Native Hawaiian organizations to benefit from $1 million grant from US Department of Interior

The Department of the Interior’s Office of Native Hawaiian Relations announced the award of $1 million in grants to six Native Hawaiian organizations to implement the Native American Tourism and Improving Visitor Experience (NATIVE) Act.

Funding enables Indigenous communities to participate in national tourism goals and strategies while seeking to enhance and integrate native tourism, empower native communities and expand unique cultural tourism opportunities. 

“NATIVE Act funding is critical to bolstering indigenous heritage and cultural tourism opportunities, which also supports the socio-economic empowerment of the Native Hawaiian community,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management and Budget Joan Mooney. “We’re excited to partner with these six organizations in sharing cultural heritage across their communities and with all Americans.” 

The Hawaiian value of hōʻihi (respect), reflected in the ʻōlelo noʻeau (Hawaiian proverb), “E hōʻihi aku, e hōʻihi mai,” meaning “show respect, get respect,” represents the core principle of the Office of Native Hawaiian Relations’ Heritage Opportunities in Hawaiʻi (HŌʻIHI) program. By showing respect, visitors can then be welcomed as guests with a shared kuleana (responsibility) to preserve the values and importance of Native Hawaiian traditional knowledge and cultural practices. 

Since 2021, the office has administered NATIVE Act funding for the Native Hawaiian community. The HŌʻIHI program has supported visitor programs that showcase the heritage, places, art, foods, traditions, history and continuing vitality of the Native Hawaiian community. 

“The HŌʻIHI grant puts Native Hawaiian culture and traditions at the forefront of Hawaiʻi’s tourism industry while providing opportunities to experience Hawaii’s natural and cultural resources to foster appreciation,” said Keala Fukuda, HŌʻIHI grant manager with the Office of Native Hawaiian Relations. “This year’s awardees are great examples of Hawaiʻi’s overall shift towards regenerative tourism.”

The six organizations awarded HŌʻIHI grants in 2024 are:

• Hawaiʻi Island Land Trust: Mahukona Navigation and Ecological Complex to support the creation of an ‘āina-based education curriculum specific to Mahukona, provide educational programs to students, guide hands-on restoration activities, and offer educational hikes for the community. 
• Hui Makaʻāinana o Makana: Maliu Mai a Pono: Balance-making in Hāʻena State Park to support visitor engagement and resource management in Hāʻena State Park. 
• Koa ʻIke: Hoʻolakou Ia Kakou economic development program for Native Hawaiian cultural practitioners and small business owners.
• Kumano I Ke Ala O Makaweli: Kulāiwi Connection Project to restore native forests and food systems in Makaweli, Kauaʻi. 
• Mana Maoli: Mana ʻIke Kuʻuna: The Power of Traditional Knowledge project using music and media to educate and connect community and ʻōpio to cultural practices.
• Native Hawaiian Hospitality Association: Hoʻokipa Hawaiʻi project to showcase the knowledge of practitioners and entrepreneurs and provide professional development to Native Hawaiian Organizations through a certificate course culminating in a two-day showcase in Waikiki. 

For more information about the HŌʻIHI grant program and the Office of Native Hawaiian Relations, visit here.