I never quite understood exactly how it works between the native Americans and our government --casinos, reservations, census data? But at any rate, some Native Hawaiians are fighting to get similar status. Listen the the NPR story here. [1] The argument is that Hawaii was a sovereign nation, until the U.S. government came and took it over --just like they did the rest of the country. Some people think Akaka's bill doesn't go far enough, and Hawaii should be totally free from US rule. I doubt that will happen --check out all military people in Honolulu --but I wonder if having a sovereign governing body will be a boon to the Hawaiians. Or if it just means they'll get to have casinos.