Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 13, Number 4, 1 April 1996 — OHA: Created for all Hawaiiam [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

OHA: Created for all Hawaiiam

The 1970s were a time of turmoil, nationally anel locally. The values of the dominant culture were challenged by minorities of every kind in every American community. Racial minorities found new dignity in their native cultures and demanded equal treatment under the law. Early in the decade, jumbo jets arrived in Hawai'i, quickly followed by jumbo hotels. In the next six years, the number of visitors in Hawai'i doubled. The world shrank and Hawai'i boomed. New resorts, new highways and new subdivisions sprouted on virgin shores and sprawled intp val|eys and .eane fiqlds. Hawai'i's population grew by 25 percent during the decade.

The stress on loeal communities was felt most by rural Hawaiians. Their lives on the fringe of Hawai'i's expansion and development, in close contact with the land and sea, were suddenly shaken by eviction notices and "No Trespassing" signs. Landowners and developers sprinkled luxurious hideaway resorts and exclusive golf condominiums in the most remote and untouched corners of the islands. In many cases there was no plaee left for farmers and fishermen to go. Many decided they were not going to leave without a fight. They organized themselves and fought eviction. For the first time in almost 100 years the maka'āinana were standing up for their preferred way of life. Hawai'i would never be

the same. The battles that followed are legendary: • Kalama Valley farmer organized themselves and fought eviction with noisy demonstrations and acts of civil disobedienee • Armed farmers prepared to die for their farmlands at Waiāhole-Waikane; • Niumalu on Kaua'i is defended; • Hawaiians march for access and trail rights on the west end of Moloka'i; ifUHt 'I • Kaho'olawe - where wave after wave of Hawaiians defied the Department of

Defense to malama the wounded sacred island; • Sand Islanders take a hopeless stand to preserve their fishing settlement on Sand Island; • Beach access fights at Makena and Nukoli'i ; • Hale Mohalu falls to redevelopment. The fast paee of growth in Hawai'i meant lands whieh had languished for years were suddenly targets for speculation and development. Kuleana lands were challenged and lost. It is against this historical backdrop of emerging pride and reclaiming of all that is Hawaiian with the national

movement ot social and cultural activism that the seeds for OHA, and other Hawaiian movement organizations were planted. Hawaiian musicians, dancers and artists echoed the life-and-death stmggles going on around them and Hōkūle'a gave new cultural pride to a generation of Hawaiians who began asking questions. To get answers, several new organizations joined the ranks of older, more established ones and scholars, lawyers and researchers pored through law books, title records and legal histories to better understand the rights and entitlements of Hawaiians. Attention then focused on the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, whieh retumed 40 milhon acres of land to Alaskan natives and paid $1 hillion into a tmst fund

for land whieh was not returned by the United States. The birth of OHA In 1977, an unprecedented series of "Puwalu Sessions" provided representatives from 28 organizations and many individual Hawaiians with an opportunity to discuss a wide range of Hawaiian issues. The first session produced five top priority goals. Opening remarks for the third session, by then State Supreme Court Chief Justice William Richardson, urged all Hawaiians to leam to use the courts to their advantage to redress grievances, to challenge adverse possession laws, and to assert gathering, access and water rights. "Our courts," Richardson said, "have recognized that Hawai'i's land laws are unique in that they are based, in part, upon ancient Hawaiian tradition, custom and usage. This means that in some cases we ean look to the practices of our ancestors as guidance to establish present day law." Ordinary citizens became fluent in the legalese of the Constitution of 1840, the Great Māhele, the Kuleana Act, the Land Act of 1895, the Annexation Act, the Organic Act, the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act and the Admissions Act. In later sessions, island representatives were elected to serve as members of a minilegislature, whieh prepared a set of legislative proposals called the Native Hawaiian Legislative Package. In 1978, a Constitutional Converjtion was . ,caUe449 revie-\y ,— and, revisq , vyhere.necessary — the functions and responsibilities of Hawai'i's government. One hundred and two delegates, 90 of whom never held elected office, convened the "People's Con Con" for 60 days of arduous work. Trastee A. Frenchy DeSoto was one of those delegates, and served as chair of the Hawaiian affairs committee. Delegates worked hard that summer to fashion amendments to the Constitution whieh gave birth to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. They addressed the eoneem that the state was not properly using lands in the public trast. These lands — ceded to the U.S. after annexation and transferred to the state in 1959 — were to be used for five purposes, one of whieh was to benefit native Hawaiians. Up to that point the state had largely ignored this responsibility. Delegate recommendations, whieh were approved by the Convention as a whole and by a majority of Hawai'i's voters, were simple and straightforward: • People to whom assets belong should have control over them; • The Office of Hawaiian Affairs, a trust entity for all individuals whose ancestors were natives of the Hawaiian Islands prior to 1778, should be established to manage and administer the resources held for the benefit of Hawaiians, and to formulate policy for them; • OHA will be independent from the executive and all other branches of government although it will assume the status of a state agency; • The status of OHA will be unique and special and the office shall have the power to govern itself through a board of trustees; • OHA shall be modeled after the University of Hawai'i, so it will have maximum control over its budget, assets and personnel.

