#Office of Hawaiian Affairs

Our Kaiāulu Votes, a coalition of schools and community organizations striving to inspire voter participation across Hawai‘i, will host a “Walk to the Box” on Oct. 23, to encourage civic engagement ahead of the general election in early November. Participants, including first-time youth voters from four area schools, will drop off their ballots at Wailuku Community Center and sign-wave outside Queen Kaʻahumanu Center.

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs invites Lānaʻi residents to a community meeting with Luana Alapa, trustee for Lānaʻi and Molokaʻi, at 1 p.m. Oct. 19 at the Lānaʻi Filipino Community Coalition.

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs invites Moloka‘i at-large to the Kūlana ʻŌiwi Center on Tuesday, Oct. 15, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. for a community follow-up meeting.

Maui Hui Mālama has announced a grant award totaling $136,666 that will support the Native Hawaiian community through the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) Kumuwaiwai Na‘auao-Educational Resources Grant.

Hui Nā Mamo Aloha ʻĀina O Honokōhau announced a grant award totaling $100,000 that will support the Native Hawaiian community through the Office of Hawaiian Affairs’ Kumuwaiwai Naʻauao-Educational Resources Grant. The grant will help to reinforce and strengthen Native Hawaiians’ connections to ‘āina and support OHA’s work to increase the number of Native Hawaiians engaged in traditional learning systems that maintain strong cultural identity.

President Biden has announced his intent to appoint two Native Hawaiians to the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. Kamana‘opono M. Crabbe and Krystal Ka‘ai were selected as commissioners of the advisory commission.

Support for traditional healing practices, training for navigators involved in traditional Polynesian voyaging, business education for entrepreneurs, assistance for vulnerable populations and funding for neighborhood watch initiatives on homestead lands are just some of the projects that will be advanced thanks to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs Grants Program.

The nonprofit community development financial institution, Hawai‘i Community Lending, has hired Aikue Kalima, former Native Hawaiian Revolving Loan Fund Manager for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, as its lending director. 

A coalition of Native Hawaiian-serving organizations, including Kamehameha Schools, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, held “Walk to the Box” events on Friday across the pae ʻāina to rally voter participation ahead of the Hawaiʻi primary election on Saturday. The events are a part of Our Kaiāulu Votes, an initiative to inspire Native Hawaiians to participate in the civic process and make their voices heard. 

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) has filled two more positions on its executive leadership team. Kēhaulani Puʻu began her new role as chief operating officer on July 1, while Kuʻuleianuhea Awo-Chun began serving as director of education and culture-based learning – a newly created position – on June 17.

At their June meeting, OHA trustees approved more than $2.7 million in grant awards to 16 community nonprofits that serve Native Hawaiians.

The Hawaiʻi Supreme Court on Thursday issued a landmark decision in the long-running water case over Nā Wai ‘Ehā, “The Four Waters” of Waihe‘e, Waiehu, Wailuku, and Waikapū in central Maui. In a 134-page unanimous opinion authored by Justice Sabrina McKenna, the court ruled in favor of Maui community groups Hui o Nā Wai ‘Ehā and Maui Tomorrow Foundation, who were represented by Earthjustice, and joined by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA).

An informational meeting is planned for Molokaʻi’s Nā‘iwa Homesteaders on Monday, June 17, 2024 starting at 6 p.m. The meeting will take place at Kulana ʻŌiwi, the conference room for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the Department of Hawaiian Homelands on Molokaʻi.

Kalama Intermediate School seventh-grade student Helia Lorico-Minchin has been awarded the Maui Country grand prize in the 25th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Peace Poetry Awards.

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs announced today that veteran educator and Native Hawaiian community leader Hailama Farden has been named Senior Director of Hawaiian Cultural Affairs. The newly created position will be responsible for creating recommendations and institutionalizing OHA’s culture ensuring that a Hawaiian worldview and practices are incorporated into all lines of business. Farden comes […]

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs is looking for a nonprofit to administer its emergency financial assistance program, the Pohala Mai – ʻOhana Experiencing Financial Hardship Grant. A grant budget of $1.66 million is available for Native Hawaiians.

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the University of Hawaiʻi Maui College are sponsoring two days of free pre-application training April 10-11 for those preparing to apply for three- to five-year grants of up to $1.5 million offered by the Administration for Native Americans.

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs has appointed four lāhui leaders who will serve as directors on its executive leadership team.

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) yesterday announced the release of grant solicitations totaling $6.87 million intended for non-profits that serve the Native Hawaiian community. Training for the application process takes place in person in Wailuku tonight starting at 5:30 p.m.

Mālama ʻOhana seeks to redesign and recommend transformative changes to Hawaiʻi’s existing child welfare system by working alongside families who have lived experience in the system.