Over the nearly 10-year span of its life, the Akaka bill — the Congressional proposal to enable federal recognition of Native Hawaiians as a political entity — has always faced an uphill battle. The fact that the U.S. Senate is deeply embroiled in current controversies over health care reform, economic recovery and other crucial matters underscores the challenge that remains.

But there's never been quite the political momentum that exists right now to propel the measure, now called S. 1011, over the hump. And it's never been more important for supporters of the measure to add their weight to the push.

There is, for the first time in years, the practical possibility of achieving the 60 votes needed to shepherd the bill through to passage without the procedural blockade of a filibuster.

Hawai'i 's Congressional delegation as well as the Office of Hawaiian Affairs must work aggressively to cement that support in both chambers — a task more difficult for the Senate, with a thinner Democratic majority.

But the goal has been moved within easier reach with the election of President Obama, who has signaled general support for a federal acknowledgment of Hawai'i's aboriginal people as a political entity, somewhat akin to the status of Native Americans and Native Alaskans.

That sentiment was driven home by a White House spokesman at Thursday's Senate committee hearing, with a clarity unprecedented even during the previous sympathetic presidency of Bill Clinton.

The endorsement was delivered by Sam Hirsch, a deputy associate attorney general, who disputed the core criticism of the Bush administration that the bill would create "race-based" distinctions. Hirsch rightly pointed out that establishing a government-to-government relationship with native "first nations" has been treated as a federal obligation quite distinct from racial classifications. America's native peoples all had nationhood before being ceded to the U.S. Native Hawaiians should be treated no differently.

The Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act sets strict limits on what sovereignty is possible for a Native Hawaiian government. Federal and state laws still apply to its members; gambling would not be allowed; and the final settlement on resources of land and money that will belong to the new nation will involve negotiations among the stakeholders.

The bill simply establishes the framework through which the government can be organized so that it can be recognized and talks can begin.

Much of the body of resources already has been set aside for Native Hawaiians, including the multimillion-dollar trust fund fed by revenues from the former Hawaiian kingdom's lands. Since the overthrow of that kingdom more than 100 years ago, federal and state governments have shown a commitment to reconciliation through various entitlement programs.

Responsibility for managing these resources should be turned over to a self-reliant native government, rather than its people continuing as wards of the federal and state governments. The state, removed from that role, should focus its attention on a broader mandate to serve all Hawai'i's people.

Settlement remains a long way off, but the Akaka bill would allow the first steps to be taken. It's a goal worth the trek.