In 1979, the Legislature enacted what is now Chapter 10, HRS, whieh implemented Article XII, Sections 5 and 6 of the Constitution, by creating a strong and semiautonomous "self-governing corporate body." The Office of Hawaiian Affairs OHA then, is an agency, a trust and a government all at onee. Its mission is the betterment of conditions of all Hawaiians and to provide Hawaiians with the opportunity for a better life and future. In order to accomplish its mission, OHA's master plan sets the direction. OHA will: • Coordinate programs for Hawaiians • Provide programs for Hawaiians if none exist tn to l?,il u gi aniwolloi odT • Advocate for Hawaiians i«s,rv <nr • Serve as a receptacle for reparations This broad purpose is very different from organizations like Bishop Estate, the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands or the Queen's Medical Center. These organizations have specific purposes — education, homesteading or health care — while OHA reaches to all areas of the community. The list of programs and services the agency offers is lengthy. It helps provide scholarships for students, loans for businesses, and houses for h8iBMie^efā?iTf!advocates for Hawaiian water rights and supports legal efforts for Hawaiians to secure title to their land. It speaks on behalf of Hawaiians in Congress, the Legislature, and the City and County Councils and supports numerous cultural activities statewide. Its heahh division works closely with other agencies across the state to ensure that Hawaiian needs and values are taken into consideration when health policy is created. The list of OHA activities is mueh larger than this. To detail all programs would take mueh more space than allotted, here. However, in the next few pages some of OHA's more recent endeavors are listed along with some information about OHA finances. We hope that you take the time to look at this, both to enhanee your knowledge of the office, and so you ean take better advantage of what the agency has to offer.

HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES • Wai'anae Diet - $80,000 in support tor diet that incorporates Hawaiian traditional foods and values into an overall nutritional plan • Alu Like - $596,000 to fund the project's multi*sen/icesystem.: !9guod bns CULTURE • Western Museums project - $10,000 for scholarships and support of conference to help bridge the gap between museums and the native communities whose artifacts are displayed • Makali'i eanoe - $85,000 to support voyaging eanoe on its trip to the Marquesas and back • Rocky Jensen carving school - $30,000 to support apprenticeship program for Hawaiian carvers • Hawaiian artisans directory - $4,000 to creI 3T£ 31001 /'AHO

ate a directory of native Hawaiian artists • 'Aha No'eau - $125,000 to support conferences that bring together practitioners of different aspects of the culture. (i.e. lomi iomi, hula, etc.) -«-Hānafishpond rebuilding -$10,000 to support Hāna youth efforts to rebuild loeal fishpond walls LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES • Hawaiian rights project - $80,000 in funds for legal assistance to Hawaiians with claims to land, natural resources and related entitlements • Operation Blueprint - $50,000 • Federal liaison - $37,000 • OHA kuleana legal fund - $55,000 • Legal (Waiāhole Ditch water) - $350,000 • NHLC Land Title Project - $630,548 to provide legal assistance to native Hawaiians

defending land titles or interest in ireal property in Hawai'i. • DHHL lndividual Claims Panel - $350,000 • State Burials Program - $66,396 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT • Native Hawaiian Revolving Loan Fund program - Nearly $4 million in support for loans to Hawaiians to start up businesses. (OHA has contributed $7.3 million to the program since it began in 1989 totally $11.3 million.) • CBED Grants - $150,000 for community based eeonomie development groups statewide • CBED research - $5,000 • Technical assistance workshops - $25,000 for technical assistance workshops to provide revolving loan fund recipients with business development skills EDUCATION • Early Education program - $132,000 for travelling preschool on Maui. • Nā Pua No'eau grant - $136,000 to assist the UH-Hilo program for gifted and talented Hawaiian children with statewide expansion plans • Tutorial program - $172,000 in grants for tutorial programs in schools and community schools/associations to increase test point scores and grade point averages for • Scholarship program - $50,000 in scholarships for students seeking post-secondary education • 'Aha 'Ōpio - $27,000 to support youth Legisiature program that teaches Hawaiian students how to become outstanding leaders in their communities and in government. HOUSING • Waimānalo kūpuna housing project - to include low-ineome housing, commercial eenter and community center, $500,000 to begin pre-development work and to leverage an additional $2 million in funding • Hawaiian homesteader loan program - $20 million allocated in 1994; to date $700,000

used to assist 25 families. •Self-help housing administrative management costs - $7,500 per home: WaimeaKawaihae, Hawai'i, 20 homes; Ho'olehua, Moloka'i, 20 homes; Maunalaha and Kahana valleys, O'ahu, 15 and 10 homes —$487,500 • Kalapana - $140,000 to rebuild a new eommunity for Kalapana residents • Kaua'i Habitat for Humanity - $1.7 million 0% interest loan built 22 homes in 1 995

PLANNING • Grants and Purchase of Services - $1 ,208,009 in grants to groups engaged in activities that benefit native Hawaiians • Donations - $104,839 to support a donations program that assists native Hawaiians with survival funds in critical gap periods