Our Hawaiian ancestors understood that the well-being of our community rested upon the inter-relationship of how we conduct ourselves, steward the islands we call home, and fulfill the responsibility of caring for our families, all within the physical and spiritual realms. They also understood that successfully maintaining lōkahi meant careful observation, knowledge gathering, and informed decision making to achieve pono. OHA is striving to embrace this time-tested wisdom through our new Strategic Plan.
To improve the conditions of Native Hawaiians, we are focused on six key strategic priorities:
Our focus on protecting the ‘āina is part of a larger effort to honor the past while preparing for the future. As the state’s 13th largest landowner, we manage more than 27,000 acres of lands set aside largely for cultural and agricultural endeavors. To maintain the connection to the past and a viable land base, we’re taking steps to ensure responsible stewardship of Ka Pae ‘Āina O Hawai’i.
Our focus on preserving Hawaiian culture remains among our top priorities. For that reason, we have been devoting time and energy to identifying opportunities that can bring significant value to its efforts to increase the number of Native Hawaiians who appreciate their history and culture. The initiative also calls for increasing Native Hawaiian participation in cultural activities.
Our focus on improving economic self-sufficiency centers on two critical goals: increasing homeownership and housing stability among renters within the Native Hawaiian community; and increasing Native-Hawaiian family income. Called the Hoʻokahua Waiwai initiative, this effort is ultimately about helping Native Hawaiian families become more financially viable.
Our focus on improving education in the Hawaiian community ranks near the top of our priorities. The two primary goals for Hawaiian education involve increasing the percentage of Native Hawaiian students who meet or exceed reading and math standards in middle school as well as high-school, and boosting the graduation rate at the post-secondary level.
A key goal of our governance initiative is to facilitate a process that would give Hawaiians the opportunity to create a governing entity that would define Native Hawaiians as a political rather than racial group. The benefit of such a Governing Entity would be its ability to provide Native Hawaiians with greater control over their destiny as they move toward self-determination and self-sufficiency.
Our focus on the health of Native Hawaiians reflects a top priority to reduce their obesity rate, which is due to health concerns associated with a lack of physical activity and proper nutrition. Our research shows that 75 percent of Native Hawaiians are at risk of being obese or overweight. We are working towards significantly reducing the obesity rate among Native Hawaiians by 2018
