[David,]

As I understand it, here it is (OK meaning constitutionally kosher):

1. The preservation of Hawaiian culture is in the common interest, and thus the use of fereral funds is OK.

2. The creation of a Trust for this purpose is OK.

3. Requiring that trustees be members of the ethnic group they are attempting to preserve is OK.

4. BUT requiring that the people who elect the Trustees be of a certain ethnicity is a no-no. The body politic, in this case, is the entire State of Hawaii (as it is the State who implements the Trust), not merely the Native Hawaiians, as defined. Therefore, the State's implementation was wrong.

Another issue is what the Trust actually does - does it pay for research libraries, museums, etc.? If so, then everyone is a beneficiary, as with the Smithsonian; even (and possibly especially) non-US citizens who wish to study Hawaiian culture as told by Hawaiians. And, as the rancher (I presume) pays his taxes, he does therefore have a pecuniary interest in decisions made by the Trust's board of trustees.

But if the purpose of the Trust is to pay for Native-only schools, hospitals, and housing complexes, I think it is worthy to the extent that such things are needed, but at the risk of creating reverse-segregation and fostering hatred of non-Hawaiians as the evil nasty destroyers of everything Hawaiian (which might actually be a partial truth, but it's definitely not going to help people function within our society).

[Steve R.]