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 ...
NHLC Honored to Receive Carved Waʻa by Sam & Marena Kahanamoku ʻOhana
Aunty Marena Kahanamoku and her husband, Uncle Sam Kahanamoku, lived on Uncle Sam ’s homestead in Puʻukapu, Waimea for 18 years. When Uncle Sam died, Aunty Marena needed legal help because DHHL would not process her successorship. She retained NHLC for pro bono assistance. In July 2024, six years after his death, Uncle Sam’s wishes for his homestead were honored and Aunty Marena took over the lease. Her successorship was granted. Aunty Marena presented NHLC with a special waʻa carved by her late husband Uncle Sam Kahanamoku. The waʻa reads, "Huli Koho La (The Belly of The ...
NHLC Welcomes Jamee Miller, Keʻalohi M. Reppun, and Keolamaikalani Dean to its Board of Directors
The Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation is happy to announce the introduction of Jamee Miller, Keʻalohi M. Reppun, and Keolamaikalani Dean to its Board of Directors. As long standing servant leaders to the Native Hawaiian community and people of Hawai’i, they will bring invaluable talents, skills, and perspective to the board that help NHLC to achieve its mission. Jamee Māhealani Miller Jamee Māhealani Miller, EdD, LSW, is the co-founder and co-Executive Director of ʻEkolu Mea Nui, a nonprofit transforming Hawaiʻi's criminal justice system through Native Hawaiian values. She leads initiatives to end intergenerational incarceration and supports workforce development for justice-involved ...
NHLC Mourns the Passing of Puanani Burgess
NHLC mourns the recent passing of Aunty Pua Burgess, a beloved kūpuna, leader, and friend to many including NHLC. Aunty Pua served on our board from July 8, 2010, and as board president from October 2014 to September 18, 2015. Her commitment to justice, Hawaiian culture, and the lāhui was an inspiration to us all. We were honored to recognize her service at our 41st Anniversary Fundraiser in 2015 and again at the CNHA Convention in 2016, where she received the Native Hawaiian Advocate Award. Aunty Pua’s legacy of leadership and advocacy will never be forgotten. Our thoughts are ...
Is Ka Paʻakai the only legal analysis that considers impacts to Native Hawaiian traditional and customary rights?
By Terina Faʻagau, NHLC Staff Attorney In June we wrote about the Ka Paʻakai decision from the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court that resulted in criteria for an analysis that state agencies must complete before making a decision that may impact the exercise of Native Hawaiian traditional and customary practices. However, Ka Paʻakai is not the only legal framework or analysis that requires the consideration of a proposed action’s impacts to Native Hawaiian traditional and customary rights. Proposals that trigger Hawaiʻi’s environmental review process require the assessment of cultural impacts in determining whether an action will have a significant effect on the ...
What is the midwives case about that protects cultural practitioners?
By Kirsha K.M. Durante, NHLC Litigation Director Earlier this year, NHLC, together with a national nonprofit called the Center for Reproductive Rights and a law firm called Perkins Coie, filed a lawsuit challenging the Midwife Licensure Act under Hawaiʻi Revised Statues (“HRS”) §457J. NHLC participated to protect Hawaiian birthing practices, including pale keiki, hoʻohānau, and hānau that were being impacted by serious restrictions in the law preventing practitioners from practicing and families from receiving traditional care. As part of the case, our team filed a Motion for Preliminary Injunction which requested, in part, that the court block the State of ...
What are the permit requirements for restoring and operating a loko iʻa?
By Sharla Manley, NHLC Of Counsel Attorney Loko iʻa (fishponds) are integral to watershed management, environmental remediation, and food sovereignty. Restoring them is a critically important matter across the pae ʻāina. For decades, loko iʻa advocates have fought for reasonable permitting processes for restoration. Sadly, these processes have historically been difficult, resource intensive, and lengthy with requirements at the county, state, and federal level. Meaningful reforms in the last 20 years foster hope, but the permit process continues to be complicated depending on numerous factors that differ from site to site. In 1995, the state enacted Act 177 that created ...
Following 9-Day Contested Case Hearing Challenging Development, Kauaʻi County Planning Commission Hearing Officer Recommends Protection of Nihokū
In January 2022, the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation (“NHLC”) began work as counsel for Hoku Cody, Jessica Kaui Fu and Mehana Vaughan as representative members of Nā Kiaʻi o Nihokū – a group of cultural practitioners revitalizing traditional and cultural practices at the wahi pana known as Nihokū, located on Kauaʻiʻs North Shore in Kīlauea. Since 2015, Nā Kiaʻi o Nihokū members have engaged in a variety of Native Hawaiian practices, including mele, oli, hula, awa, kilo, and Makahiki ceremony at Nihokū, also known as Crater Hill. At the base of Nihokū sits the Seacliff Plantation subdivision, a gated community ...
Court Rules in Favor of Native Hawaiian Midwives
Native Hawaiian midwives in Hawai‘i can resume caring for their communities Yesterday, a Hawai‘i state court temporarily blocked part of the Midwifery Restriction Law, which prevents pregnant people in Hawai‘i from using traditional midwives for their pregnancies and births, as they have for generations. The lawsuit was filed by the Center for Reproductive Rights, the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation, and the law firm Perkins Coie on behalf of nine plaintiffs, including six midwives and student midwives, as well as three women who wish to access care from traditional midwives. Since July 2023, when this law went into effect, many ...
Settlement Reached to Rebury 28 Iwi Kūpuna at The Park at Keʻeaumoku Project in Honolulu
The Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation (NHLC) and its client, Edward Halealoha Ayau, have reached a settlement in their litigation with the State of Hawaiʻi, the City and County of Honolulu (County), and Keʻeaumoku Development LLC (KDL) regarding Native Hawaiian burials at the Park at Keʻeaumoku project (the Park Project). Pursuant to the settlement, a total of 28 iwi kupuna that have so far been discovered at the site will be reburied, on location, in accordance with and an accepted Burial Treatment Plan and traditional protocols by September 30, 2024. The Park Project is a two-tower, mixed-use condo development that ...
