Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 22, Number 11, 1 November 2005 — Special Section: 25 years of serving Hawaiians [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Special Section: 25 years of serving Hawaiians

On Nov. 4, 1980, 43,000 Hawaiian voters, voting for their own native poliheal leaders for the first time in more than a century, elected the Office of Hawaiian Affairs' first board of nine trustees. Two days later, the trustees got right to work at their first meeting, even though they weren't officially sworn into office until Nov. 27. A quarter of a century later, OHA's history mirrors the vibrant growth of the Native Hawaiian community in bringing social, eeonomie, poliheal, environmental, cultural and historical issues to the forefront. Albeit turbulent and controversial at times, the agency continues

to serve Hawaiians as the only publicly elected body dedicated solely to 'ōiwi Hawai'i issues and well-being. As OHA marks its silver anniversary amid a cloud of poliheal and legal challenges that threaten Hawaiian programs, Ka Wai Ola takes a moment to look back and recognize a quarter century of hard work and dedication, and how many thousands of 'ōiwi have benefited from OHA's programs and efforts, including eommunity grants, loan programs, kūpuna and 'ōpio conferences, cultural support, poliheal activism, and mueh more. In this special section, Ka Wai Ola salutes

OHA's journey and the many dedicated individuals who have made it possible, from trustees to employees to grassroots community leaders. As former Gov. John Waihe'e III, one of the Hawaiian visionaries who helped forge the creation of OHA, puts it, perhaps the agency's greatest triumph is the mere fact "that it has survived." We hope you will enjoy this glimpse back into OHA's past. May the coming years bring health, prosperity and justice for nā 'ōiwi Hawai'i, the indigenous peoples of these islands. 'Au'a 'ia e kama e kona moku. Hold fast to your ancient heritage, o children of the land. S I