Press Release Archives - The Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA)

Kumu hula proclaim kapu to protect the community from COVID-19

HONOLULU (August 21, 2020) – More than two dozen Kumu Hula joined together today to institute a month-long kapu to protect the Native Hawaiian community and the broader public from the staggering rise in COVID-19 cases in Hawaiʻi. The Kumu…

30+ nonprofits to receive $721,739 in OHA grant funding for food security

Honolulu, HI (Aug. 4, 2020) – Hawaiʻi Community Foundation (HCF) today announced over 30 nonprofits that will receive a total of $721,739 in grants, funded by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, to support community-based food security efforts in Native Hawaiian communities…

Tenant advocates warn landlords of consequences for illegal evictions

HONOLULU, Hawai‘i (August 4th, 2020) — A group of advocates for Hawai‘i tenants are warning landlords that they may face serious legal consequences, including possible liability for substantial money damages, if they attempt to evict tenants during the emergency ban on evictions….

OHA urges BOE to delay reopening of schools

HONOLULU, HI (July 23, 2020) – The Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) Ka Pouhana, Chief Executive Officer Sylvia M. Hussey, Ed.D. submitted the following testimony for the July 23, 2020, Hawai‘i State Board of Education General Business Meeting urging the…

OHA and the State Department of Human Services collaborate on Native Hawaiian data related to COVID-19

HONOLULU (June 26, 2020) – OHA and the Hawaiʻi Department of Human Services (DHS) announced today a collaboration whereby DHS will share Native Hawaiian data tables from its programs with OHA to help assess the impacts COVID-19 is having on…

OHA provides $450,000 to support community efforts to feed kūpuna during crisis

HONOLULU (April 14, 2020) – OHA announced today the launch of Kaiāulu Meals, a $450,000 program that partners with a statewide network of community organizations to deliver 12 weeks of locally-sourced food to nearly 1,500 kūpuna in need. “The kūpuna are the…

OHA files motion for summary judgement in Maunakea lawsuit

On Monday, March 2, 2020, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs filed a Motion for Summary Judgment in connection with its lawsuit against the State of Hawaiʻi and the University of Hawaiʻi over their continuous mismanagement of Maunakea. “It is beyond…

Group of Native Hawaiians to bring home iwi kūpuna housed at English institution for over a century

CAMBRIDGE, England (February 29, 2020) – OHA and a hui of cultural practitioners today received 20 iwi kūpuna (ancestral bones) housed for over a century at the University of Cambridge, ending a decade-long effort to return the Native Hawaiian remains to Hawaiʻi….

OHA scholarship deadline is March 2

HONOLULU (February 25, 2020) – Native Hawaiian students have one more week to submit their applications for the Hoʻonaʻauao Higher Education Scholarship Program, a partnership between OHA and the University of Hawaiʻi-Mānoa Native Hawaiian Science & Engineering Mentorship Program. Applications…

OHA statement regarding State Auditor’s suspension of OHA’s audit

Statement of OHA Chair Colette Machado and OHA Vice Chair Brendon Kaleiʻāina Lee Regarding State Auditor’s Suspension of OHA’s Audit December 30, 2019 In 2019, the Legislature approved OHA’s budget act with the condition that the agency’s second fiscal year of general…