NHLC Blog
Follow the NHLC Blog for topical legal news and information impacting Native Hawaiian rights and the lāhui.
Search By Topic
Search By Author
Environmental Court Rules BLNR Violated Native Hawaiian Rights and Public Trust Duties, Orders Contested Case Hearing on East Maui Stream Diversions GalleryEnvironmental Court Rules BLNR Violated Native Hawaiian Rights and Public Trust Duties, Orders Contested Case Hearing on East Maui Stream Diversions
Environmental Court Rules BLNR Violated Native Hawaiian Rights and Public Trust Duties, Orders Contested Case Hearing on East Maui Stream Diversions
On July 21, 2026, the Environmental Court again reversed the State’s approval of continued water diversions from East Maui, reaffirming important constitutional and public trust protections for Native Hawaiian practices and East Maui communities that rely on the streams. For decades, the Board of Land and Natural Resources ("BLNR") ...
Uluo’a 2025 Annual Report
In 2025, the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation was honored to complete its 51st year of service to the lāhui. NHLC's kūlana is to serve as legal advocates for Native Hawaiian ʻohana, communities, cultural practitioners, and kiaʻi in legal matters where threats to Native Hawaiian identity and culture are ...
Papa Ola Lōkahi Moves for Intervention to Defend Native Hawaiian Health Scholarship Program in Federal Lawsuit
On May 15, 2026, the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation (NHLC), the Native American Rights Fund (NARF), and Hobbs, Straus, Dean & Walker, LLP filed a Motion to Intervene on behalf of Papa Ola Lōkahi in a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Native Hawaiian Health Scholarship Program. The lawsuit, brought by ...
The Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation Welcomes Its Summer 2026 Huʻeaʻo Interns and Law Fellows
The Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation is proud to welcome its Summer 2026 Huʻeaʻo interns and law fellows. NHLC’s Huʻeaʻo experiential learning program provides law students from across the globe with the opportunity to learn about Indigenous legal advocacy within an Indigenous-led, Indigenous rights legal practice. Participants contribute to ...
NHLC Files Suit to Protect Native Hawaiian Burial Sites in Lahaina
The Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation (NHLC) has filed a lawsuit in the Circuit Court of the Second Circuit on behalf of ʻOhana Kimokeo, a Native Hawaiian family from Maui, to protect sacred ancestral burial sites in the Lahaina area from desecration and to hold the State of Hawaiʻi and ...
NHLC Joins the Kalana Ola Coalition for Compassionate Release
The Kalana Ola coalition was formed in 2025 to assist paʻahao (incarcerated individuals) who may be eligible for compassionate or medical release. Kalana Ola means “freed and forgiven to heal,” signifying the compassion in releasing paʻahao who are elderly, near end of life, or critically ill. Compassionate release is ...
