HONOLULU -- Native Hawaiians are forming a sovereign government that could eventually take control of land and money when Hawaii came under the rule of the United States.

The trustees of the state Office of Hawaiian Affairs have voted unanimously to support a proposal for nation building that calls for Hawaiian registration, new districts, elections and a constitutional convention starting as soon as July 2007.

The new government would then negotiate with the state and federal government to absorb Hawaiian programs, revenues and former crown land held in trust by the state.

"It's about reconciling history," said Office of Hawaiian Affairs Chairwoman Haunani Apoliona on Friday. "As Native Hawaiians move into more leadership roles in this process of self-determination and oversight over our assets, it also will bring health and healing to the community."

The move taken in the vote Thursday toward a Native Hawaiian government is designed to reconcile some of the wrongs done during the U.S.-backed overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1893.

This plan comes in response to the failure of a bill in the U.S. Senate earlier this month that would have recognized Native Hawaiians in a way similar to American Indians.

"It's the sovereign right of the native aboriginal people to organize themselves," said Clyde Namuo, administrator for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. "The assets currently administered by the Department of Hawaiian Affairs and the Department of Hawaiian Homelands would all be subject to negotiation."

About 1.4 million acres, or 95 percent of all state land, is former crown land held in trust by the state.

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs receives $15.1 million annually from the state, which it is entitled to under a 1980 law that hands over 20 percent of money derived from the land trust. The agency administers the trust for programs that benefit Native Hawaiians.

Gov. Linda Lingle has supported Native Hawaiian rights, but her office didn't immediately return phone calls Friday seeking comment on whether she would back the sovereignty plan.

A draft copy of the proposal called, "Hooulu Lahui Aloha, To Raise a Beloved Nation," sets out a step-by-step process to establish a Native Hawaiian government without the permission of the federal United States government.

Officials with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs say the U.S. Constitution grants native peoples the right to govern themselves.

"We don't need federal legislation to do this," Namuo said. "The question is whether Native Hawaiians are or are not aboriginal, indigenous, native people."

So far, 50,000 people have registered with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs under a program established in 2004 to draw together Native Hawaiians from around the world. The agency's goal is to register at least 118,000 Hawaiians to give the nascent [emerging] government credibility.

There are about 400,000 people of Hawaiian ancestry nationwide, and 260,000 of them live in Hawaii. Anyone with a drop of Hawaiian blood may register.

"You do what you can to leverage those numbers for economic development, environmental protection and educational opportunities," Namuo said.

Then, under the plan, voting districts would be apportioned, delegates elected, a constitutional convention convened and a vote on the new government ordered.

Federal recognition could potentially be sought by the new Hawaiian government, but that would be up to its leaders to decide, Namuo said.

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs itself would be dismantled and its powers transferred to the Hawaiian government.

"We're trying to repair damages that have been done for a long time," said Manu Boyd, spokesman for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. "This is a generations-old issue that's being addressed aggressively right now."

Over the next couple of months, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs plans to meet with Native Hawaiian groups across the state to hear their feedback about the shape of a Hawaiian governing entity.

Once a consensus is reached, the election and formation of the government would be officially launched.