OHA Launches New Hi-Tech Research Tool

Dr. Kamana’opono Crabbe has been appointed chief executive officer at OHA. Photo by Francine Murray.

By Sonia Isotov

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs today unveiled a new searchable online geographic information system, which they claim makes data that once would have taken hours – if not days – to compile now available within seconds.

Three years in the making, OHA’s new Kīpuka Database provides access to a wide array of information, including more than 5,000 native Hawaiian land awards, nearly 10,000 historic sites, and various ahupua’a boundaries.

The database is expected to help complement OHA’s other key research tools, such as the Native Hawaiian Data Book and the Papakilo Database, a digital library for native Hawaiian historical and cultural information.

“The Kīpuka database is the latest example of efforts by OHA to make the best possible native Hawaiian historical and cultural land information widely available,” said Kamana’opono Crabbe, the chief executive officer of OHA, in a media statement today.

“And we are extremely proud to make it happen.”

For more information about OHA’s new research tool, visit www.kipukadatabase.com.