Cite as: 528 U. S. 495 (2000)
Stevens, J., dissenting
tion of statehood in the Hawaii Statehood Admissions Act (Admissions Act), § 4, 73 Stat. 5. And in an effort to secure the Government's duty to the indigenous peoples, § 5 of the Admissions Act conveyed 1.2 million acres of land to the State to be held in trust "for the betterment of the conditions of native Hawaiians" and certain other public purposes. §5(f), id., at 6.
The nature of and motivation for the special relationship between the indigenous peoples and the United States Government was articulated in explicit detail in 1993, when Congress adopted a Joint Resolution containing a formal "apology to Native Hawaiians on behalf of the United States for the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii." 107 Stat. 1510. Among other acknowledgments, the resolution stated that the 1.8 million acres of ceded lands had been obtained "without the consent of or compensation to the Native Hawaiian people of Hawaii or their sovereign government." Id., at 1512.
In the end, however, one need not even rely on this official apology to discern a well-established federal trust relationship with the native Hawaiians. Among the many and varied laws passed by Congress in carrying out its duty to indigenous peoples, more than 150 today expressly include native Hawaiians as part of the class of Native Americans benefited.9 By classifying native Hawaiians as "Native Americans" for purposes of these statutes, Congress has made clear that native Hawaiians enjoy many of "the same rights and privileges accorded to American Indian, Alaska
9 See Brief for Hawai'i Congressional Delegation as Amicus Curiae 7, and App. A; see also, e. g., American Indian Religious Freedom Act, 42 U. S. C. § 1996 et seq.; Native American Programs Act of 1974, 42 U. S. C. §§ 2991-2992; Comprehensive Employment and Training Act, 29 U. S. C. § 872; Drug Abuse Prevention, Treatment, and Rehabilitation Act, 21 U. S. C. § 1177; Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act, § 958, 104 Stat. 4422; Indian Health Care Amendments of 1988, 25 U. S. C. § 1601 et seq.
533
Page: Index Previous 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007