could agree on was that there should be some kind of Hawaiian government, and that they haven’t yet decided what it should be.

In questions about a sovereign entity, a quarter rejected the creation of any Hawaiian government.

Of those who supported creating a government, majorities of Hawaiians rejected things with which they were familiar. They said no to a monarchy, no to a government built out of OHA, no to an independent nation like what Hawaii had before the overthrow. A nation-within-a-nation concept got the most support, but it received the support of just a third of all those polled, and of not quite half of those who approve of forming some kind of Hawaiian nation.

What 78 percent of those who want a Hawaiian government could agree on was, in essence, "Give us more time, and we’ll come up with something."

That conclusion is almost identical to one in The Honolulu Advertiser’s 1995 Hawai‘i Poll, in which 81 percent of Hawaiians said they believe more time is needed to decide on details of sovereignty.

Nation of Hawai‘i leader Dennis "Bumpy" Kanahele said the thing that ultimately brings the Hawaiian people together may not be a political glue, but an economic paste. He said he hopes a new Native Hawaiian bank being formed on Maui may be able to do it. It will be a Hawaiian-owned cooperative, able to lend money, manage Hawaiian trust assets and ease many of the economic issues facing Hawaiians.

"I think we’ve stumbled into a real unique solution to everything that’s going on ... Unification as business partners, not as an ethnic group ...

"‘Economics is everybody’s friend. You can bank on that," he said.

Hawaiians on the Neighbor Islands are more likely to seek land in reparations for the overthrow of the monarchy, while Hawaiians on O‘ahu place more value on programs for education and health.

The Honolulu Advertiser’s Hawai‘i poll on Hawaiian issues found distinct differences between the more urban Hawaiian community of Honolulu, and the generally more rural folks living off O‘ahu.

The poll questioned 401 Hawai‘i residents claiming Native Hawaiian ancestry. Of these, 264 live on O‘ahu and 137 in Hawai‘i, Maui and Kaua‘i counties.

Asked to name the single most important issue for the Hawaiian community, a quarter of Neighbor Island Hawaiians said land, followed by sovereignty and jobs, while O‘ahu residents listed sovereignty first, followed by education and a lack of leadership.

Among those who said the United States owes Hawaiians restitution for the overthrow of the monarchy, 41 percent of O‘ahu residents said there should be more programs to help Hawaiians. Their second choice, selected by 33 percent of respondents, was land.

The Neighbor Island choice was reversed. There, 52 percent said restitution should come in the form of land. Another 27 percent supported programs such as education and health.

While most Hawaiians statewide reject the concept of complete independence from the United States, the idea is more palatable to Neighbor Islanders.

Two-thirds of Neighbor Islanders and three-quarters of O‘ahu residents support the creation of some kind of sovereign Hawaiian nation to represent Hawaiians in dealing with the state and federal governments.

Of those, 27 percent of Neighbor Islanders (compared with 17 percent of O‘ahu residents) would support creating a completely independent Hawai‘i nation in which people of all races could be citizens. And nearly half of Neighbor Islanders (45 percent compared with 33 percent for O‘ahu) said they would like Native Hawaiians to be independent as they were more than 100 years ago.

Emmaline Ihu of Waimea, Kaua‘i, who has lived also on O‘ahu, said she is not surprised by the disparity between the urban center and the rural areas. Folks on the islands across the ocean channels from Honolulu need and have a self-reliance that makes them much more independent, she said.

"It’s the materialism. They (city people) are not confident they can manage without it. We (Neighbor Islanders) can survive. During the hurricane, when we didn’t have lights, we were fine. We found we were comfortable," Ihu said.

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