How can I obtain government records about a project that affects my community?
By Ashley K. Obrey, Esq. NHLC Senior Staff Attorney Access to public records is essential to holding government officials accountable and protecting the interests of the public, including those related to ʻāina and traditional and customary practices. Obtaining information about a government action undoubtedly puts you in a better position to ensure that your rights are protected. The legislature acknowledged this by enacting Hawaiʻi’s Uniform Information Practice Act (UIPA), noting that “opening up the government processes to public scrutiny and participation is the only viable and reasonable method of protecting the public’s interest.” If a project is on your radar ...
Nā Kānāwai Kumu o Hawaiʻi, The Foundational Laws of Hawaiʻi
ʻŌlelo: Ma 9 April 1894, ma ʻō aku o hoʻokahi makahiki ma hope o ka hoʻokahuli hewa ʻia o ke Aupuni Mōʻī o Hawaiʻi nei, ua hoʻopuka ʻia he ʻatikala ma lalo o ke poʻo manaʻo; Na Huaolelo Kumu o Hawaii Nei, E Hiki Ole Ai Ke Hoololi Ia, ma ka nūpepa ʻo Ka Leo o ka Lahui. Ma ia ʻatikala i haʻi kūʻauhau ai ka mea kākau i nā kānāwai kumu koʻikoʻi o ke au i hala a hiki i kona wā. ʻO ka mua, wehewehe ʻo ia i ka hana no laila mai ka Māmalahoe Kānāwai; ʻo ia ...
NHLC Assists Lawaiʻa ‘Ohana to Obtain Special Use Permit for Traditional Cultural Fishing in Honua‘ula, Maui
In 2024, the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation (“NHLC”) represented Mogul Luʻuwai and the Lu‘uwai ‘Ohana in the process of obtaining a Special Use Permit for the practice of their traditional cultural fishing in Honuaʻula, Maui. Mogul and the Luʻuwai ‘Ohana come from a long line of traditional Hawaiian lawaiʻa and are one of the few Hawaiian fishing families that has continued to reside in the Mākena area since at least the mid-1800s. Over generations, the ʻOhana has acquired specialized, place-based knowledge and skills specific to Mākena and its unique environment. These multigenerational practices were interrupted with the establishment of the ...
After Injunction Against 2023 Midwifery Bill, NHLC Testifies on Possible Replacements
In the 2025 Hawaiʻi State legislative session, lawmakers introduced two bills in the House as potential replacements for the 2019 Midwifery Law (HRS §457J): HB 1194 and HB1328, both relating to midwives. Last year, a hui of legal organizations, including Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation (“NHLC”), represented maternal caregivers and Native Hawaiian traditional birthing practitioners in challenging the 2019 law in Kahoʻohanohano v. State of Hawaiʻi. The complaint alleged, among other things, that the law unconstitutionally regulated traditional and customary Native Hawaiian birthing practices. The legal team successfully obtained a preliminary injunction from the Courts, barring the State from enforcing ...
Hānai ma ke Kānāwai, Hānai and the law
Na Devin Kamealoha Forrest, NHLC Staff Attorney and Title & Research Specialist E like hoʻi me kā A. Keohokalole i wehewehe ai ma ka hihia ʻo In re Nakuapā (1872) penei; “He wā waiwai ʻole o nā ʻliʻi, a me nā makaʻāinana, ka wā kahiko. ʻO ke Aliʻi Mōʻī ʻAimoku wale nō, nona wale nō nā ʻāina a pau loa, a me nā waiwai lewa a pau, he mālama wale nō kā nā ʻliʻi ʻē aʻe ma lalo iho ona, a me kekahi poʻe makaʻāinana kākaʻikahi i lawe ʻaikāne ʻia e ka Mōʻī a me nā ʻliʻi ʻai ʻāina, a ...
Standing ʻOnipaʻa for Justice with Aloha
January 17, 2025 is the 132nd anniversary of the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi government, an egregious injustice that the nation of Kānaka, the lāhui, continues to endure with steadfast love for culture, community, and place. Achieving justice and restoring pono in Hawaiʻi is a multi-generational and intergenerational journey, requiring us to sustain our study and practice of ʻike Hawaiʻi. I ka wā ma mua, ka wā ma hope—the future is found in the past. During this time, we reflect on the strategies employed by the treasonous perpetrators of the coup d’état against the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi and our ...
What is the kuleana of the Island Burial Councils to protect iwi kūpuna?
By Terina Fa‘agau, NHLC Staff Attorney To promote the “sensitive treatment of Hawaiian burial sites through cooperative and shared decision making with representatives of the Hawaiian community,” the Hawaiʻi State Legislature established the Island Burial Councils, under the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), to administer Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes (HRS) § 6E. There are five Island Burial Councils: Hawaiʻi Island; Maui/Lānaʻi; Molokaʻi; Oʻahu; and Kauaʻi/Niʻihau. The governor appoints council members selected from lists recommended by the State Historic Preservation Division (SHPD) and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA). The Molokaʻi Council has five members, while all the others have ...
Kauaʻi County Planning Commission Finds in Favor of Kilauea Cultural Practitioners to Protect Nihokū
The Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation (“NHLC”) recently represented client Nā Kiaʻi o Nihokū before the Kaua‘i County Planning Commission (the “Commission”) at its November 12, 2024 meeting. Nā Kiaʻi o Nihokū includes Jessica Kauʻi Fu, Mehana Vaughan, Hoku Cody, who were named intervenors in the case, as well as Kapua Chandler, Billy Kinney, and other cultural practitioners from Kīlauea. NHLC began work as counsel for Nā Kiaʻi o Nihokū after owners of a lot in the Seacliff Plantation Subdivision, which sits at the base of Nihokū, applied for permits to develop a 30,000 square foot compound on their property. ...
What is a DHHL RWOTP lease? Is that a homestead lease?
By Henderson Huihui, NHLC Staff Attorney In 2021, the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) began offering Hawaiʻi Island waitlisters and those with an Undivided Interest homestead lease a rent-with-option-to-purchase rental (“RWOTP”) agreement. After 15 years of renting a unit, the waitlister can purchase the unit and receive a 99-year homestead lease. DHHL has plans to expand RWOTP offerings to other areas and islands. For some waitlisters, the RWOTP program may be their best pathway to a homestead award, as they may have had to turn down previous homestead lease offers for a turnkey house because they could not obtain ...
NHLC Helps Families in Affordable Housing Program Resolve Dispute With Large Landowner Neighbors Who Built Barbed Wire Fence Through Their Backyards GalleryNHLC Helps Families in Affordable Housing Program Resolve Dispute With Large Landowner Neighbors Who Built Barbed Wire Fence Through Their Backyards
NHLC Helps Families in Affordable Housing Program Resolve Dispute With Large Landowner Neighbors Who Built Barbed Wire Fence Through Their Backyards
In April 2024, six families in Pepe‘ekeo on Hawai‘i-island were startled by a notice they received from a large lot landowner nearby. The large landowner declared they would be building a barbed wire fence through their properties, starting in two weeks. The families sent the landowner protests and objections, saying they did not agree to the fence. Nevertheless, crews entered their properties and built the fence, cutting them off from a 25-foot-wide stretch of land across their backyards. From 2019-2021, these families participated in a self-help housing program that provided affordable home ownership. In the program, families provided their own ...
