The U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs yesterday said it had scheduled an Aug. 6 hearing to consider the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act of 2009, known as the Akaka bill because it's sponsored by Sen. Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawai'i).

The bill would create a process that would lead to Native Hawaiian self-governance. It would give Native Hawaiians virtually the same rights conferred on Native Americans, plus a greater control over 1.8 million acres of ancestral lands.

Many Native Hawaiians believe those lands were taken from them illegally during the U.S. annexation of Hawai'i in 1898.

The bill was originally introduced in 2000 and was passed by the House of Representatives several times, but has always stalled in the Senate.

The Aug. 6 Senate committee hearing is scheduled to take place in Room 628 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.