Native Hawaiians will be treated very differently by the person who wins this year's presidential election.

Sen. Barack Obama (D-Illinois), who was born in Hawaii, said he will push for passage of a bill to extend the policy of self-determination to Native Hawaiians. If that doesn't happen this year, he said he will definitely sign the bill into law if he is elected president.

Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona), on the other hand, does not support recognition for Native Hawaiians. He said doing so would create "race-based" government, an argument other conservative Republicans have made against the bill.

Delegates at the Democratic National Convention will vote on adding Native Hawaiian recognition to their platform. In 2000, the Republican Party included Native Hawaiians in the same section of their platform as American Indians and Alaska Natives.

Get the Story:
Democratic convention plans Native Hawaiian recognition (The Honolulu Advertiser 8/24)

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Opinion: McCain and Obama on Native Hawaiians (07/28)
Campbell to lobby GOP for Native Hawaiians (06/30)