Hawaiian Home Land leaders convene on Maui, Jan. 12-14

Homestead Associations are hosting their annual Leadership Convention on Maui, Jan. 12-14, 2024 at the Maui Beach Hotel. 

Partnered with the State of Hawaiʻi Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and Maui County Office of Economic Development, the three-day convening is the first time since before COVID, homestead leaders will meet in person for their annual convention and election of coalition leaders.

“Hawaiian homestead and waitlist leaders from every island are headed to Maui, and we welcome them,” said Kekoa Enomoto, the President of the Maui/Lanai Mokupuni of the Sovereign Council of Hawaiian Homestead Associations.  “There’s a lot to share with each other, including our election this year where next generation leaders like Kainoa MacDonald from Maui, will start her service on the SCHHA Council.”

The Leadership Convention has invited policy makers including Congresswoman Jill Tokuda, Maui Senator Lynn DeCoite, Randy Awo from the Hawaiian Homes Commission, Maui County Council woman Tasha Kama, and representatives from the US Department of Interior.

“We are really looking forward to meeting with new DHHL Director, Kali Watson,” said KipuKai Kualii, current SCHHA Chair.  “We know him well and are already seeing positive changes and energy around many of the recommendations the SCHHA gave to Governor Green back in 2022.”

DHHL will be reporting out on its progress under Act 279, to encumber up to $600 million in funds appropriated by the Hawaiʻi Legislature, water policy doctrines and the agency’s 2024 legislative agenda.

The convention dedicates several hours over three days to eight consultation topics among homestead leaders, one of which is Act 80 enacted by the Hawaiʻi Legislature in 2017 to lower the successorship blood quantum from one half to one thirty-second.  Other consultation topics include county government property taxation, using trust lands for rental projects and a report on the efforts of homestead associations in supporting recovery efforts from the Maui Wildfires.   

To register, contact Kainoa MacDonald or Iwalani McBrayer at [email protected] or the SCHHA convention team at [email protected].