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 ...
How does the FestPAC advance justice across Moananuiākea?
By Angela Correa-Pei, Of Counsel Attorney, NHLC As Hawaiʻi proudly hosted the 13th Festival of Pacific Arts and Culture (FestPAC) in June, it was empowering to witness the celebration of Native Hawaiian culture and those of the 27 other participating nations – an exceptional collective of Indigenous peoples. A primary objective of the festival is “to promote cultural exchange and understanding among the participating nations.” Through this exchange, we not only gain a deeper appreciation for one another’s cultural practices and values, we are reminded of the challenges Pacific Island nations are facing from political struggles to the continued taking ...
What is a Ka Paʻakai analysis?
By Ashley K. Obrey, Senior Staff Attorney The “Ka Paʻakai” analysis is a legal framework that government agencies must follow when considering proposals that may impact the exercise of Native Hawaiian traditional and customary rights. Developed by the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court in Ka Paʻakai O Ka ʻĀina v. Land Use Comm’n, the three-part inquiry operationalizes constitutional protections for Native Hawaiian rights by requiring that state and county agencies conduct detailed investigations and make specific findings as to: The identity and scope of valued cultural historical, or natural resources in the…area, including the extent to which traditional customary native Hawaiian rights are ...
I lost my home in the August wildfires, and I haven’t been able to pay the mortgage since then. Could I lose my property to foreclosure?
By Sharla Manley, Of Counsel Attorney, Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation (NHLC) started as an anti-eviction law firm aimed at addressing the crisis of Native Hawaiians increasingly being evicted from rural areas to make way for residential and industrial developments. Originally named the “Hawaiian Coalition of Native Claims,” the organization fought against a then-new wave of dispossession from the land to make way for a boom in urban development. The disaster resulting from the August 2023 wildfires threatens to dispossess Native Hawaiians again in a place that was once the capital of the Hawaiian nation. This spring ...
What is Huamakahikina?
Every spring, the week-long Merrie Monarch Festival celebrates King David Kalākaua and his legacy of reinstating the public practice of hula after it had been outlawed in the 1830s. In honor of this year’s 61st Merrie Monarch Festival, we are using this month’s column to provide general information about the Huamakahikina Declaration on the Integrity, Stewardship, & Protection of Hula. What is Huamakahikina? Huamakahikina is a coalition of Kumu Hula from Hawaiʻi, the continental United States, and various countries around the world and recognizes that Kumu Hula have a unique kuleana to the integrity, stewardship, and protection of hula. All ...
How can a deceased owner sign a RoE to participate in the free Maui Wildfire Debris Removal program?
My ʻohana’s home burned down in the Lahaina wildfire. The property is owned by me and my deceased sibling. I want to sign up for the free Maui Wildfire Debris Removal program, but the county needs all owners to sign the Right-of-Entry Permit. What do I do? Do I have to participate in the debris removal program? By Liʻulā Christensen, NHLC Senior Staff Attorney The government debris removal program provides owners of homes lost in the Maui wildfires with debris removal paid for by FEMA and any insurance earmarked for debris removal. If there is no insurance, then the program ...
I Ola Loa ka ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi
ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi: Ma ka pūkaʻina Ka Wai Ola i hoʻopuka ʻia ma Iune 2019, hōʻike ʻia e ke Keʻena Equality and Access to the Courts o ka Māhele Hoʻokolokolo o ka Mokuʻāina ʻo Hawaiʻi, ke kākaʻikahi o nā māhele ʻōlelo ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi ma nā ʻAha Kaʻapuni a pau o ka pae ʻāina. ʻŌlelo ʻia, he ʻeono wale nō māhele ʻōlelo i kū i ka hana māhele ʻōlelo ma nā ʻaha hoʻokolokolo; ʻekolu ma Hawaiʻi mokupuni, ʻelua ma Kauaʻi, hoʻokahi wale nō ma Maui, a ʻaʻohe mea ma Oʻahu. I kēia makahiki hoʻi, ua wehe ʻia ka papa māhele ʻōlelo ʻōlelo ...
Can the Department of Hawaiian Homelands cancel my lease?
I missed some mortgage payments for my DHHL homestead and got a letter saying my lease might be canceled. Can DHHL cancel my lease? Is there anything I can do to prevent losing my homestead? By Henderson Huihui, NHLC Staff Attorney If you miss mortgage payments, the Department of Hawaiian Homelands (“DHHL”) can seek to cancel your lease. To save the lease, you will need to make those payments or work out a plan with your bank and DHHL to get the account into good standing. If you have experienced hardship preventing you from making the payments, contact your bank ...
How do courts decide what words in ‘ōlelo Hawai‘i mean?
Interpreting the meaning of language is central to the work of all courts in all parts of the world. Whether it be words used by governments in laws, orders, and rules; words used by parties when making agreements, or words used to show the mental state and intent of someone accused of a crime, determining what words mean – and how that impacts a legal outcome – is a core function of judges. Here in Hawaiʻi, the usage, meaning, and interpretation of ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi has affected the outcome of cases and guided our law. Generally, there are a few methods ...
