Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 36, Number 1, 1 January 2019 — Untitled [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Within the span of a few weeks during Fiscal Year 2018, two rural communities in Hawai'i were devastated by separate natural disasters: North Kaua'i from floods and Puna from lava flow. The destruction turned the lives of hundreds of our beneficiaries upside down. Homes were lost. Memories turned to ash. Dreams washed away. But the disasters couldn't keep these communities down. In the Hawaiian tradition of laulima, they pulled together to care for eaeh other. Our board followed | the lead of these communities I and approved $500,000 in emergency aid to help these uiu IU i IUI ^l III, — >

'ohana rebuild their lives. Our contributions seemed to have made a difference, and we could see the genuine appreciation on the faces of our beneficiaries whom we were able to help. These are the moments when OHA demonstrates its mana. These are the moments when OHA channels the leadership qualities of our kūpuna, setting aside our differences to mōlama our people most in need. These are the moments for whieh OHA was created 40 years ago this year. By the late 1970s, our lāhui was in the midst of a re-awakening. We were reviving our voyaging traditions through Hōkūle'a and restoring our nearly extinct native language. We were fighting to protect our ancestral lands when we protested the bombing on Kaho'olawe. It was duri ng +his period, called the Hawaiian Renaissance, that the state convened an assembly to rewrite its constitution. Native Hawaiians devised a grassroots strategy to use the 1978 Constitutional Convention to re-focus Hawai'i's attention on the needs of its first people, who were being neglecting in our own homeland. Led by Aunty Frenchy DeSoto, John Waihe'e III and others, 'ōiwi delegates shepherded through the convention a number of Native Hawaiian-oriented constitutional amendments. Among these proposals was the idea for OHA, built upon the belief that Native Hawaiians could do more for Native Hawaiians with Native Hawaiian resources than the state could. It was a powerful idea that residents across the pae 'āina - not just Hawaiians - voted to approve. OHA's history and mo'okūauhau provide the agency with significant mana. But we understand that a leader's mana isfound notjust in what they have but how they use what they have to benefit their people. So, as you read this Fiscal Year 2019 Annual Report, we ask that you review it in its entirety. Note from our financial statements that we've managed the Native Hawaiian Trust prudently, ensuring that funds will be available for future generations of Native Hawaiians. Also observe the significant legacy lands throughout the state we've managed and the substantial research for our people we've conducted. And pay close attention to the descriptions of the many outstanding programs OHA has funded that help some of our beneficiaries with the greatest needs. We know, however, that the measure of our mana isn't found only on the faces of those 'ōiwi whose lives we've touched, but also on the faces of those we've not yet touched. To this end, OHA is embarking on the development of a new Strategic Plan to be more efficient in the delivery of our resources so we ean expand our reach. We understand that our mandate is daunting and that we have mueh work to do. But know that we are up to the challenge.

Kamana'opono Crabbe, P.h.D. CEO | KA POUHANA